WKD, the UK’s No.1 RTD1, is taking its successful association with the hit ITV2 and ITVX series Love Island one step further this year by making cameo appearances within the programme itself. WKD is celebrating a fourth year as the Official Alcohol Partner of Love Island with product placement in this summer’s series.
SHS Drinks will showcase 0.0% ABV WKD Blue within regular programme content as part of a trailblazing product placement deal. Positioned as ‘0% alcohol. 100% WKD’ and launched at the start of the year, the new variant is the brand’s first venture into zero-ABV territory. Slimline 250ml cans of the alcohol-free variant will appear on screen throughout the summer, featuring in both the main programme and on Aftersun, the news and gossip spin-off show.
Aside from high-profile on-screen presence, the partnership with the relationship-based reality show which features a cast of singles hoping to find love in the sun and win viewers’ hearts in the process, entitles WKD to licensing rights and access to exclusive Love Island content.
To create exposure for the tie-in and drive sales for stockists, SHS Drinks is launching a new limited-edition flavour and running a major on-pack promotion across a range of co-branded Love Island SKUs. A selection of price-marked pack (PMP) formats will also be available.
New Flavour
Bringing a vivid new colour to the line-up, WKD Purple Grape is the brand’s impactful flavour addition for 2024. Available as a limited-edition variant, the new 700ml bottle’s striking purple and gold livery prominently features Love Island’s iconic sparkling heart motifs complimented by a gold WKD brand logo and matching gold cap closures to ensure maximum stand-out.
On-pack Promotion
Running across WKD Blue 10 x 250ml and 4 x 250ml (£5.49 PMP) can multipacks, brand owner SHS Drinks is backing the UK’s favourite RTD2 with an on-pack promotion offering purchasers the chance to win £10,000 in cash or one of ten thousand prizes of exclusive co-branded WKD Love Island merchandise; the instant-win mechanic uses unique redeemable codes printed inside multipacks.
Promotional multipacks will utilise existing barcodes and replace standard format counterparts for approximately 10 weeks.
Focus Packs
In addition to the on-pack promotion SKUs and new WKD Purple Grape, special co-branded labels will also appear on 700ml bottles of Orange & Passionfruit flavour and – for the very first time – WKD Blue, the RTD category’s No.1 SKU1 and the brand’s flagship pack. The three 700ml Love Island liveried standard bottles will also be available in £3.79 PMP formats and included in the ‘2 for £6.50’ deal running across the full WKD 700ml range this summer.
The Love Island partnership provides WKD with extensive additional co-branding opportunities beyond the two million packs which will appear in-market this summer. Plans to leverage WKD’s Official Alcohol Partner status and maximise the tie-in include off-shelf displays with supporting POS in multiple grocers, and extensive social and digital activity, including a partnership with well-known previous Love Island contestant Toby Aromolaran to front exclusive content for WKD audiences.
Over the years, Love Island has transcended from TV show to cultural phenomenon and this year’s WKD packs will be on-shelf for the whole of Series 12, which airs across June and July.
Alison Gray, head of brand – WKD at SHS Drinks, says: “With a striking new flavour, high-profile on-screen presence, and a £10,000 cash prize up for grabs, we’re taking our relationship with Love Island to the next level this year.
“WKD and Love Island are a winning couple: together we create a formidable partnership full of gossip, glamour and sales growth. With the launch of a striking new flavour, our relationship is going through something of a purple patch and we can think of ten thousand good reasons why consumers should get involved with our on-pack offer.”
1Source: Nielsen Scantrack UK Take Home volume (L) MAT to 20.04.24
2Source: Total trade RTD volume (L): Nielsen Scantrack UK Take Home MAT to 20.04.24: CGA on-trade MAT to 31.12.23
Comments are closed.