Not every fan will get to experience the feeling of being at a hockey game during the most competitive period of the NHL Season—the Stanley Cup playoffs. With everything costing more these days, playoff tickets just aren’t in the budget for most fans.
So, we set out to create a social activation that would give more at-home fans access to the NHL conference finals and the Stanley Cup. We wanted to tap into TikTok, where the true die-hard hockey fans go and have their favorite creators hype up the latest Verizon campaign aimed at giving unprecedented access to the one place every fan wants to be: the jumbotron.
95% of a NHL team’s fan base doesn’t attend any given home game, let alone a playoff game. Which isn’t a surprise, as everything costs more these days and ticket prices have become astronomical, meaning more and more fans can’t go.
And while watching from home is great for the commentary, you miss out on the in-stadium experience of being with your fellow fans, and doing crazy stuff like trying to get on the jumbotron.
How do we let fans share in the spotlight while giving them more access to games even if they’re stuck at home?
Introducing, Verizon Couch Cam.
A social activation that gave at-home Florida Panther hockey fans access to the quintessential in-stadium experience of being on the jumbotron, during their playoff run to the Stanley Cup.
The experience began on TikTok where we tapped HockeyTok creators trending with Panthers fans. From Miami Dolphins Cornerback, Jalen Ramsey to TikTok’s favorite GenZ sport commentators AskKait and Coach Jeremy they seeded the invitation to fans to make their own jumbotron hype videos. With our creators combined reach of over 7 million, it was no surprise that videos of fans at home on their couch, hyping up the Panthers, poured in.
Suddenly you didn’t have to be at the stadium to be on the jumbotron, and every day fans had their videos next to celebrities and A-listers who were live at the games.
For the first time ever Verizon, let fans at home lead the in-arena chants, and it paid off.
Not only did fans at home get to hype their team up to win the Stanley Cup, they used the power of the Verizon network to be a part of NHL history.
Couch Cam was a whole new way for Verizon to interact with customers and NHL fans during the Stanley Cup playoffs. This activation went beyond what would have been a typical static brand placement in the arena’s jumbotron and instead became a way to harness engagement that bridged both social and the play off games themselves.
One of Verizon’s larger brand goals in 2024 was to highlight how our brand brings you access and connectivity to what matters most to you. Couch Cam brought NHL fans closer to the action, impacting tens of thousands of fans that attended the playoffs and those that watched at home.
