2020 Winner

CASE SUMMARY

Challenges and Goals:
In 2019, the Toronto Raptors were entering the NBA Playoffs with momentum. With a bolstered roster featuring one of the best players in the NBA, Kawhi Leonard, fans had reason to be excited. That said, Raptors Republic, a Toronto-based fan blog, didn’t yet have the audience to play a significant role in the conversation, facing tough competition from larger, conventional media outlets.

The blog saw an opportunity to position Raptors Republic at the heart of fan culture in Toronto while also helping to position the city as legitimate, top-tier sports city, filled with fans of a world class team – recognition that Toronto has struggled to achieve in the past.

Insights and Strategy
Surrounding this momentous playoff season was the looming discussion about whether or not Leonard would stay beyond this season. It was this uncertainty that provided a role for Raptors Republic to give Toronto fans, via their favourite restaurants, a pulpit to express their support in a unique way.

From that came Ka’Wine and Eine: an initiative where restaurants placed a badge in their windows, pledging to give Leonard free food for life if he re-signed to the Toronto Raptors. The campaign leveraged Instagram as a central hub for awareness and promotion, and also included KawineAndDine.com where businesses could download and print the stickers for free.

Execution
Just days after its launch, this fan-driven campaign exploded. In less than one week, Instagram followers were in the thousands. In less than two weeks, nearly 500 businesses had made the Ka’Wine and Dine pledge, expanding beyond the restaurant realm. The initiative was endorsed and shared by the Mayor of Toronto, and subsequently several other municipal and provincial politicians across Ontario, and ultimately Canada. Badges were spotted as far away as Shanghai. To keep up with this demand, additional badges were created to include shops, car share services and charities.

The success of Ka’Wine and Dine was attributed in large part to the nimble approach taken with social media, focusing on Instagram in particular. Constant social engagement to feature tagged posts and Stories added further encouragement to fans to acquire the badge and display their commitment online, using #kawineanddine.

Results
Ultimately, Ka’Wine and Dine was a huge success for the fans of Toronto, the venues that supported it and Raptors Republic. The campaign was reported in the media for 54 consecutive days, including TNT, ABC, ESPN, TSN and more. Instagram fan sites like BleacherReport (a CNN partner with 10.5 millions followers) covered it, as well as fan favourite House of Highlights (13.6 million followers). The BBC called it one of the top five stories for the entire playoffs this year. Impressions went well into the seven figures. Raptors Republic gained credibility, with retired basketball players and current commentators like Jalen Rose and Charles Barkely praising the initiative on their broadcasts. They saw website traffic grow 959% during the campaign, and their Instagram account, a primary conduit to their fans, was able to reach over 70 million accounts organically.

Credits

Executive Creative Director: Aaron Starkman, Christina Yu
Creative Director: Mike Dubrick, Joel Holtby
Art Director: Joel Holtby
Writer: Mike Dubrick
Designer: Joel Holtby, Jake Lim
Developer: Brad Stapleton
Strategy: Sean McDonald
Producer: Wes Schyngera, Narine Artnian, Erica Metcalfe
Account Manager: Scott Lyons, Sara Lemmermeyer, Rob Jankowski
Illustrator: Brandon Methner