This work shows the power of media partnerships, in this case producer, broadcaster and advertiser all coming together to produce a high-quality TV show that attracted 22 million viewers and re-instilled brand perceptions.

It shows how a brilliant creative idea can be amplified through clever media placements that go beyond the ad spot and also the way in which brands can embed themselves into popular culture.

There are relatively few case studies about ad-funded-programming so this work proves that despite the hard work and effort required, they can deliver significant results in terms of ROI and perception shifts.

Great value has been at the heart of the Tesco business since our founder Jack Cohen set up his market stall in 1919. However, a combination of economic uncertainties, the rise of the German retailers and Brexit on the horizon, had forced mid to low affluent customers to re-evaluate their shopping habits. As a result, we had seen a fall in value perception in the UK over time and were now close to the Big 3 (Sainsburys, Morrisons, Asda) and, in fact, behind the German retailers. With value being a key driver of store choice, we knew we had to do more to showcase our great value. But how could we communicate value in a way that would get customers, especially our lower affluent customers, to truly care? 2019, our 100th birthday, provided just the opportunity.

While competitors communicated rational prices, Tesco had the opportunity to deliver their value message in a more emotional way. The creative route centered around “Prices that take you back” – prices so low that customers would feel transported back in time. On top of the advertising campaign, Tesco were looking for ways to get people talking about their great value and make them take notice.

MediaCom produced a “media bible” about the Tesco value seeking audience. The insight showed:

- TV was their most consumed media channel (+5 hours a day)

- 34% watched game shows

- ITV was their favourite channel

- 80% were dual screening, especially on social platforms such as snapchat

Supermarket Sweep - a show that had not been on television for over ten years and had value at its heart - was the perfect addition to the campaign.

We partnered with production company, Thames TV, and created a pitch for the ITV commissioning team. National treasure and Tesco super-fan, Rylan Clark-Neal was lined up as host. In year one, ITV assigned the show a highly sought-after slot in peak airtime on ITV2; twenty episodes across four weeks, running 8-9pm everyday Monday-Friday. ITV even agreed to move the start date to coincide with the launch of our "Prices that take you back" campaign. After seeing the huge success of series one, ITV moved the show from ITV2 to main channel for series two – the first time an AFP has done this - and even agreed to commission six additional celebrity specials. The 20 episodes ran every weekday at 3-4pm on ITV and the celebrity specials had their own 5.15pm slot on Saturday nights and were even moved to 6.15pm for the final episode the week before Christmas.

We helped build the set in the studio - colour matching the floor to a real Tesco, installing working checkouts and aligning Tesco fonts, logos and colours. The store was filled with Tesco own label products and in series two, we introduced a loyalty card, which contestants could use to enhance the value of their shop.

We created idents for the partnership with their role being to help align with Tesco’s “Prices that take you back” campaign. In series two, we even created idents with adored host Rylan, based on viewer feedback.

We created bespoke content for social platforms, engaged our 300,000 colleagues by re-creating the game at head office with Rylan and we created a Snapchat game so viewers could play along at home. Our team of Brand Engagement Executives interacted with viewers on social media with funny meme’s and GIFs, linking back to the great value message

- In series one, the show was ITV2’s biggest launch in four years, attracting 1.2 million viewers on the opening episode and trending number one organically on Twitter

- Series two attracted two and a half times more viewers thanks to its move to ITV1

- Product placement was independently valued at £13m and idents were the most recalled element

- Social content generated over 5m views and 7 million people played the Snapchat game, higher than all benchmarks

- All of the brand perception statements increased from series one to two and with the new Clubcard, viewers were 20%pts more likely to get a Tesco Clubcard

- Tesco’s value perception significantly increased and propelled Tesco away from the Big 3 for the first time in years

- Econometric analysis found the AFP delivered ROI in both the short and long term