Budweiser Canada has introduced a new social media “think tank” in an effort to add to its extensive goal-related innovations, which include the Budweiser Red Lights, light-up hockey helmets and a zeppelin-sized goal light.
Developed in association with agency partner Anomaly, the Budweiser Goal Lab is asking consumers to vote on “experimental innovations” designed to maximize NHL goals and the celebrations around them.
“We’ve been on a journey around making the best part of hockey, the goals, better,” said Andrew Oosterhuis, marketing director for Budweiser in Toronto. “When we looked at it, we noticed that we’ve done a lot that’s innovative within hockey, and we wanted to bring that entrepreneurial spirit into a new content factory.”
In addition to the hugely successful Budweiser Red Lights (75,000 sold, and a recent expansion into the U.S.), the beer brand recently introduced the $499 Bud-e Fridge, which keeps track of how many beers are in the fridge, and features a game-synced goal horn that sounds whenever the owner’s NHL team scores a goal.
This week, Budweiser Canada’s Twitter feed promoted a new product called The Budweiser Ice Hockey Table, a tabletop game that replaces the traditional plastic playing surface with an actual slab of ice (“because air has no place in hockey”).
While there are no plans to make the table available to the public, TVA Sports personality Dave Morissette demonstrated a prototype version in the Quebec market, and Oosterhuis said it would be used as an experiential marketing tool. “It’s not cheap, but it’s awesome,” he said. “It’s a higher level of hockey.”
The tabletop game was one of several ideas presented to fans via social media, inviting them to vote for their favourite product. “We’ll continue to bring [products] to life tangibly, based on the ones that get the best engagement,” said Oosterhuis.
The company has created an official Goal Lab testing facility in Guelph where consumers are invited to test product prototypes. Oosterhuis said the objective is to create one prototype product each month.
The social media initiative is being complemented by an on-air integration with the Sportsnet program Tim & Sid. Hosts Tim Micallef and Sid Seixeiro travelled to the lab to shoot a segment that aired on Friday, while future segments will feature the two showcasing other Goal Lab prototypes
It is not the first time Budweiser parent Labatt has created a laboratory-like environment. During the 2000s, the Bud Light Institute was an incubator for fictitious products like a fake cup of steaming coffee that gave the illusion that it’s owner had just stepped away from his desk, and the empathy mask.
Oosterhuis said Labatt views the Goal Lab as a “long-term” social program. “When we think about ways to engage with consumers, you need ideas that drive action, reaction and conversation – which I think this does,” he said. “It allows us to really truly have a conversation with consumers. That is the strategic objective of a lot of brands, and we’ve landed on a platform that allows us to do that.”
