Brief: Blending the physical and digital inside the heart of Scotiabank arena in partnership between Frito-Lay Canada (Snack brand), Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE - a sports and entertainment company) and TikTok (the leading destination for short-from mobile video), we set out to win back multicultural next Gen Canadians who are ambivalent to live sport.

Primary Objectives:

To reach and engage new audiences: with a focus on Gen Z creator culture, the program will help MLSE and Frito-Lay reach younger and more diversified audiences with an anticipated follower increase through TikTok’s creator and host network.

Increase video views and followers: Bring a net new audience to tune into live segments, TikTok users will start to see more Leafs and Raptors videos, with an estimated increase of 5% overall in video views.

Drive consideration and purchase intent for Frito-Lay brands by unlocking new moments and connections to sport and culture.

The central role digital plays in our lives has accelerated cultural exchange globally, this has led to shorter cultural cycles and more diverse interests amongst Gen Z Canadians; as a result, live sport is being deprioritized.

Through a first-of-its-kind collaboration from a sports property, a media platform and a brand coming together, we united to eclipse traditional pre-game sports broadcasting to win back Gen Z multicultural Canadians.

MLSE expanded the appeal of Hockey and Basketball to new fans through their hosts and creators synonymous with sports culture, who pulled in new diverse audiences and expanded their followings. With TikTok we were able to leverage their platform and ability to build and reach communities to deliver a live, never done before pre-game experience across Canada to make it accessible to those that couldn’t attend personally.

We’ll bring the snacks – you bring the game.

Sports fandom has found a new home on TikTok. While games are happening on TV, the off-the-field conversations are playing out on TikTok, with enthusiasts capturing behind-the-scenes clips, athlete celebrations, sports history, and fan reactions. This was untapped and an opportunity to fuel exclusive partner content on team-owned channels for the run in to playoffs.

To amplify the action inside Scotiabank Arena and let Canada in, each Crunch Time episode created and highlighted a culturally relevant moment like South Asian Heritage or Black History Month, bringing diverse communities of sports fans to life with an experience that creates a synergy between Sports, Entertainment and Creator culture. Frito-Lay brought the snacks and had permission to explore the connection between their brands and Sports culture more deeply through strategically anchored creator moments as audiences across Canada sat down and tuned in together.

Between February 14th - April 3rd 2024, Crunch Time tapped into MLSE’s community of 12.5M Raptors and 14M Leafs fans and foundational influence on fan behaviour, Frito-Lay was able to harness the #1 influence of purchase consideration among Canadian sports fans. From Raptors x Ruffles on Caribbean Heritage night to Leafs x Havoc St Pat’s, Crunch Time brought viewers fresh game day content with creator highlights ranging from @Sophia beatboxing “Go Leafs Go”, The @thezletnis’ fit check and @Tasmin’s ASMR tutorial. The creators that participated in the Crunch Time activation grew their followings and felt a real-life impact as fans reached out to them to show how they were watching the series live on their phones in a “breaking the fourth wall moment”. As one of our hosts, Jaclyn Forbes*, described Crunch Time as an “anti-ad”, breaking through emerging sports fans’ feeds in an authentic way, nationwide across Canada.

Crunch Time covered twelve memorable games, presented by <25 creators and reached 90% of Gen Z Canadians, that saw the Leafs going through to playoffs in a blockbuster season. Five Frito-Lay brands were featured on Crunch Time as our creators dipped into Tostitos and sampled a new Canadian exclusive chip *Havoc in a run of themed nights that celebrated Pride, International Women’s Day, and Black Excellence, delivering 285m impressions nationwide.

We saw an overwhelmingly positive sentiment reflected in a +5% uplift in brand favourability for Frito-Lay. Crunch Time helped drive x27 growth in profile views for the Leafs, and x39 for the Raptors. Overall, there was a +64% average follower growth for MLSE.

And the bottom line? Of the five Frito-Lay brands featured, we saw uplifts in purchase intent across all of them (peaking at +7%) and a +3.9% increase in message association between Frito-Lay and “Sports Culture”.