Expedia.ca has teamed with the Toronto Blue Jays on a campaign that stars the baseball team’s mascot Ace.
The travel site has released eight videos that show Ace in travel scenarios, from crossing the border to receiving a hotel wake up call. All creative is by Grip Ltd.
Expedia.ca has been a sponsor of the Toronto Blue Jays for six years, but in previous seasons it focused on in-stadium signage and experiential during games. This year, the company decided to build on the foundation with mass advertising to take the sponsorship to the next level, according to Jennifer Callegaro, director of brand marketing at Expedia.ca.
Callegaro said the baseball season aligns perfectly with the high season for Canadian travel to the U.S., where the Blue Jays play regularly in Expedia.ca’s top destinations. Using the umbrella concept “Take your passion with you,” the company’s promoting air and hotel packages by suggesting Jays fans follow the team on the road.
In the past, Expedia.ca has used the same concept to promote travel around the Toronto FC and the Montreal Canadiens.
With the Blue Jays, the sponsorship also came with a major marketing asset Expedia.ca could take advantage of – Ace.
Given the lengthy baseball season, Expedia.ca elected to shoot a series of spots with the mascot instead of a single piece of creative in order to keep the campaign fresh for the whole summer and prepare itself to run the campaign again for the 2016 season, if successful.
“Tying Ace to our creative made a lot of sense,” Callegaro said. “He’s obviously a staple with the Blue Jays – he’s recognizable with younger fans, older fans, hardcore fans, even light fans. Everyone knows he’s representative of the Blue Jays.”
The lighthearted mascot also fits well with Expedia.ca’s identity, she said.
“He’s on brand for Expedia.ca. He’s friendly, approachable and has a sense of humour. That’s very much who Expedia.ca is as well.”
The campaign launched at the start of baseball season, with a ramped up buy on specialty TV channels in the Greater Toronto Area to increase awareness during the team’s home opener.
Moving forward, the spots will air nationally during all Toronto Blue Jays games, with the spots rotating based on which perform well on social media.
The media buy, handled by Mediacom, also includes pre-roll on baseball-related content on Sportsnet and YouTube and paid social targeting consumers with an interest in sports and travel.
