The Montreal Canadiens have drafted actor Jay Baruchel for a YouTube campaign promoting the launch of its global fan program called “Club 1909.”
The loyalty sports program was two years in the making and serves as a way for the team to connect with the roughly 10 million fans it’s estimated to have beyond Canada’s borders.
“It’s a push to really globalize our brand,” said Montreal Canadiens vice-president of marketing Dino Di Pancrazio. “If you watch any Canadiens game on the road, when you look into the crowd, you’ll always see a great number of Canadiens fans. How do we talk to those fans? How do we engage with those fans?”
A starter digital membership with Club 1909 is free, and allows members to collect points each time they complete various activities: tweeting about the team, buying team merchandise or even watching a game — special codes will be shown during broadcasts.
A one-time fee of $29.99, however, will get fans a premium membership that allows them to earn double the points. With their points, members will be able to buy merchandise, but they’ll also be able to bid on game-worn gloves or a bottle-opener made from a game-used hockey stick. They’ll also be able to bid on what the team calls “money-can’t-buy” experiences, like meeting the team.
Di Pancrazio, who spent over eight years working with Loyalty One, hopes to build a membership of one million over the next three years.
To generate buzz about the club, the team released a series of YouTube videos starring Baruchel (Million Dollar Baby, Tropic Thunder), a Montreal native and die-hard Habs fan. In the video series Baruchel demonstrates his undying affection for the team by offering unsolicited nutrition advice to Habs’ forward Max Pacioretty. In a second video Baruchel watches goaltender Carey Price as he sleeps.
Rooster in New York City created the videos.
