Tim Hortons also will host a hockey card trading event at Mosaic Stadium on SaturdayGETTY IMAGES
The NHL will hold its first outdoor game of the ’19-20 season when the Jets and Flames play each other in Regina, Saskatchewan, on Saturday as part of the Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic, and more than a dozen league partners will activate around the event. The RSN, which holds the league’s official coffee designation in Canada, will title sponsor its fourth game after first reaching an agreement in ‘10. Tim Hortons Canada Regional Marketing Lead Chris Wakefield said the brand views the Heritage Classic as a way to connect with Canadians at an event that “very much reflects the heritage of hockey” and takes them back to their roots of playing outdoors on a pond. “It’s been the premier hockey event on the Canadian calendar,” he said.
CARD SHARKS: Tim Hortons on Saturday morning will host a hockey card trading event at Mosaic Stadium, where the game is being played. It will be the largest card show the brand has held as part of a wider hockey card program across Canada. Fans can bring their own cards to trade while Tim Hortons will also supply some, too. A cross-section of nearly 300 people are scheduled to attend, such as local coaches, Timbits hockey players, staffers from restaurants, community members and surprise guests. The activation expands upon Tim Hortons providing fans an opportunity to create a custom Upper Deck hockey card at the last two Heritage Classics. The RSN’s footprint in Regina also will include two coffee trucks with Heritage Classic branding for both the Jets and Flames along with opportunities for fans to try Tim Hortons coffee, among other engagement opportunities.
JUMPING INTO ACTION: New NHL sponsors activating at this year’s Heritage Classic include Safeway, Nestle, Danone, Kruger Products, Pinty’s and Esso. The Heritage Classic is the first time Imperial Oil, which signed a multiyear sponsorship agreement with the NHL at the beginning of last year’s playoffs, will activate its Esso brand at a league event. NHL Group VP/Partnership Marketing Laurie Kepron said that as part of Esso’s integrated campaign, it is sending a hockey team from the small town of Rouleau, Saskatchewan, to Regina. Additionally, through Esso’s on-site presence, fans will be able to select hockey equipment from the different eras of the ‘30s, ‘60s, ‘80s, ‘00s and today and take home a photo through a hockey history photobooth.
NEUTRAL BUT NO PROBLEM: Putting the Heritage Classic at a neutral site did not impact or change how the league works with its partners, according to Kepron. She said that the Heritage Classic is a way for corporate partners to “showcase their brand outside some of the larger Canadian markets.”
