‘And the winner is…’ Canadian music fans were offered the chance to speak this phrase – out loud and under the spotlight – at the Juno Awards on April 6.

As the sponsor of the first-ever Juno Fan Choice Awards, Missisauga, Ont.-based Frito Lay sent 10 winners to Ottawa to view the event first-hand; the ‘Doritos Ultimate Fan’ was actually invited on-stage to do the honours.

While Doritos, a Frito Lay brand, has always been on the Canadian music scene – sponsoring events such as the MuchMusic Countdown – those past arrangements tended to be tactical, according to Dale Hooper, director of marketing for Frito Lay.

This partnership with the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences and CTV, which broadcasts the Junos, is more ‘strategic,’ he explains, suggesting it is a long-term commitment. ‘We’re looking for partners that enable our brands to be on an equal footing,’ he says, adding that Doritos used the program to help launch its new uniquely Canadian Ketchup flavour. ‘The objective was to find a property that we can build over the years.’

The promo kicked off Feb. 12, when the nominees were first announced. The fact that the shortlist contains a kaleidoscope of musical icons, including punk princess Avril Lavigne, rock group Nickelback, Quebec chanteuse Celine Dion, country crooner Shania Twain and jazz artist Diana Krall, is no coincidence. Hooper explains that a secondary goal was to expand Doritos’ target, which basically consists of teens. ‘Music can appeal to a broader group and yet still be very targeted. All the artists appear together [in advertising] so there’s [a choice] for everyone.’

The contest was promoted through on-pack and in-store advertising from Toronto-based agency Capital C, as well as online banners engineered by Bell Globemedia and TV advertising produced in-house at CTV. All creative featured the nominees and encouraged traffic to the Web site, junos.ctv.ca, where consumers could vote and enter into a random draw.

Hooper says interactivity was a key proponent to this initiative. ‘It was all about allowing consumers to engage in something that’s relevant to them,’ he says. ‘Doritos is all about fun, being hip, and delivering on a bold taste. The objective was to find ourselves a medium that fit and music is one that does.’

Although the number of votes wasn’t available at press time, Hooper says 100,000 Canadians were expected to participate. From a sales perspective, he adds, packages featuring the promotion were sold from stores ‘in half the time’ originally projected.

Darcy Taylor, president and CEO of Vancouver-based Masev Communications, a youth marketing firm, says the promo is consistent with Doritos’ music-focused initiatives. However, he believes this ‘one-size-fits-all’ strategy may alienate the core teen demo.

‘Trying to target a broader customer segmentation and still be relevant to youth is a challenge,’ he explains. ‘If the Doritos customer is an Avril Lavigne music lifestyle aspirer, it is the polar opposite of Celine… Instead of alienating [its] core customer, [Doritos should] drill deeper with them and focus on driving household vote and purchaser influence among youth.’

But Doritos was hoping its broader target would stock up on the snack for the Junos, which, like many awards shows, could translate into hours of viewing and munching. ‘Over 1.5 million people watched the Junos last year,’ says Hooper. ‘We want the Junos to become our Superbowl.’ And that could mean a real gorge-fest, since the Superbowl is treated as one of the ‘pig-out’ days of the year, right up there with Thanksgiving and Christmas.