The growth of branded entertainment in India has been synonymous with the explosion of the Indian TV industry that saw more than 250 channels launch in the last decade: 2000-2010. However, even with over 435 TV channels in the country, Branded Entertainment is still usually seen in the form of sponsorships and product placements. Integration with storylines and content associations are still rare.Specifically within the alcohol industry, event sponsorships and creation of product line extensions, ie. same name bottled water, music CDs, have become the convention given that alcohol brands are forbidden from being promoted via above-the-line communication media. Therefore, it is common for alcohol brands to use either surrogate advertising, or sponsor live events such as awards functions, fashion shows and theatre in the hope of getting some mainstream media coverage.

The Dewarists was designed for, and tailored to, a young urban audience in its delivery.

The 10-part TV series showcased over 40 inspirational stories of independent musicians, from Grammy-winners to lesser-known believers in their craft, as they explored 10 beautiful locations across India, while creating never-seen-before collaborations across musical genres.

Their journeys, beats and rhymes were captured in HD and its international aesthetics made it one of the best locally produced TV shows.The Dewarists was also the first Indian TV show to be simulcast online; rendering it more accessible got it over 45% mobile viewers.

Dewar’s whisky had pre-defined its target audience as the 25-34 year old male consumer, where experimentation is at its peak but so are the levels of apathy towards commercial messaging. This young set is also least likely to watch television by appointment and most likely to be found online. This led to a content and advertising strategy that not only made The Dewarists the first Indian TV show to be simulcast on YouTube, but also almost entirely promoted via online and social media.

The YouTube channel got over 1.7m YouTube views, making it the no.1 brand channel in the country. Over 70% of this audience was the 25-34 year old male viewer.For a brand disallowed from using mass media like television and print, the show generated over $1m worth of media publicity.The Dewarists became a trending topic on Twitter the day after its launch and once again during a later stage in the campaign.

Used to distribute the tracks of the 10 collaborations created during the show for free, Dewar’s India Facebook page has generated over 3.2m social engagements and over 120,000 downloads.