The Kraft Heinz Company Enters a New Arena
The Kraft Heinz Company (www.kraftheinzcompany.com) is the third-largest food and beverage company in North America and the fifth-largest food and beverage company in the world, with eight $1 billion+ brands. When it took on its latest marketing campaign called Kraft Hockeyville USA (www.krafthockeyville.com), the company decided to tap into a segment of its audience with a common passion for hockey.
“Kraft Hockeyville is an institution in Canada, and with hockey growing at all levels we felt it was the right time to introduce this great program to the U.S. This program also offers an opportunity to leverage the diverse portfolio of Kraft brands to help unite hockey fans in their celebrations of the sport and their communities,” explains Julian Franklin, director of Consumer Relations, The Kraft Heinz Company.
Like a hockey game, Kraft Hockeyville USA has three periods. In the first period, communities across the country were encouraged to enter by sharing unique stories. Then, 10 community finalists were chosen for public voting. Finally, the winning community received the grand prize of hosting an NHL® Pre-Season game televised on NBCSN and receive $150,000 in arena upgrades from Kraft. The campaign also celebrates consumers’ excitement around iconic Kraft brands including A1, Bulls-Eye BBQ Sauce, Cracker Barrel, Kraft Mac & Cheese, and more. With HelloWorld (www.helloworld.com) as its agency of record for promotions, Kraft focused on TV, digital, social (Facebook and Twitter) and in-store marketing initiatives. The inaugural program has already demonstrated tremendous success, including:
Franklin closes, “The bonds families form through local and youth sports make our communities stronger. Many local rinks across the country are in need of upgrades. Kraft Hockeyville USA gives communities an opportunity to breathe new life into their rinks, keeping them open for many more years to come. Even more importantly, Kraft Hockeyville USA helps bring a renewed sense of pride to communities, allowing them to come together for a common goal and ignite their passion not just for hockey, but for their community.”
“Kraft Hockeyville is an institution in Canada, and with hockey growing at all levels we felt it was the right time to introduce this great program to the U.S. This program also offers an opportunity to leverage the diverse portfolio of Kraft brands to help unite hockey fans in their celebrations of the sport and their communities,” explains Julian Franklin, director of Consumer Relations, The Kraft Heinz Company.
Like a hockey game, Kraft Hockeyville USA has three periods. In the first period, communities across the country were encouraged to enter by sharing unique stories. Then, 10 community finalists were chosen for public voting. Finally, the winning community received the grand prize of hosting an NHL® Pre-Season game televised on NBCSN and receive $150,000 in arena upgrades from Kraft. The campaign also celebrates consumers’ excitement around iconic Kraft brands including A1, Bulls-Eye BBQ Sauce, Cracker Barrel, Kraft Mac & Cheese, and more. With HelloWorld (www.helloworld.com) as its agency of record for promotions, Kraft focused on TV, digital, social (Facebook and Twitter) and in-store marketing initiatives. The inaugural program has already demonstrated tremendous success, including:
- Over 1,300 communities entered, including over 18,000 supporting stories and entries from all 50 states.
- 67 percent of all rinks in the United States entered.
- 20.4 million votes submitted.
- Over 1.2 billion media impressions and counting.
Franklin closes, “The bonds families form through local and youth sports make our communities stronger. Many local rinks across the country are in need of upgrades. Kraft Hockeyville USA gives communities an opportunity to breathe new life into their rinks, keeping them open for many more years to come. Even more importantly, Kraft Hockeyville USA helps bring a renewed sense of pride to communities, allowing them to come together for a common goal and ignite their passion not just for hockey, but for their community.”