J.P. Wiser’s hosts cross-border hockey game to build U.S. interest

In the spirit of competition, J.P. Wiser’s Whisky hosted an inaugural hockey event to cultivate interest in the Michigan market.

The first-ever J.P. Wiser’s Cup brought together two neighbouring hockey teams who the Corby-owned brand says embody the brand’s spirit of “Wisely Done.” The game featured the Flyin’ Hawaiians from Detroit, coached by former NHL all-star goalie Jimmy Howard, and which is the only co-ed team in its league up against Windsor’s Pops and Tots, a team of father-son pairs coached by Hockey Hall of Fame defenceman Larry Murphy.

Inspired by a beer-league devotion to sports, the event was held at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. The whisky brand says the game offered fans a way to to appreciate the power of community and competition.

Cory Owens, senior brand manager at J.P. Wiser’s, tells strategy the effort was largely experiential and that it’s the first time its done anything like this in the United States.

The promotional video was meant to be a sizzle real of sorts, and it may live on in social media, Owens says.

Longtime Toronto agency partner Ogilvy oversaw local outreach in the Windsor and Detroit area, mainly to beer leagues in the region.

“It was a fairly grassroots recruiting process,” Owens says. “It was getting in touch with local communities… and finding the right people to participate in something like this.”

Owens says that Canadian whisky is white space in the state of Michigan, which it counts as its 11th market, given all the cultural overlap between Ontario and a “priority market” outside of Canada. The intention, he says, is perhaps starting to host the event annually, as it educates Michiganites about Canadian whisky. The brand says it will invest more from a marketing and media standpoint in the state going forward as it builds fandom.

Last year, Corby Spirit and Wine announced that its flagship brand J.P. Wiser’s had been named the Official Canadian Whisky of the Detroit Red Wings. It’s a multi-year partnership that includes several branding placements and activations at Little Caesars Arena, inclusions in Red Wings game broadcasts, and promotions on both J.P. Wiser’s and the Red Wings’ social media channels.

Last fall, J.P. Wiser’s opted for a design refresh, which Owens helped lead, and which has rolled out to Canada. The new modernized design will roll out stateside throughout the next couple of months.