This story appears in the February/March 2016 issue of strategy.
Bronze: Canadian Success on the Global Stage
Situation Analysis:
In early 2014, Kraft USA lacked a truly national program it could leverage to drive sales, so the organization looked to the award-winning Canadian Kraft Hockeyville program. But hockey is not the number one sport in America, so engaging retail partners in all 50 states would not be a “cut and paste” exercise.
Insight & Strategy:
In smaller U.S. communities, sports play a central role and are integral to community life, but passionate hockey communities – small towns and big cities alike – were often left feeling marginalized. By giving hockey towns across America a way to improve the experience of the game in their towns, Kraft would be positioned as the company that feeds the family and fuels a community’s desire to make their arena a better place to play.
Execution:
Launched nationally on Jan. 1, 2015, at the Winter Classic, Kraft Hockeyville leveraged television, social, online, PR, experiential, POS and partnership properties to take “For the Love of Hockey” to local diehard hockey fans coast-to-coast, asking for nominations for the most passionate hockey community in America. Mini documentaries of the top ten finalist communities premiered on NBC at the start of the voting period and continued at Krafthockeyville.com.
Results:
Participation from top 20 retailers, with the exception of Walmart and Target, was achieved, resulting in a 22% lift in quality merchandising points of participating brands during the promotional period. In the Northeast and Central regions, there was an average lift of +72% total Kraft gross revenue for participating brands. Kraft Hockeyville USA enjoyed a return on investment of $1.15 for every $1 invested.
Cause & Effect:
The program garnered over 18,000 essay nominations from all 50 states, attracting over 20 million votes and over 1.2 billion total impressions, an all-time record for a Kraft program anywhere. Sales in store benefitted from additional floor space provided to the program and POS.
Credits:
Client: Kraft Heinz
Marketing director: Julian Franklin
Agency: Anomaly
ECDs: Pete Breton, Dave Douglass
CW: Neil Blewett
AD: Kevin Filliter
Planner: Jon Daly
Group account director: Bryden McDonald
Account supervisor: Lindsay Anstett
Experiential agency: Mosaic
Account director: Leanne Bernardo
Senior account manager: Josh Feldman
Digital agency: Hello World
Account director: Colleen Raidt
Senior producer: Jake Morrisroe
Media partner: NBC Sports
Director, client solutions: Jared Feigenbaum
VP program integration: Rob Sawyer
PR agency: Edelman
VP consumer marketing: Leslie Humble
Senior account supervisor: Lara Worshman
