Oreo and The National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) are promoting hockey accessibility in a big way in store.
The Mondelez-owned brand and the NHLPA’s Goals & Dreams shopper marketing program will award $200,000 in new hockey equipment grants to 14 youth hockey organizations across Canada. Consumers are being encouraged to enter the “Oreo Stay Playful for All” contest online and in store via QR codes on retail assets.
The program marks the beginning of a multi-year partnership between the NHLPA and Oreo parent company, Mondelez Canada. NHL player/program ambassadors, Quinn Hughes, Zach Hyman, William Nylander and Nick Suzuki along with PWHL stars Sarah Nurse and Marie-Philip Poulin, will play an active role in supporting the campaign across social media.
Prominent retail displays in stores across the country will help boost reach and encourage fans to participate in the program.
“We know how important hockey is to Canadians and realize that the sport can become too serious and expensive for many,” says Chantal Butler, CMO, Mondelez Canada, adding that this program is one of its biggest shopper investments in years. “Oreo Stay Playful For All,” Butler explains, is intended to provide access to equipment for youth in communities that need it most.
The visual assets and merchandising tools are also tied to the launch of Oreo Cakesters in Canada, and feature the cake snacks flying off the displays as hockey pucks, as well as players juggling them on their sticks. Display assets also include fellow Mondelez brands, Triscuits, Wheat Thins, and Chips Ahoy!
“We typically include several brands and promoted product groups (PPGs) in our displays throughout the year to drive scale and availability of our product offerings and to appeal to different snacking occasions for shoppers,” Butler notes. Last summer, Mondelez similarly built a multi-brand snack pack for the Olympics in support of its commitment as Team Canada’s official snack partner.
The current national shopper program will be in several major retailers and runs throughout Q1 2025. B Street Communications was the lead agency for strategy, creative and shopper. Mondelez also worked in collaboration with VaynerMedia, T1 Agency, Weber Shandwick, as well as the NHLPA and MLSE.
