Automaker KIA Canada has hooked up with CBC hockey mockumentary series The Tournament for its second season as fully-integrated marketing partners. And new this year, sandwich chain Subway has been added as secondary sponsor. Steven Pitkanen, customer marketing manager at the CBC says the partners are all working together to make an even bigger splash this year.

In January, the lead characters, ‘hockey dads’ Barry and Doug, (played by Alain Goulem and Christian Potenza) will be making appearances at various dealerships in the GTA. The two are also on tap to be at the KIA booth for the Toronto Auto Show in February. On the show, the characters are KIA dealership employees.

‘It works extremely well when an advertiser is a willing partner with the show beyond just product placement. We integrated the brand and the products into the story, with real characters, real Kia dealerships and real Kia products as a central part of the story. Co-op advertising as well as outreach components certainly help strengthen the brands’ positioning.’

And apparently, it also helps sales. ‘It was a record day in sales for the KIA dealership in Guelph last winter when we first did this,’ says Pitkanen of past guest appearances.

To promo the sponsorship, a five-week, national contest beginning January 3 invites viewers to tune into the show and then log on to cbc.ca/television for a chance to win a KIA Killer Sports Weekend with Doug Gilmour. Subway will be providing secondary prizing by way of a Subway hockey party at winners’ homes.

The deal also has the KIA and Subway brands integrated into The Tournament’s story lines, in the script and on-location rinkboards.

Deals were brokered by Zenith OptiMedia (for KIA) and The Media Company (for Subway).