Budweiser asked ourselves, as the biggest hockey fans, what could we do to make the game even better for fans? We could make the goal celebrations even bigger. We set out to own and elevate hockey’s most electrifying and celebrated moment, the goal. Budweiser was going to take that feeling and share it with the entire country.

By adopting the most iconic symbol for goals and celebration, the red goal light, as our inspiration, “Light Up the Nation” became the first ever hockey goal-synced beer campaign.

Budweiser armed the country with a powerful set of integrated tools to celebrate hockey goals, with our brand and product at the heart. Every piece of communication in our arsenal was used to make goal celebrations even bigger. Light up the Nation literally connected the Budweiser brand with the best moment in hockey.

First, we introduced a 25-foot, fully functioning goal light set to light up every time Canada scored. We embarked on an arduous two-month journey to the top of the world in the deep Canadian arctic where the light would literally and figuratively light up the nation with each Canadian goal

Next, we introduced goal-synced beer glasses that connected to the Red Light app to light up every time a goal was scored. We gave away these beer glasses for free inside of every case of Budweiser sold. Before the first game was even played, we had over 500,000 glasses in the hands of fans ready to celebrate.

Lastly, once the games began, we extended the idea by goal syncing everything else—phones and social feeds, billboards, retail displays. With Budweiser’s help, from the first puck drop, every goal Canada scored became a massive celebratory chain reaction with Budweiser at the heart of

Demand

In three weeks we had over 500,000 Goal-Synced Glasses activated in the market, which trended the Red Light app to the top spot on the Apple Store. Glasses began appearing on eBay for upwards of $100, a 95% price increase from Budweiser’s cost to manufacture them.

KPIs:

Objective: Statistical increase Past 4 week consumption and Top 3 Favorite brands vs. YAGO

Result: Delivered statistical significant P4W growth (+2.2pts. vs. LY). Delivered statistical significant T3F growth (+0.9pts. vs. LY)

Objective: Grow market share – promo period vs. YAGO

Result: Grew share of segment (+0.28 pts. vs. LY) at expense of key competitors

Objective: Highest-ever PR impressions for a Budweiser hockey campaign

Result: This campaign drove outstanding 95MM impressions (in a country with a 36MM population), successfully making this the highest ever-earned reach for a Budweiser hockey campaign