Nine execs would be scratching their heads if Lego sales hadn’t picked up. Yet, despite the format winning plaudits and audiences in the UK, Nine arguably took a risk in devoting prime time to a series on adults building things with small plastic bricks – and it is paying off. But then, Lego’s marketing, creative thinking and brand purpose is pretty remarkable.

Across screens, Lego’s marketing strategy delivers. Its films gross hundreds of millions of dollars, usher in the next generation of customers and shift product. The brand has 7.5 million YouTube subscribers. It also has a bucket load of fan channels and a full set of stop motion film creators racking up tens of millions of views apiece – all free, user generated content. Last year Lego launched a video zone in China, its fastest growing market, via Tencent Video. The firm has also launched educational products for school alongside digital play apps that include augmented reality and coding for kids.

The company’s latest financial results show its strategy is paying off. Lego returned to growth last year after a sluggish 2017. This year it's hired a new global chief digital officer with a background in e-commerce, which could indicate more direct sales are in its sights.