Published: Friday 30th September 2022
I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here is one of the flagship shows on ITV, which is undoubtedly the largest terrestrial channel in the UK (that provides advertising opportunities). I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here consistently commands one of the largest TV audiences every year which is televised. In 2021 the show launched (on the 21st November) with an audience of just over 8 million (with a peak audience viewership of just over 9 million).
When I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here first aired in 2002, the debut show generated an audience of almost 6.5 million. Since then, the opening episodes have increased with almost 11 million having been reached in 2020.
I’m a Celebrity 2021, the launch episode was able to claim a 46.3% share of the entire TV viewing audience at late peak time, which is extremely impressive. To put this 46.3% share into perspective, the next best TV viewership figures at the same time only accounted for 10.5% (this was achieved by Showtrial on BBC1). So in short, the advertising opportunity during I’m a Celebrity is massive, if your aim is to reach the most people.
I’m a Celebrity is a show which is positioned in the period referred to as “late peak”, so the cost of advertising is lower compared to “peak time” but due to the popularity of the show the prices are significantly higher than other shows aired during this period. The first episode of I’m a Celebrity 2021 was still ranked as ITV’s fourth highest audience (for a non-sporting event), this was behind the well-publicised and controversial Oprah Winfrey Interview with Prince Harry and his wife Meghan (which amassed 11.1 million viewers), An Audience with Adele (following the launch of her most recent and highly anticipated album) and the Masked Singer final.
Shows like I’m a Celebrity offer two forms of advertising opportunities, the standard form of advertising which occurs during the commercial break as well as sponsorship of the show itself.
Sponsorship
I’m a Celebrity has been sponsored by a number of businesses over the years such as Iceland, Aunt Bessie’s and most recently Tombola. These deals tend to be negotiated for a few years at a time and so sponsoring one season in isolation will probaby not be an option. The sponsorship of I’m a Celebrity spans across both ITV and ITV2 as the program is aired on both channels (I’m A Celebrity …Extra Camp on ITV2) in addition to online and mobile. With over 34 million registered users, any TV content which is placed on the ITV Hub has huge potential to unlock new audiences as well as reach current customers and I’m A Celebrity happens to be one of these shows. The sponsorship of I’m A Celebrity stretches beyond TV onto the ITV website and all other ITV social media platforms.
Although it can almost guarantee a return on investment, a sponsorship deal of I’m A Celebrity would cost in the region of £2m per season with a minimum contract length of three seasons (this information has been based on the standard sponsorship pattern of historic deals).
So a budget of £6m can buy 3 years of ITV I’m a Celebrity sponsorship, which is not bad considering the average cost of a 30 second advert during the Super Bowl in 2020 was a whopping $5.6 million (but we can appreciate that these adverts will be televised to a global audience comprising of hundreds of millions).
Unless you’re an established brand with a significant annual turnover then this price range for a sponsorship deal with ITV’s I’m a Celebrity will probably be outside of your budget… however, all is not lost as there is also the TV advertising option.
TV Advertising
So what is the advertising opportunity with I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here? As mentioned the audience for the launch episode of I’m a Celebrity has the potential to reach figures of around 11 million but what is the demographic make-up of these viewers and will they be right for your product or service?
According to data, the I’m a Celebrity series is popular with 16 – 34 year olds, with 2.8 million of them tuning in to watch all 20 episodes of the 2020 season (which is a 77% share of the 16 – 34 year old viewers). The majority of viewers tend to be between the ages of 35 – 46 years old, mostly parents and homeowners. It is also worth noting that the demographic make-up for I’m a Celebrity audience tends to consist of people who enjoy watching reality TV shows and light-hearted humour (with Ant and Dec as the hosts of the I’m a Celebrity programme). In addition the demographic may comprise of people who enjoy home cooking and those who would prefer to stay at home than going out for entertainment. They are also people who have an interest in the lives of non A-list celebrities and reality TV stars.
So there is massive opportunity for business which offer home improvements, culinary products or services, weight loss products or services, life insurance, home insurance and protection, family entertainment (like family games or family holidays/resorts).
It is also worth mentioning that if you are a local business offering these products or services then there is an opportunity to launch a local advertising campaign in a particular region (this can be extremely cost effective depending on the CPM (cost per thousand) in that particular area), please see a rough rate card guide below:-
Finally (to be completely transparent) we have listed the Pros and Cons of advertising during I’m A Celebrity on ITV.
Pros of TV Advertising
· Reach a very large and wide audience (one of the highest TV audiences)
· Potential to advertise nationwide or locally
· TV adverts are a trusted source of information (establishing trust is often the hardest obstacle to overcome for most businesses)
· Ideal platform for brand awareness and selling products or services
Cons of TV Advertising
· Audience targeting is possible with platforms such as SKY and Virgin (as they hold detail customer accounts), this level of data gathering is less so with ITV
· People may be tuned in to watch I’m A Celebrity but that doesn’t mean they’re paying attention to your advert. Advert positions 1, 2 and the final advert before the show restarts are usually the spots which gain the most attention.
· The audience is not actively in the market for your product or services. Timing must be perfect (customers must be in market or at research stage in order to convert).
· With ITV adverts it is a challenge to adequately track and measure performance. (ITV can provide a rough estimate on demographic data, which is satisfactory but not as detailed as SKY or Virgin).
· A TV advertising campaign requires a large upfront investment, which can be a challenge for a new business.
The overall audience in 2021 was 8 million (peak 9 million) and ranks as ITV’s third largest non-sport audience so far this year, behind Oprah with Meghan and Harry (11.1 million) and the Masked Singer final (8.6 million).
I’m a celeb took a 46.3% share of viewing, beating Showtrial on BBC1 (10.5%) and Close to Me on Channel 4 (2.6%). The best performing Sky Media programme in the same slot was Freddie Mercury: In My Own Words on Channel 5 (3.7%).
So far this year ITV1’s adult SOCI stands at 23.7%, down -11% in volume change and stable (-0.32%) in share change.
Source: BARB 4+ | Live+Vosdal viewing (with ads)
