A new video from Schneiders has hit it out of the park.
The Maple Leaf Foods-owned brand released “A Taste of the Big Leagues,” which tells the story of how Schneiders, in partnership with the Toronto Blue Jays, surprised two little league baseball teams with a big league experience. Just a week after being released, the video, which was created by TraffikGroup, has more than 1.1 million views.
The experience for two Toronto-area teams – the Scarborough Stingers and the North York Blues – included the Blue Jays mascot, play-by-play announcers, a film crew, the national anthem and scores of fans at a local ballpark. Schneiders, which is in its second year of a partnership with the Toronto Blue Jays, also gave out free hot dogs and sausages.
“We looked at it as a really interesting, unique opportunity to have a one-on-one connection with our consumers and being able to capture that and share it with a wider audience,” said Barry Alexander, senior marketing manger at Maple Leaf Foods. “They get to have an experience with the brand and take home a story versus just our brand messaging.”
On Aug. 10, the two little league teams were invited to attend a Blue Jays game against the Detroit Tigers at the Rogers Centre. The “Taste of the Big Leagues” video was played on the main videoboard and the little league players participated in the national anthem during the pre-game ceremonies.
“The reaction in the stadium was fantastic,” said Alexander. “We’ve been really happy with the results [of the campaign] and how people have taken to the content and shared it, and how they’ve been affected by it.”
Branded content spots that are heart-warming and have an element of surprise (like this and this) seem to be the formula for viral success of late.
“I think we’re going to see more it because it really does bring to life, in a unique and personal way, how the brand wants to connect with consumers,” said Alexander. “I think a lot of people are gravitating to that.”
