Labatt leveraged its team partnerships with four NHL sides by linking with Snapchat to turn cases of beer into NHL arenas.
The activation mechanic invites consumers to scan the Snapcode on specially-marked packages with the Snapchat app (for iOS or Android) to unlock the bespoke branded lens. Using Snapchat’s bespoke marker tracking technology, the lens opens a virtual door on the beer packaging to reveal a digital replica of the NHL team’s home ice (for that market) and a virtual Jumbotron to appear in AR.
The virtual activation is limited to Snapchat users aged 21-and-over in the four markets where the beer has NHL team partnerships: Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers, Buffalo Sabres, and Detroit Red Wings.
According to Snapchat and to the brand (which is Canada’s largest brewer), tens of thousands of packages were distributed in those markets.
Supporting the central on-pack virtual initiative, Labatt Blue is also publishing ‘Selfie’ and ‘Gamified World’ lenses in those same markets with jerseys from the respective teams featured in the experience.
“This is an example of how forward-thinking brands have adapted to safely and creatively bring memorable experiences to consumers using AR on Snapchat,” said Snap Inc Creative Strategy Lead Matthew Shore. “What better way to ring in the new hockey season than with a never-before-seen transformation from a Labatt Blue pack to a hockey arena from the comfort of your living room?”
“Labatt and hockey go hand-in-hand and we know our fans right now are celebrating the return of hockey,” said Labatt Brand Manager Jaime Polisoto. “We are thrilled to partner with Snapchat and four professional teams on this brand-new AR experience, connecting Labatt fans to their favorite beer and their favorite game in an entirely new way.”
Comment:
This is yet another tech-supported, imaginative way for a sponsor to use a virtual approach to engage sports fans by connecting them to their team passion at a time when so many sports clubs cannot host fans at games.
Labatt Blue is as close as one can get to the national beer of Canada: so much so that the brand even includes a hockey page on the top navigation bar of its website. So reuniting hockey fans with the stadiums they are missing so much due to the pandemic’s restrictions in arena attendance certainly makes sense for the brand.
As does working with Snap. After all, a recent blog post from the mobile app itself reported that 70% of Snapchat users interact with the app while watching sports.
With seven out of 10 Snapchat users using the app while watching sports and more than 200 million users engaging with AR every day, sports-based AR activations like this enable brands to reach consumers where they are at home.
Marketers active in the Big Five US sports leagues seem to have taken this trend on board as in recent months we’ve seen Lenses from the NFL, NBA and MLB.
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