The second round of the National Hockey League’s Stanley Cup Playoffs is in full swing, as are several activations, social and otherwise, with partners in the U.S. and Canada.
The league detailed those activations in each country.
U.S.:
- Anheuser Busch: Bud Light, the league’s official beer in the U.S., is delivering beer in cities with teams competing for the Stanley Cup with its Bud Light Zamboni Machine.
- Apple: Its Shot on iPhone ad features Marc-Andre Fleury and Mark Stone of the Vegas Golden Knights.
- BetMGM: It debuted a first-of-its-kind live betting odds page on NHL.com and the NHL App.
- Dunkin’: Pasta and Kendall are “Talkin’ Hockey” with their Cold Brews in this video and this video.
- Enterprise: The NHL Hat Trick Challenge presented by Enterprise returns, and it can be downloaded via the iTunes App Store or Google Play.
- FanDuel: Every customer received an automatic deposit of $10 in their accounts to be used across its daily fantasy sports and Sportsbook offerings, and new NHL-themed spot Return to Play is running on NBC.
- Gatorade: Its #ReadyToPlay social posts show how NHL players trained to return to the ice.
- Geico: The Geico Cup Crazy trivia platform is back on the NHL’s Twitter account.
- Great Clips: The official hair salon of the NHL created a brand spot with players encouraging fans to wear masks.
- Honda: The automaker is backing the league’s 50/50 sweepstakes platform, which will benefit the Boys and Girls Clubs of America and Boys & Girls Clubs of Canada, as well as one lucky fan.
- Jägermeister: the official shot of the NHL is running two sweepstakes and new hockey-themed brand creative.
- MassMutual: The insurance company is looking for the NHL Most Valuable Hockey Family.
- Navy Federal Credit Union: The Stick Tap for Service program returns for the second year to recognize the outstanding community service of hockey fans and military members
- Pepsi: The Pepsi Zero Scores Sweepstakes reached millions of fans during the first 24 games of the Stanley Cup Qualifiers, and shutouts will continue to be celebrated by Pepsi Zero Sugar throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
- Roman: The men’s health brand showcased user-generated content from hockey fans at home for its Hockey Is Back ad, and it has corner in-ice positions throughout the postseason.
- SAP: The software giant’s 60-second spot highlights NHL stars’ transitions from home to the ice, including Brad Marchand, Tyler Seguin and Matthew Tkachuk.
- William Hill: The bookmaker will post infographics for all NHL postseason games on its U.S. Twitter account, including up-to-the-hour betting lines.
Canada:
- Budweiser: The beer brand debuted a 30-second brand spot, sponsored an opening night performance by The Arkells (along with Rogers) and ran point-of-consumption activations and a social campaign.
- Gatorade: The sports drink brand rolled out a 30-second spot featuring high-intensity at-home player workouts, and participants included Frederik Andersen of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Jonathan Drouin of the Montreal Canadiens, Quinn Hughes of the Vancouver Canucks, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins of the Edmonton Oilers and Ryan O’Reilly of the St. Louis Blues.
- Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes: The cereal brand teamed up with former NHL player Wendel Clark on its “Cereal Celly” TV spot, which also included digital, social and influencer marketing support.
- Kit Kat: The candy brand marked the release of Kit Kat Chunky in Canada with the “Kit Kat Big Breakaway” campaign, including a national TV spot featuring Brent Burns of the San Jose Sharks, as well as digital banners and an in-store content.
- Kraft: Over 3,800 stories were submitted and more than 500 arenas were nominated in the Kraft Hockevyille initiative, and Kraft Peanut Butter encouraged fans across Canada to cheer on their favorite teams from home, securing outdoor space in Toronto and Edmonton to promote the initiative.
- Little Caesars: The official pizza of the league is running spots with an NHL-branded end frame and has a corner in-ice ad position throughout the playoffs.
- Molson: The beer brand’s Happy Hockey Day campaign encouraged the spread of hockey cheer with a Christmas in July tone.
- Nutrl: The vodka beverage will promote round-by-round tune-in on its social accounts and offer fans the chance to win gift codes to the NHL Shop. It will also give away over 10,000 NHL-branded koozies.
- Pepsi: Pepsi and Lays created a fully integrated campaign encompassing broadcast, digital, in-store and experiential activations. Spots included Hockey’s Back, #ReadyForHockey and two user-generated spots: here and here.
- Pinty’s: The food chain will run an in-store program, amplified on its digital channels, giving fans the chance to win prizes including $500 gift cards to the NHL Shop.
- Rogers: The communications and media giant ran a social contest to welcome fans back, with one of them winning a jersey autographed by the Oilers’ Connor McDavid.
- Scotiabank: “Sounds of the Game” featured three 30-second TV spots, and the campaign will be extended across owned and paid social platforms, including a Game Bracket Challenge. Sounds of Hockey content on Instagram can be found here and here.
- Sobeys: The food retailer will feature city-inspired menu items for participating teams, such as Dallas Tex Mex Burritos vs. Calgary Fruit Pierogies and St. Louis Toasted Ravioli vs. Vancouver Tojo Sushi Rolls.
- Tim Hortons: Two coffee trucks in Toronto and one in Edmonton will serve all NHL players, club staff and league staff in the bubbles, and the donut chain is also running a contest in which fans pick three players they believe will score goals in that day’s games, as well as selling miniature versions of six NHL superstars’ hockey sticks in nearly 4,000 locations across Canada for $5.99 each.
https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/the-national-hockey-leagues-brand-partners-hit-the-ice-for-the-stanley-cup-playoffs/