Amplifying Community Celebrations Through Social

Social Media Strategy

Community Activation

Content Capture & Deployment

A professional hockey player kneels on the ice next to a smiling young fan holding a signed jersey, with a crowd in the background. The promotional banner at the bottom reads “Nominate Your Community Today” for Kraft Hockeyville. The Instagram handle @krafthockeyvillecan is shown at the top of the screen.

Amplifying Community Celebrations Through Social

Social Media Strategy

Community Activation

Content Capture & Deployment

300k+

organic impressions

300k+

organic impressions

300k+

organic impressions

60k+

organic video views

60k+

organic video views

60k+

organic video views

Engagement

rate exceeded all brand benchmarks

Engagement

rate exceeded all brand benchmarks

Engagement

rate exceeded all brand benchmarks

increase in community-tagged posts during celebration weekends

The Opportunity

Kraft Hockeyville is more than a sponsorship—it’s a celebration of community spirit and Canadian hockey culture. Each year, two winning communities are awarded an NHL pre-season game and arena upgrades, but the opportunity went beyond that: how do you amplify grassroots energy into national brand momentum? Fuel Media partnered with SDI to create and execute a real-time social strategy that turned local celebrations into national stories—driving engagement, visibility, and emotional resonance through owned content and community voices.

A young fan in a wheelchair poses on the ice with a smiling Florida Panthers hockey player, who is holding up a red “Hockeyville 22” jersey signed by the team. Other players in red jerseys are gathered in the background as a crowd watches from the stands.

Strategy

Our approach was designed around live storytelling—balancing pre-planned content pillars with flexible frameworks to react to moments as they unfolded. Key strategic pillars:

01

Maximize organic reach

through hyper-local and emotionally charged content

01

Maximize organic reach

through hyper-local and emotionally charged content

01

Maximize organic reach

through hyper-local and emotionally charged content

02

Empower community members

to participate, share, and engage

02

Empower community members

to participate, share, and engage

02

Empower community members

to participate, share, and engage

03

Capture and post in real time

to sustain momentum and celebrate authentic fan moments

03

Capture and post in real time

to sustain momentum and celebrate authentic fan moments

03

Capture and post in real time

to sustain momentum and celebrate authentic fan moments

03

Create a social system that works

with limited on-the-ground resources

03

Create a social system that works

with limited on-the-ground resources

03

Create a social system that works

with limited on-the-ground resources

The celebrations may have been local, but the storytelling needed to scale nationally.

Execution

We activated real-time content capture and social deployment to transform two local events into nationally visible moments—balancing speed, scale, and authentic community storytelling.

Core feature highlights:

Embedded agile content teams on-site to capture and post photo/video in real time.

Created pre-approved frameworks for lightning-fast story, reel, and post deployment.

Integrated NHL stars and grassroots voices to heighten emotional resonance.

Deployed modular templates for social posts optimized by platform and content type.

Coordinated mobile-first workflows to review, approve, and publish content within minutes.

Execution

We activated real-time content capture and social deployment to transform two local events into nationally visible moments—balancing speed, scale, and authentic community storytelling.

Core feature highlights:

Embedded agile content teams on-site to capture and post photo/video in real time.

Created pre-approved frameworks for lightning-fast story, reel, and post deployment.

Integrated NHL stars and grassroots voices to heighten emotional resonance.

Deployed modular templates for social posts optimized by platform and content type.

Coordinated mobile-first workflows to review, approve, and publish content within minutes.

Execution

We activated real-time content capture and social deployment to transform two local events into nationally visible moments—balancing speed, scale, and authentic community storytelling.

Core feature highlights:

Embedded agile content teams on-site to capture and post photo/video in real time.

Created pre-approved frameworks for lightning-fast story, reel, and post deployment.

Integrated NHL stars and grassroots voices to heighten emotional resonance.

Deployed modular templates for social posts optimized by platform and content type.

Coordinated mobile-first workflows to review, approve, and publish content within minutes.

A Toronto Maple Leafs player, wearing jersey number 11, kneels and smiles next to a group of young fans behind a barrier. One child holds a handmade sign that says, “DOMI Will you sign my book?” Many fans wear Maple Leafs jerseys and winter hats.

Insights & Evolution

The Kraft Hockeyville campaign proved that real-time social doesn’t have to mean chaotic. With the right prep, creative systems, and mobile-ready workflows, a small team can generate big emotional impact and national visibility—even from the smallest towns.

Explore the live experience on Kraft Hockeyville’s socials