Sporting equipment maker CCM Hockey has hired Cossette to sharpen its digital strategy and help it connect more closely with players and partners, particularly on mobile.
Cossette said the work includes a redesign of the iconic hockey brand’s new website and review of it global digital strategy.
The goal is to help CCM differentiate itself in the competitive sporting goods market and to become “more current and better for the consumer,” said Malik Yacoubi, vice-president, technology and mobile at Cossette in Montreal.
It’s Cossette’s first time working with the brand, also known as Reebok-CCM Hockey, the world’s largest designer, manufacturer and marketer of hockey equipment and apparel. Reebok-CCM Hockey, a division of the Adidas Group, is headquartered in Montreal and has operations in Canada, the United States and Europe.
It equips several professional hockey players, including superstars Sidney Crosby and John Tavares, and is the official outfitter of the the National Hockey League and the Canadian Hockey League.
Cossette said it would use its expertise in strategy, analysis, design, development and measurement to boost CCM’s brand on a global scale, with a focus on the growing mobile market.
“When we are looking at projects today we’re thinking mobile first. Definitely CCM will benefit from that,” said Yacoubi.
The work will be unique from other digital content Cossette has done with clients, especially given the hockey theme and the sport’s extremely loyal fan base.
“Hockey is one of those brands that people engage with quickly, and CCM is one of the biggest brands in the market, so that will be a differentiator,” said Yacoubi.
Marc-André Charron, global brand marketing director at CCM Hockey said the company was looking for an agency to bring the “latest and greatest” technology to engage consumers. That includes integration of content across social platforms and in the seven languages it now uses to reach consumers. He said the site would also be more intuitive and with a “mobile first” strategy, that fits with the brand.
“For us, it’s about innovation, technology, and performance. Product is king,” said Charron.
CCM wants to improve its digital offerings to help the company increase partnerships, both nationally and internationally, he said.
The new website is expected to go live later this year.
