Lozenge brand Fisherman’s Friend wants people to know that its products have a “broad usage,” not just for a cough and cold, but also to soothe one’s throat.

That is the main goal in the latest work in the brand’s continued partnership with Toronto Raptors’ head coach,Nick Nurse.

“We know Nick uses it often,” says Voula Papadakos, Fisherman’s Friend marketing manager, noting that even broadcasters were mentioning it during games. “We see him using it during games. He has it on him all the time. We would see some of the broadcasters commenting on it [too].”

Fisherman’s Friend established a partnership with Nurse in 2018. This time around, the message of the campaign isn’t that Nurse embodies some value or vision of the Fisherman’s Friend brand, but rather show that the product is useful for more than a cough or cold.

In early 2019, Papadakos told Media In Canada that it partnered with the Raptors in an attempt to reach a more diverse NBA-watching demographic. The brand has, in the past, partnered with the CFL as well.

This time, the message Fisherman’s Friend wanted to hone in on was the broad usage of the product. Papadakos says Fisherman’s Friend wants to create awareness that consumers can use the product to soothe their throat, and not just when they’re sick, with the Nurse partnership helping to reach people involved and interested in sports and entertainment in particular.

Papadakos says one of the other goals of the campaign is to continue to show that Fisherman’s Friend has a broad range of flavours. “I think a lot of consumers just think of Fisherman’s Friend [as], ‘extra strong,’” she says.  Other Fisherman’s Friend flavours include cherry, lemon and honey lemon.

Papadakos notes that she thinks that people often associating the brand with just one flavour is what has led them, traditionally, to having a predominantly older consumer demographic. “That has been the main consumer, but we’ve been trying to show the range of products,” she says.

The new spots are airing on TSN and Sportsnet, Papadakos notes. They will also be on digital and social channels as well – on The Weather Network (when the Raptors are playing) and through promoted posts on social media.

Community was the creative agency behind the latest campaign. Mediacom Sport and Entertainment handled the media buy, and Conversation Agency dealt with the PR.

These spots will be airing until the end of the basketball season, and Papadakos says the plan is to keep the partnership between Fisherman’s Friend and Nick Nurse for the 2020-2021 NBA season. She adds that they probably won’t have new spots, but will most likely take all of the ones produced so far and amplify them at the start of next season.