READY TO Drink brand WKD chose wisely when it entered into a sponsorship deal with ITV’s ‘Love Island’ reality show – with both drink and show now riding a wave of popularity, their association is set for a bumper 2023, with two complete series scheduled for screening.
Sales of WKD are at a ten-year high, with the brand standing as the no.1 RTD in both the on-trade and take home. Meanwhile Love Island has become a cultural phenomenon, justifying the inclusion of two separate series in a single year, with WKD as ‘Official Alcohol Partner’ for both.
According to the brand’s owner, SHS Drinks, the double series will offer WKD double the opportunities to engage with consumers and double the opportunities to grow sales for stockists.
Plans to leverage WKD’s exclusive Official Alcohol Partner status and maximise the tie-in will kick-off in January with Series 9 and will include social, digital and influencer activity. Series 10 will then get under way in the summer.
WKD recently regained the no.1 RTD spot in the on-trade through a combination of volume rate-of-sale growth and distribution gains such as Rekom, the UK’s largest specialist operator of late-night bars and clubs, with 47 venues across seven brands nationwide.
Last year, the brand was busy innovation-wise, with two launches – WKD X, a 7% ABV alcoholic drink containing caffeine, guarana and taurine; and the 4% ABV WKD Berry Blast, an ‘on-trend’ flavour variant. In addition, WKD introduced a selection of co-branded promotional and limited edition SKUs to successfully bring the 2022 Love Island association to life at the point of purchase.
Head of brand, Alison Gray, said: “To be teaming up with Love Island for a third year is testimony to just how successful the association has been and how well it has gone down with both customers and consumers. As the programme itself so clearly demonstrates, finding the perfect partner is tricky, but when you know, you know – and we believe there’s no better match for WKD than Love Island!
“The success of the partnership is a key reason behind WKD’s impressive recent performance. Consumers and stockists can look forward to another year of fun, innovative Love Island-related activity from WKD and, with two Love Island series in a year for the first time ever, we’re doubly happy and doubly confident that this really is a win: win, win: win scenario.”
