The Combat Tanks Collection, the latest title from part-work publishers De Agostini, provided in-depth articles on the history and technological developments of army tanks; each issue was accompanied by a model of one of these great tanks. De Agostini knew their product catered to a niche, male audience and with only a modest budget wanted to find a way to effectively recruit new subscribers. Sky Media immediately recognised that Military History was the perfect fit for the Combat Tanks campaign.

- Drive online subscriptions to the Combat Tanks Collection - Raise awareness of the Combat Tanks Collection amongst men aged 35-54 - Increase traffic to De Agostini's website

Military History is the only channel in the UK dedicated to 100% military content, offering in-depth programmes to a predominantly male audience. Sky Media responded with a high-frequency, cost-effective, month-long channel sponsorship of primetime programming on Military History. Running from Dec 2008 to Jan 2009, the primetime strand ran from 17:00 to 23:00 and included a wide range of programming, including Military History's tank-specific shows such as Challenge Tank and Sherman Assault - clearly the ideal environment in which to promote such a niche product.

The TV campaign attracted a loyal audience who were more likely to visit the website as a result of seeing the on-air sponsorship creative. The online elements were a small part of the campaign, yet nearly 20% of those that signed up for the publication came directly from the Military History website. This, in itself, covered the media cost of the entire campaign. These users were also 80% more likely to return to the site than subscribers from other sources.

This was the first sponsorship campaign to take place on the Military History Channel and only the second TV sponsorship campaign for De Agostini. De Agostini were delighted with both the quality of the creative and the results of the sponsorship. Subscription targets were surpassed and the campaign raised the profile of the De Agostini brand among their target audience. "We will definitely be using this type of campaign in the future." James Franks, Marketing Director, De Agostini.