Sports Interaction knows team loyalty is a sacred ground in the world of sports fandom – until supporters are tempted by the almighty dollar.
The online-betting platform’s first campaign with newly minted agency partner John St features a supporter switching allegiances and swapping jerseys depending on how real-time NHL results are affecting his performance in the Sports Interaction app.
“For Canadian hockey fans, loyalty is everything,” says Krystle Mullin, CCO of John St. “But betting reveals a hidden truth. The vast majority of fans aren’t betting on their home teams.”
More than 85% of NHL bets placed through Sports Interaction in Ontario last season weren’t for Toronto or Ottawa, a commonplace behaviour that is overlooked in the category, Mullin says.
“We see it as a fresh take on modern fandom that will really break through.”
Michael Zitney, director of brand and content for parent company Entain, says Sports Interaction differentiates itself by leaning into a challenger approach and showing it’s not afraid to take a shots at the competition while being somewhat self-deprecating.
“After all, it’s sports and so it should be fun or funny,” Zitney says. “This year we took fun and humorous one step further and incorporated our product into the creative while leaning into Canadiana.”
It’s an approach the company leaned on in last year’s “You Don’t Know Jack” campaign that chided American fans about their hockey knowledge.
“We established a Canadian ‘seal’ which we have been attaching to all creative, reinforcing our positioning as ‘Canada’s Homegrown Sportsbook,'” Zitney says. “It’s clear being Canadian and spending local is more important than ever right now based on the political climate. So being that we are one of only a few Canadian brands, continuing a lot of the same language from last year’s campaign was important to us.”
The “Bad Fan” campaign was created through a strategic partnership with the NHL. Its broadcast, social and digital assets were timed to coincide with the beginning of the NHL playoffs last week.
