Smirnoff Ice took hockey to new heights in Toronto last week, for the kick off of the new NHL season.
As the “official cooler” of the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Diageo Canada brand wanted to “show people hockey as they’ve never seen it play before,” said Ruairi Twomey, marketing director for Smirnoff Ice.
Smirnoff erected a hockey rink replica and vertically suspended it 10-storeys in the air above Yonge-Dundas Square, while the stunt duo Team Ryouko defied gravity and played a little one-on-one.
“What we really wanted to do was not be corporate,” said Twomey. “We really wanted to go and create a fan experience they’d remember.”
Hockey fans had the opportunity to compete in a Smirnoff Ice skills competition for the chance to compete for a pair of tickets to the 2009/2010 Toronto Maple Leafs season in the Smirnoff Ice Box at the Air Canada Centre. Participants were given five chances to score three pucks. The 18 qualifiers will go puck-to-puck for the tickets at centre ice during regular home games starting next week.
The evening continued with an outdoor, big-screen broadcast of the NHL season kick-off between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Detroit Red Wings.
Smirnoff promoted the event with radio ads and through LeafsTV and Maple Leafs Sport & Entertainment’s communication channels, said Twomey.
High Road Communications was responsible for the event concept and delivery, while The Marketing Store developed event creative and graphic materials.
