Mott’s Clamato has announced it is sponsoring Shaw Media’s Top Chef Canada for the third season of the cooking reality show, which kicked off last Monday on Food Network Canada.

The sponsorship marks the first for the brand around a Canadian TV show since it worked with the CBC’s Battle of the Blades in 2011, Jonathan Yeh, brand manager, Mott’s Clamato, tells MiC.

Yeh says the sponsorship, which includes product integration in the show’s Quickfire challenges, vignettes that will appear throughout the season and a Win Like a Top Chef Facebook promotion, was handled with media by Mindshare while PR and app development were handled by Veritas.

The Win Like a Top Chef promotion asks fans to vote for the chef they think will stay in the competition on the Mott’s Facebook Page, and if their chef survives elimination they will have the chance to receive prizes like Le Creuset cookware, Weber gas grills, GE appliances and cash.

Targeting Mott’s Clamato’s core demo of adults aged 25 to 40, the sponsorship represents about 30% of the brand’s total media spend for the year, says Yeh. It falls into the first of three distinct focus areas for the brand in 2013, the second being the summer months with a focus on music and its partnership with Live Nation and the last part of the year targeting hockey with sponsorships of four NHL clubs: the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, Calgary Flames and Winnipeg Jets.

“Individuals in our target demo consider themselves sociable, easy-going and open to a wide range of food and beverage experiences,” he says. “They really make choices based on great taste rather than high style. We really think a partnership with Top Chef Canada is a natural fit for the brand.”