Shameless Plug

Been having a lot of fun over the last few months with Harveys and itv / Coronation Street - with the big launch of the new sponsorship idents last week.

Check out the Corrie content on the website too that we've done - and play the Rovers Pub quiz that we've put together with the excellent Player Three.

It seems that every half decent TV programme has a sponsor these days, and I have to say that so many idents seem to be half baked ideas with little or no relevance to the programme they're sponsoring.

Corrie is one of the only programmes that consistently pulls a large mainstream audience, and Harveys could easily have been lazy, viewing the deal as 'cheap' airtime and settling for a cheap and nasty ad. But I think they've been brave by investing in CGI ads, online gaming, interactive and mobile internet to leverage the sponsorship with a long term strategy to help make Harveys stand out from the glut of me-too furniture retailers lurking near a out-of-town centre near you.

Harveys will have to ensure that the product and service are up to the right standards to ensure that people who try them for the first time are left satisfied. And that means in the store, waiting for delivery, the actual delivery and after-sales queries. Unfortunately, all the clever advertising in the world won't overcome negative reviews and word of mouth, which has been a problem for them in the past.

The right sponsorship deal has the power to change businesses - not just in terms of higher awareness, intrigue and google searches - but as a platform to consider and sort out every way in which the company and brand can and should add value to the customer experience.