Branded Entertainment in the UK is becoming more common, but is often complex and results in unsatisfactory outcomes for all parties. With TV content especially, the brand must cede creative control to the broadcaster or production company. The result is that, when the programme finally airs on TV, it often feels like the brand has taken a backseat - looking more like a regular sponsor and undermining the original intention.

With alcohol in particular, any communication on TV is heavily regulated. For a TV advert, for example, there are such regulations in place as “must not use humour that appeals to under-25s,” as well as airtime restrictions and more besides. This leaves TV ads for alcohol communicating in a fairly narrow way, often just trying to associate with certain lifestyles.

Sky Arts gave us the opportunity to take Baileys outside the bar, beyond traditional advertising stories about sensuality and pleasure, and into a deeper, richer, more sophisticated and intellectual world. It offered unparalleled credibility and acted as a powerful signal of change.

To promote ‘ThisBook and Me’, we invited each of our influential women to discuss their involvement with their fanbase via social media.

Not only that, the series fuelled our wider #ThisBook conversation, which, in turn, helped attract an even larger audience. Even JK Rowling took part via Twitter – joining over 10,000 women who also shared the book that had the greatest impact on their life.

This was further amplified through a PR launch, which included a 4-page editorial feature in The Sunday Times Style and over 40 major news and lifestyle titles.

#ThisBook has far exceeded all our expectations:

It has delivered the highest share-ability rate in social across the entire Diageo portfolio.

It has been highly efficient, generating £2m worth of added value in year one alone through zero fee talent, editorial and retail partnerships, publisher media support and the Sky broadcast series.

The activation also enabled us to get Baileys listed on Amazon: a critical retailer of the future.

We were also able to create higher value promotions in the biggest-volume retailer Tesco which increased average purchase price by 8%.

We have created a fundamental shift in the perception of Baileys amongst a new generation of drinkers with tracking showing a 40% increase in brand appeal, 37% increase in propensity to purchase and 30% increase in propensity to drink

Finally, and most critically, the brand has returned to growth with the UK showing a 2% increase in sales volume.