Kraft Hockeyville is back in the winner’s circle after the 2009 edition of the sponsorship program took Best of Show, as well as two Gold Awards, at the 6th annual Sponsorship Marketing Awards (SMAs). The SMAs, presented today at the Sponsorship Marketing Council of Canada’s annual conference in Toronto, recognize companies that have maximized their investments in sponsorship marketing by developing innovative strategies that drive business results.
It is a repeat win for the Kraft Hockeyville franchise - an earlier edition was named Best of Show in 2007. Other multiple winners at this year’s show were TD Canada Trust and PepsiCo Beverages Canada, which each won a Gold Award and an Award of Distinction.
“We received a record number of SMA entries from across Canada, making this our most competitive year ever.” Said Dana Gladstone, Vice President, Group Account Director with MacLaren Momentum, and this year’s Chair of Judging. “To stand out, entrants really had to present a clear and convincing case demonstrating a direct match between stated objectives and outcomes.”
In total, Gold Award and Award of Distinction winners were announced in six categories. Following is the
complete list of winners:
Best of Show
- Kraft Hockeyville 2009
Media Sponsorship
- Gold Award: TD Canada Trust First-Timer Mondays on HGTV
- Award of Distinction: Get Comfortable with TD Canada Trust on CBC TV
Sports
- Gold Award: Pepsi/Hockey Canada “Join the Cheer” Program
- Gold Award: Kraft Hockeyville 2009
- Award of Distinction: The Pepsi Max Grey Cup Halftime Show “Name Your Playlist”
Special Interest
- Gold Award: Rowenta Sponsorship of LG Fashion Week Beauty by L’Oréal
Arts & Entertainment
Marilyn Michener Excellence in Arts & Entertainment Award (Gold Award): LOLA [London Ontario Live Arts] Festival 2009
Cause
- Gold Award: Becel Love Your Heart Benefit Concert
- Award of Distinction: The RONA - Vancouver 2010 Fabrication Shop
Sustained Success (for programs of three or more consecutive years’ duration)
- Gold Award: Kraft Hockeyville 2009
- Award of Distinction: The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run for the Cure
Videos of the winning entries will be posted on the SMCC’s website (sponsorshipmarketing.ca).
KRAFT HOCKEYVILLE 2009: BEST OF SHOW
The success of Kraft Hockeyville rests on an ability to strike a deep chord with Canadians, all the while keeping the concept fresh and delivering great results over four years. The program launched in 2006 as a grassroots competition to find the place where hockey lives in Canada, bringing together Kraft Canada, the CBC, the NHL and the NHL Players Association.
As title sponsor, Kraft’s objectives are to increase brand loyalty, showcase community responsibility and create retail
excitement that drives sales. This was achieved through an unprecedented association with Hockey Night in Canada, along with dramatic in-store and community effort - for example, bringing some of the world’s best hockey players to local arenas.
To enter, people have to submit a 500-word essay plus photos in favour of their community. Salmon River, Nova Scotia (2006); North Bay, Ontario (2007); Roberval, Quebec (2008); and Terrace, British Columbia (2009) has each claimed the Kraft Hockeyville title.
Over the life of the program, Hockeyville has gone from strength to strength, with a 360° integration that engages consumers, customers and communities, and amplifies Kraft’s brands to deliver superior business results year after year.
Kraft Hockeyville 2009 attracted 7,183 entries and 481 community profiles. The final ballot beat all previous records, with 9.3 million votes cast. Other impact has been just as impressive:
- Each year the program has delivered 100% customer acceptance at the retail level.
- Kraft Hockeyville continues to be the number one CBC show website each year.
- TV audiences continue to grow.
- PR coverage is now at 330 million media impressions, close to triple the previous record.
- For the 2009 in-store period, the program outpaced total market base consumption by 4.4%.
Kraft Hockeyville has set the standard for not only Kraft promotions, but best-in-class promotions in Canada.
2010 JUDGING PANEL
In addition to Dana Gladstone as Chair, the other members of this year’s judging panel were:
- Chantal Gilbert, Communication Planning Strategist, Carat
- Pascale Grignon, Group Director - Planning, Fusion Alliance Marketing
- Jack Hewitt, Vice President, Marketing Services, Kraft Canada
- Dale Hooper, Vice President, Marketing, PepsiCo Beverages Canada
- Peter King, Senior Director, Sponsorship and Events, Rogers Communications
- Ian Malcolm, President, Desperado Marketing
- Jamie Michaels, Director of Marketing, CBC Media Sales & Marketing
- Dan Thompson, President, Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities
- Laurel Walzak, Director, Integrated Sales & Partnership Marketing, NHL Enterprises
The judging panel was selected to be representative of the sponsor, sponsee, media and agency sectors. Judges are not permitted to vote for entries where there are conflicts of interest.
EVENT SPONSORS
Event sponsors were the CBC, strategy and Media in Canada (presenting); The Marketing Store (communications); Molson Coors Canada (reception); adbeast (SMA online entry system); Sponsorium International (contributing); and the Association of Canadian Advertisers (founding).
Formed in 2004 under the auspices of the ACA, the Sponsorship Marketing Council of Canada was created to advance the development of best practices and accountabilities in the field of sponsorship marketing.
