Alonuko

Background

Alonuko create hand-designed bridal wear, tailored for women of colour - a group often underrepresented in bridal suites across the world. 

Not content with being an already internationally renowned and recognised brand, they were looking to grow further, with specific objectives around driving brand awareness, increasing revenue, and doubling their number of brides in the UK in 2025.

Alonuko had previously used trade and trunk shows, pop ups, and social media activity to reach their target audience, but recognised the need to go bigger in order to reach their goals.
 

The Big Idea

Channel 4’s Black in Business scheme offered Alonuko the opportunity to do just that.

The initiative, in partnership with Lloyds Bank, was created to tackle the difficulties black business owners face when trying to grow their businesses, with research finding that only 0.24% of venture capital is invested in black owned businesses, and 54% of those businesses only receiving funding once already established. 

As a winning brand, Alonuko were awarded with the opportunity to unlock:

• £150,000 of premium Channel 4 airtime
• Six months of business mentoring from Channel 4 and Lloyds executives
• The creation of a new commercial

Making It Happen

With TV being a new channel for the brand, Alonuko worked closely with Channel 4’s commercial team to build a launch plan designed for maximum impact.

The campaign launched with a premiere break, airing alongside the three other winners ahead of Bake Off: The Professionals - Channel 4’s biggest show of the day, reaching an audience of 1.4 million.

From there, activity expanded across the Channel 4 portfolio, with planning deliberately skewed towards female-led and culturally relevant programming. Alonuko appeared across:

• The Handmaid’s Tale
• First Dates
• Educating Yorkshire
• Grand Designs

On E4, Alonuko showed up in the ultimate environment for a bridal brand: Married at First Sight UK. Spots throughout the series delivered immediate scale and relevance to a highly engaged, in-market audience.

This focus continued on Channel 4 Streaming, with placements around Top 10 and reality programming, including:

• MAFS UK & Australia
• First Dates
• Made in Chelsea
• Celebrity Gogglebox

To amplify impact, activity was rounded out with a targeted social campaign, reaching audiences most likely to have seen the TV activity and most likely to be in-market for bridal and bridesmaid wear.

Results

The campaign delivered clear success, driving strong and sustained uplifts in awareness and consideration throughout the activity.

Among the engaged audience:

• Brand recognition increased to 38%
• 90% of people agreed Alonuko sells unique and beautiful dresses, with 85% acknowledging its high quality and 81% recognising its standout appeal versus other bridal wear brands
• Consideration to purchase rose to 79%

Performance closely mirrored media presence, with uplifts peaking in line with exposure around Married at First Sight across both linear TV and streaming - demonstrating the power of precision programming delivered at scale.

Crucially, these gains were not short-lived. Brand metrics remained elevated even after the campaign ended, indicating a lasting impact on brand perception.

From a creative perspective, bold storytelling and a distinctive design aesthetic ensured standout cut-through. The campaign clearly differentiated Alonuko on design, quality, and inclusivity, driving strong persuasion and reinforcing the brand’s authority within the bridal wear sector.