Since 2018, IGA has been a big sponsor of the Canadian Tennis Open, a major tournament held in Montreal. As a leading food retailer in the province, IGA aimed to maximize their sponsorship. Despite notable efforts, by 2023, IGA struggled to solidify their identity as a recognized sponsor in the minds of Quebecers, with only a 49% association with the tournament, despite the marketing effort.

In this context, IGA sought to maintain current levels of visibility and engagement while increasing brand appreciation.

Then, the brand learned that Iga Swiatek, the #1 women’s tennis player in the world was coming to Montreal for the Canadian Open.

Without a budget to become an official sponsor of the world's number one player, IGA devised a plan. They distributed signs encouraging Canadian players during the tournament adorned with IGA's iconic colors and typography, to fans attending the Montreal matches, for free. The signs said: "Go Leylah Go," "Go Bianca Go," among others, and a few sneaky ones said: "Go IGA Go." Strategically placing "Iga Swiatek" among local heroes subtly blurred the lines between tennis prowess and the grocery store’s brand.

Deliberately opting for a subtle and local execution approach, IGA seamlessly integrated into the authentic atmosphere of on-site fans. The signs caught the attention of news outlets and soon, Iga Swiatek's fans began expressing interest in the signs. And then, Iga herself requested one of them on Twitter.

Recognizing tennis fans' unwavering support for their favorite players, IGA identified an opportunity with the presence of Iga Swiatek, the world's number one woman tennis player at the Canadian Open. Despite lacking the financial resources for a formal endorsement, IGA capitalized on the shared name. The strategy involved connecting fans with Iga Swiatek, allowing them to support her during matches but also, supporting the brand without knowing it.

Fan reaction online created a big buzz that lead to Iga Swiatek herself requesting one of the signs on Twitter.

The idea had to be simple and quickly executed. First we learned that Iga Swiatek was coming to Montreal at the beginning of july. Then we created a hundred signs for $500 and placed them at the entrance of the stands. Fans picked them up, all on their own, and brought them up to the stands.

We used the brand logo to create a custom font. This way IGA was able to sneak their logo into the stands with the fans.

Fans went crazy. Even more so when Sportsnet and TVA Sports handed a sign to Swiatek in person, live on television, across more than 150 countries. Mentions of IGA increased by 3,000% during the tournament. Reaching 220M impressions organically.

Return on investment was up by 4000% from the previous year.