Basketball players and KFC fans share an interest in draining buckets, and the QSR is using this thematic link to keep the game going during Toronto’s cold winters.

Informed by the surging popularity of the sport, the KFCourt under Toronto’s Gardener Expressway is open to the public seven days a week until Feb. 22. It functions as a way to attract attention to basketball when hockey typically hogs the limelight, according to Narrative, the agency behind the initiative.

Jessie Sorell, ECD for Narrative PR, tells strategy that while a lot of brands play with basketball fandom, KFC has permission like no other QSR to get involved, given its bucket brand equity and previous marketing efforts tied to basketball. Narrative came up with the main “buckets are life” messaging, which ties into the popular “basketball is life” vernacular.

“We obviously want to activate over the basketball season, and we thought winter is such a uniquely Canadian backdrop, and one that really exemplified the whole purpose of this, and is about that passion for the game,” explains Melissa Dacosta, experiential marketing director for Narrative PR. Playing outdoors in winter, she says, shows die-hard fandom. And it’s not just about creating an amazing space (the team used the court to shoot content for an ad that will debut Feb. 10) it’s also linked to KFC’s CSR initiatives.

KFC is donating court time to local basketball community groups to run their programs, and offering up time slots that can be booked by the public for $5, with funds going to youth development organization Jump Thru Hoops.

The custom court has pre-warmed balls, rotating DJs from LiveNation and a Pepsi-sponsored warming centre, alongside KFC samples and UberEats promo codes for orders. Guests can also gear up in custom, limited edition “puffer jerseys” in the style of parka, each one bearing the number 11, referencing the brand’s herbs and spices.

Toronto Raptor Gary Trent Jr. is helping to promote the KFCourt. KFC is also partnering with The Scarborough Shooting Stars of the CEBL to connect with more grassroots basketball as well.

“For KFC Canada, it’s the biggest activation we’ve ever done,” says Azim Akhtar, marketing director for KFC, who says experiential will always be a consideration for the brand when it launches campaigns, so consumers can see, touch, feel things.

Akhtar says the “buckets are life” idea is something it’s going to be leaning into, as a brand that can authentically connect with hoops. It will be a platform in a sense, to activate “for years to come.”

KFC’s “Buckets Are Life” campaign will be seen and heard through high impact OOH, TV and OLV, The Raptors Show on Sportsnet, BarDown on TikTok and The Score, as well as across KFC Canada’s social channels.

While Akhtar says it is looking to increase brand consideration for basketball fans, he believes with the “buckets” messaging, it can grow and evolve beyond basketball. For example, there will be ad cutdowns, and there will supers to make it contextually relevant to football, too, with the looming Super Bowl.