2024 Winner

CASE SUMMARY

The NBA season happens to coincide with Canada’s most extreme winter weather. That said, Canadian basketball fans crave more places to play but face many obstacles when finding courts to play on, such as a lack of facilities and harsh Canadian winters. To engage Canadian basketball fans and break through in ways that official NBA sponsors weren’t, KFC brought bucket fans together in a way that only a brand with an authentic connection to buckets could. KFC hacked an “NBA Sponsorship” by resizing their iconic bucket to NBA regulation specifications. Next, KFC built the world’s first completely winterized, NBA-sized regulation court in an underused space in downtown Toronto.

The court was protected from the elements by the busiest elevated highway in Canada and custom-built tile-by-tile for sub-zero conditions. Materials were meticulously tested in rain, snow, and sleet with a no-slip finish for a uniquely Canadian context. Basketballs were heated for maximum bounce, despite freezing temperatures. And, KFC puffer jerseys were designed to keep players warm as they scored buckets in style.

The “KFCourt” launched during — you guessed it — a snowstorm, with media and influencers in attendance. It then opened to the public for a month of programming, including community events, rotating LiveNation DJs, KFC sampling, and a visit from the ‘Walking Bucket’ himself, NBA player Gary Trent Jr., along with basketball instructor to the stars, Lethal Shooter.

Thousands of Canadians came down to check out the “KFCourt” and an entire month’s worth of bookings sold out in 3 days. The “KFCourt” caught the attention of press worldwide and generated 867 media stories, totalling 295.3M impressions. The highly visual and Instagram-able nature of the court inspired guests to share this one-of-a-kind experience hundreds of times, reaching a total of 22.8M impressions.

The campaign successfully leveraged basketball in an innovative way to reach core NBA fans, even without a sponsorship. Net consideration increased 32%, net impressions increased by 51%, net satisfaction increased by 201%, and net buzz increased by a
total of 1300%.

They brought the local basketball community together to learn new skills, sample KFC, enjoy music, and engage in outdoor winter fun for an unforgettable experience, ultimately proving that nothing can stand between Canadians and their buckets.

Credits

Agency: Narrative/Bensimon Byrne
Chief Creative Officer (Bensimon Byrne): Joseph Bonnici
Executive Creative Director (Narrative): Jessie Sorell
Associate Creative Director (Narrative): Katherine Flores, Kyle Simons
Art Director (Narrative): Karen Ganeshwarran
Copywriter (Narrative): Rahman Sobrie
Senior Agency Producer (Bensimon Byrne): Katie Link
Managing Director (Narrative): Cathy Mitchell
Account Director (Narrative): Katie Mills
Vice President (Narrative): Lauren Baswick
Director, XM (Narrative): Melissa Da Costa
Senior Account Manager, XM (Narrative): Jaclyn Kirk
Project Manager (Narrative): Shireen Shah

Client: KFC Canada
Director, Marketing: Azim Akhtar
Social Media & Partnership Specialist: Salina Ratanji

Production Company: Tier Zero Inc.
Director: Charlie Lindsay, Due Pinlac
Director of Photography: Kris Belchevski
Line Producer: Trae Nguyen
Executive Producer: Julian Nieva
Food Stylist: Adele Shaw

Editorial Company: Button Factory
Editor: Tim Pienta
Executive Producer: Katie Link

VFX/Finishing/Colouring: Darling VFX
VXF Artist: Lauren Rempel
VFX Assistant: Faith Clark
VFX Producer: Morgan Campbell
Colourist: Kassi Bellamy
Assistant Colourist: Jesse Hilton
Colour Producer: Morgan Campbell

Music & Sound: Grayson Matthews
Music & Audio Creative Director: Tyson Kuteyi
Music & Audio Executive Producer: Kelly McCluskey
Sound Engineer: Brian Bernard

Media: Wavemaker