Chevrolet Hockey Helmet Program takes 'Best of Show' at the 2012 Sponsorship Marketing Awards
Toronto, April 3, 2012: General Motors of Canada took home the Best of Show trophy for its Chevrolet Hockey Helmet Program at the 8th 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.
Other big winners this year were Scotiabank, which took home three awards; and BMO, CIBC and Kraft Foods each winning two awards.
The Chevrolet Hockey Helmet Program takes aim at one of the key issues in sports today – the prevention of concussions and head injuries – by providing free helmets to 5-year-old hockey players. The program also picked up a Gold Award in the Sports category.
“This year’s SMA case entries were very impressive to say the least,” said Hari Sihvo, Director, Marketing Assets with Molson Coors Canada and Chair of Judging for the 2012 SMAs. “The bar continues to be raised each year, which is a credit to the Canadian sponsorship community. On behalf of the SMCC and the judging panel, I want to congratulate all who entered.”
In addition to the Best of Show, there were Gold Award and Award of Distinction winners announced in eight categories. Following are the titles of the winning entries:
Best of Show
- “Chevrolet Hockey Helmet Program”
Sports
- Gold Award: “Chevrolet Hockey Helmet Program”
- Award of Distinction: “BMO Team of the Week”
Arts & Entertainment
- Marilyn Michener Excellence in Arts & Entertainment Award (Gold Award): “CIBC IIFA Sponsorship”
- Award of Distinction: “Scotiabank Nuit Blanche”
Small Budget (less than $100,000 annually, including rights fees and activation)
- Gold Award: “Ready to Bet with Mise-o-jeu!”
- Award of Distinction: “TD Festival of South Asia”
Media Sponsorship (activation of sponsored programs experienced primarily via media such as broadcast, print, online, etc.)
- Gold Award: “Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada”
- Award of Distinction: “Kraft Celebration Tour”
Business-to-Business
- Award of Distinction: “IBM ‘Business 2 Business’ ”
Cause (not-for-profit programs)
- Gold Award: “Rickard’s is a Proud Partner of Movember Canada”
- Award of Distinction: “Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run for the Cure”
Special Interest (activation of sponsored programs created in areas other than Sports, Arts & Entertainment, or Cause)
- Gold Award: “BMO Calgary Stampede”
- Award of Distinction: “À Table avec Metro”
Sustained Success (three or more consecutive years’ duration)
- Gold Award: “Scotiabank Community Hockey Sponsorship Program”
- Award of Distinction: “Kraft Hockeyville”
Videos of the winning entries will be posted on the SMCC’s website (sponsorshipmarketing.ca).
CHEVROLET HOCKEY HELMET PROGRAM: BEST OF SHOW
The Chevrolet Hockey Helmet Program, part of the automaker's Safe & Fun hockey initiative, was launched in 2011 to offer 5-year-olds registered in a Canadian minor hockey association a free Bauer 2100 Youth Hockey Helmet.
To receive the helmet, parents registered online and were sent an e-mail directing them to a local Chevrolet dealership where they could pick up a Hockey Helmet Package. The package contained a voucher for a free helmet, courtesy of Chevrolet, from participating Forzani stores (Sport Chek, Sport Mart, Hockey Experts, Sport Experts and Intersport).
Multiple touch points were used to promote the program, including event activation, property leveraging, advertising, and grassroots and community outreach. Hockey legend Bobby Orr and women's hockey captain Cassie Campbell-Pascal were program ambassadors. All 418 Chevrolet dealerships across the country participated in the program.
A key business objective was to drive traffic to Chevrolet dealers. The target was set at 11,750 visits. As of the entry submission date, 13,861 visits had been recorded – 118% of the target.
Another goal was to generate leads equal to 50% of Hockey Canada's 2010/2011 5-year-old registration numbers. Within three weeks, the target was surpassed. As of January 25, 2012, registration hit 97.2% (22,900 registrations), surpassing the lead generation target by 90.
The Chevrolet Hockey Helmet Program not only allows Chevrolet to generate leads and reinforce brand values, but by reinforcing the importance of playing safely it has had a meaningful impact on the lives of Canadian families.
2012 JUDGING PANEL
In addition to Hari Sihvo as Judging Chair, the other judges of this year's awards program were:
- Sue Bundy, Director, Corporate Sponsorships and Marketing Alliances, BMO Financial Group
- Simon Cazelais, Director, Alliance Marketing, bleublancrouge
- Jeff Deline, Senior Director, Corporate Partnerships, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment
- George Dudas, Director, Marketing & Corporate Partnerships (Canada), National Football League
- Dana Gladstone, Associate Vice President, Sponsorship & Community Relations, Canadian Tire
- Nicolas Marullo, President and CEO, CINCO
- Tyler Mazereeuw, Director, Business Development, Canadian Football League
- Jason Quehl, Director of Marketing, Red Bull Canada
- Gavin Roth, Vice-President, Multiplatform Sales, Rogers Media
- Karim Salabi, Vice-President of marketing – Image & Sponsorships Marketing, RONA
- Patrick Taylor, Executive Producer and CEO, Toronto Downtown Jazz
- Laurel Walzak, Director, Integrated Sales & Partnership Marketing, National Hockey League
- Glenn Young, President and CEO, Liquid Nutrition Group
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: CBC, CINCO, Media in Canada, Partnership Group – Sponsorship Specialists, strategy (presenting); m marketing (communications); adbeast (SMA online entry process); Molson Coors (reception); fisheye corporation (social media); Frischkorn Audiovisual (A/V); SPONSORIUM (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.
Media contact:
Randy Scotland, Vice President, Communications, Assocation of Canadian Advertisers
(416) 964-1043 / rscotland@ACAweb.ca.
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