Aer Lingus has entered into one of the largest TV sponsorship deals of the year by agreeing to sponsor most of RTÉ 1's Sunday night schedule, it has emerged.
In an unusual link-up, the airline has decided to sponsor a range of entertainment and drama programmes airing on RTÉ's flagship station. The airline believes Sunday nights is a key window to target consumers.
The arrangement began last night and will last for several months depending on the response from consumers.
Aer Lingus has concluded the deal with assistance and advice from advertising agency StarCom MediaVest.
The airline's website aerlingus.com will be the focus of the deal. The company declined to put a value on the deal, but it is believed to be worth about €320,000.
The State-owned broadcaster badly needs the revenue as it struggles to bring in a surplus for 2003 of approximately €3 million.
While advertising revenues have fallen sharply at the station in 2003, the broadcaster has managed to claw some of this back via sponsorship deals like the Aer Lingus package. Other deals are expected to be announced shortly.
Traditional television sponsorship deals have involved a single-programme, but in this case the sponsorship deal is for a large segment of the evening schedule.
The sponsorship will involve RTÉ's flagship home-grown drama series, The Clinic, the new quiz show, House of Love, a new series of ER which starts in the coming weeks, along with older programmes like Only Fools & Horses and James Plunket's Strumpet City which aired last night.
The airline has taken the step of sponsoring Sunday night programming in an attempt to cement its reputation as a low fares airline.
The Aer Lingus chief executive, Mr Willie Walsh, is determined the airline will be associated in the public mind with low fares.
The airline's own research shows that there is a natural spike in website visits on Monday mornings.
"In other words people make their travel decision over the weekend, and particularly following discussions on Sunday night," said a spokeswoman.
The airline's current advertisements were devised by the Dublin agency Rothco. The agency has developed a new slogan for the company "always watching", based on the idea of consumers always watching out for low fares.
"This sponsorship move fits into the strategy by using frequent messages to reinforce the airline's new position and this coincides with the viewer's natural desire to escape the Monday mornings blues," said the spokeswoman.
Aer Lingus has spent large sums updating and improving its aerlingus.com website over recent months.
The site now offers travel insurance, car rental services, hotel booking facilities and tickets for entertainment and sporting activities in London.
Sponsorship, while still a poor relation of advertising, is now contributing heavily to the bottom line of many television and radio stations.
This year, today FM brought in €200,000 in sponsorship for Tom Dunne's Pet Sounds programme via a deal with Siemens Mobile.
Today FM also signed a €300,000 deal for sponsorship of Matt Cooper's the Last Word, while NewsTalk 106 did a deal with Nissan Ireland for €100,000 in sponsorship for the Right Hook show.
However, the biggest media sponsorship deal continues to be Renault's sponsorship of RTÉ's Late, Late Show deal, believed to be worth €1 million.
Ryanair has traditionally steered clear of sponsorship deals with RTÉ, but for several years it sponsored the weather service on Sky News.
