Presented this week in Toronto, the Kraft Hockeyville series, broadcast on CBC last year, won the Best of Show plus a Gold Award in the Sports category at the Sponsorship Marketing Council of Canada’s third annual conference.

The series was a hit, attracting 2.2 million viewers and driving a 15% increase in Kraft’s total market consumption. Marketing campaign components included a dedicated website, in-store promotions, newspaper and magazine advertising, public relations, radio updates and community events. Starcom Mediavest handled media planning on behalf of Kraft, and Initiative Media did likewise for co-sponsor Home Depot. Other partners were the CBC, the NHL, the NHL Players’ Association and Reebok/CCM. The winning community of Salmon River, Nova Scotia, won a prize package that included bragging rights as Canada’s most hockey-mad community.

A complete list of award winners may be viewed at: www.sponsorshipmarketing.ca.