The NHL has signed its first home and auto insurance partner, with Sonnet inking a multi-year agreement with the league.

The online insurance company, which officially launched in September, has built sponsorships into its go-to-market strategy. During its soft-launch this spring it sponsored the Toronto Blue Jays, and has since signed with events like Osheaga and the World Cup of Hockey.

The deal with the NHL will include a presence at the Scotiabank NHL Centennial Classic, hosting the Sonnet MVP Lounge outside of Toronto’s BMO Field before the game. The fan-focused activation will be part of pre-game activities on Jan. 1, 2017, and will include opportunities to create personalized live action digital hockey cards. Sonnet will also be visible with on-site branding at centrepiece and on the dashboards.

John Rocco, VP of marketing at Sonnet, said that the NHL partnership is a natural fit for Sonnet, because the brand’s campaign theme of optimism pairs well with sports and hockey.

“There’s nothing more inherently optimistic than a hockey fan,” he said.

In addition to activations at the Scotiabank NHL Centennial Classic, Sonnet will be creating a “Reasons for Optimism” segment during Saturday night NHL games on Sportsnet. The segment will include hockey fans talking about why they like their favourite teams.

OMD does media for Sonnet, with Carrot on social, Johannes Leonardo on creative and Toronto’s Community working on activations and experiential.

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