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Labatt has launched a contest campaign for its Budweiser brand that leverages the company’s sponsorship of the National Hockey League and coincides with the NHL playoffs.
Budweiser’s “Keys to the Cup” campaign offers consumers the chance to win a trip for four to the Stanley Cup finals later this spring. To do so, beer drinkers must collect Stanley Cup-shaped USB memory sticks available in cases of Budweiser.
Plugging the USB stick into a computer unlocks content related to one of 19 teams that have won the Stanley Cup in the past. The user is also directed to the Budweiser Facebook page, where they can enter the grand prize draw to be held May 16.
Consumers are automatically entered when they register with their first memory stick, and can earn additional entries for each of the 19 team-specific USB sticks they collect.
Lisa Kittelsen, assistant brand manager for Budweiser, said the objective of the campaign is to encourage trading of the USB sticks among hockey fans.
“What this drives is banter and fan-to-fan engagement,” said Kittelsen. “It allows consumers to talk amongst themselves to facilitate trading.”
Kittelsen said that the engagement value of a promotion that uses Facebook and memory sticks as its key pillars makes it more efficient than giveaways of items such as t-shirts and hats.
“If we look at the type of earned media we get through our fans on our Facebook page, it absolutely drives efficiencies,” said Kittelsen.
Kittelsen said Budweiser’s focus was on growing its Facebook fan base rather than using the contest to collect data about consumers.
“We’re moving away from the traditional, ‘give us your mailing address and phone number’ and moving toward, ‘like us on Facebook, become a fan and engage with us on a long-term basis.’”
“Keys to the Cup” launched in Ontario last week after debuting in several other provinces in March. To promote the contest, Labatt is airing five-, seven- and 10-second television spots developed by Toronto agency Grip Limited.
UM Media and Marketel handled the media buy for the campaign, which is running in both official languages. Edelman was responsible for public relations, including a media tour by hockey paraphernalia collector Scott Hicks.
