In Canada, ice hockey is not only the most popular Winter Olympic sport, it is a national pastime that is part of the fabric of our culture. Tapping a hockey stick on the ice is a sign of respect, admiration and sportsmanship. Inspired by this symbolic gesture that aligned with our campaign values, we had the ambitious idea of extending tapping beyond the ice rink. How could we enable Canadians - from children to former Olympians - across the country, to tap in support of the 2018 Canadian Olympic Team.

We created the "Golden Stick", a custom crafted gold-plated hockey stick, equipped with a GPS tracker and an accelerometer designed to count the number of taps received. The innovative hockey stick was tapped across Canada in a unified demonstration of national pride, before being presented to Canadian Olympians in South Korea who embodied the values symbolized by the Golden Stick.

On February 1, just over a week prior to the Games, the Golden Stick was launched in Halifax, a city on Canada's east coast. Beloved Canadian Olympian, Adam van Koeverden, and local paraplegic athlete, Max Arsenault, launched the stick alongside proud participants at an outdoor rink. Local media was captivated. Several news outlets came out to cover the launch event and Max and Adam were invited to five morning TV and radio programs. Canadians everywhere followed the stick via a website and came out to show support.

This was replicated in seven markets across the country over an 18-day period, with growing excitement and anticipation as Canadians followed the stick's journey and tap count. Ultimately, the stick was delivered to Team Canada in PyeongChang where it was presented to Canadian Olympians who had demonstrated the core values of the campaign.

The Golden Stick exceeded our expectations against all objectives:

1. Drive a significant number of earned media impressions

a. 32 million earned media impressions with over 50 media outlets, regional and national, across the entire country

b. Earned coverage within CBC's national Olympic broadcast when the stick was presented in PyeongChang (886K impressions)

2. Increase key brand metrics of favourability and consideration

a. Among those who were aware of the stick, 59% stated that they feel more favourable toward Canadian Tire as a result and 42% stated that their consideration to visit Canadian Tire has increased.

b. Significantly increased key brand metric, "Canadian Tire believes in the power of play to bring Canadians together" (+7)

3. Drive engagement and participation with Canadians

a. The stick was tapped 57,406 times by Canadians in under 20 days

b. Facebook post engagement for the stick peaked at more than double the industry benchmark (48% vs 20%)

c. Social media posts that we shared achieved an average cost-per-view of $0.02 vs. planned $0.10,