Kraft Canada is once again teaming up with the National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA), the NHL and its new media partner, Sportsnet, to boost their brands in small towns across Canada.
The Kraft Hockeyville program announced Wednesday it will contribute more than $3 million to hockey communities over the next three years, which includes more than $500,000 to fix up arenas.
The money goes towards supporting hockey in a total of 30 Canadian communities, including the winner of the annual Hockeyville competition held each year.
The latest agreement was announced hours before the puck was set to drop at the 2014 Hockeyville event in Sylvan Lake, Alberta – the winner of this year’s contest. The community, which sits about half way between Edmonton and Calgary, beat out 15 others for the right to host the pre-season game between the Calgary Flames and the Arizona Coyotes.
“Communities build hockey and hockey builds communities,” Jack Hewitt, Kraft Canada’s vice-president of consumer promotion and scale, said in a telephone interview from Sylvan Lake.
He said Kraft Hockeyville is a “significant” part of Kraft Canada’s marketing budget. The company helped launch the hockey program eight years ago, based on research showing the value families place on their local arenas across Canada.
“For moms, it’s an important piece of their lives,” Hewitt said. “Moms are looking for companies and brands that share similar values to them. Our belief is that by supporting hockey… we are aligning ourselves with those values.”
Kraft Hockeyville also helps invest in those venues. Communities nominate themselves for the contest each year, explaining why their arenas could use some upgrades, and the public votes online.
This year, there were 16 communities that made it to the final round. There were two finalists – one in Eastern Canada and one in Western Canada, which each received $100,000 in arena upgrades. The grand prizewinner, Sylvan Lake, was also awarded the NHL game. The second place finalists on both sides of the country each received $50,000 in upgrades, while the other six on both sides each got $25,000 for their rinks.
Next year’s program will be different, according to a Kraft Hockeyville spokesperson. Details are still being hammered out.
More than 40 Canadian communities have received more than $1.6 million in funding for arena improvements since Kraft Hockeyville started in 2006.
“The entire National Hockey League community, on and off the ice, understands the importance of local community arenas,” John Collins, the NHL’s chief operating officer said in a statement.
Kraft Hockeyville will be promoted during NHL game broadcasts on Sportsnet starting in 2015. Sportsnet is a division of Rogers Communication, which in November announced a 12-year broadcast and multimedia agreement including national rights to NHL games on all platforms in all languages starting with the 2014-15 season. (Marketing and MarketingMag.ca are owned by Rogers Publishing).
Details about Sportsnet’s media plan for Hockeyville are still being finalized, the company said Wednesday.
“Kraft Hockeyville has established an outstanding tradition of supporting grassroots hockey in Canada and making a difference in our communities,” said Scott Moore, president of Sportsnet and NHL at Rogers, in a statement. “We believe in growing the game across the country through local events and programs and are excited to partner on this terrific initiative.”
The Kraft Hockeyville media plan will include television and digital advertising, consumer promotions, in-store displays, and social media.
Pictured: Alan Dark, VP National Sales for Rogers Media; Jack Hewitt, VP of Consumer Promotions and Scale for Kraft Canada; Stephen Webb, Division Player Representative for the NHLPA; and Brian Jennings, NHL Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer stand outside Sylvan Lake, AB’s destroyed hockey arena.
