RTÉ and the Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) have agreed a three-year sponsorship deal which brings the first ever credit union to its weekday soap, Fair City for a fee of about €250,000. The long-running drama series attracts an average audience of over 544,000 per episode. Despite the economic climate, ILCU membership continues to increase and over the past three years 80,000 people have joined a credit union.
Ireland has one of the most popular credit union movements in Europe with the highest membership penetration rate of any other country. There are 3.1 million members across 471 credit unions across the island of Ireland, north and south. Irish rugby star Brian O’Driscoll and rockabilly and blues singer Imelda May (above) have fronted ad campaigns. Mandy Johnston is the ILCU director of communications.
Spar has a product placement deal with Fair City worth an estimated €900,000.
