Budweiser Canada launched its “Budweiser Red Light” in Canada in 2013, and is transitioning to include availability to the United States as well. Andrew Oosterhuis, Director of Marketing for Budweiser Canada, gave SportTechie insights into the Red Light and its launch in the United States.
The Budweiser Red Light is a WiFi-enabled device that syncs to a wireless network and is controlled by the Budweiser Red Light App. Once teams are selected through the app—options include all thirty NHL teams and the Toronto Blue Jays—whenever the selected teams score, it triggers a goal horn sound and the light flashes. Oosterhuis describes the device as the “ultimate in-home goal celebration.” The Red Light can be synced to as many teams as the fan desires, and selections can be altered at any time.
According to Oosterhuis, hockey is the “crashing point in Canada,” so Budweiser Canada was “looking to infiltrate that market”. Budweiser decided to focus their efforts on elevating the hockey game-time experience for consumers. Budweiser views goal-scoring as the most exciting aspect of hockey, so their focus was on improving the experience of goals being scored for fans. Once establishing their inspiration and direction, Budweiser Canada partnered with Buzz Products to create the technology.
The key goal for the red light was to enable users by using dynamic, as opposed to hard-coded, technology so fans could change their team selections at any time and so the product could continue to evolve. For example, when the Toronto Blue Jays made the playoffs for the first time since their 1993 World Series win, the actual application that controls the Red Light was updated to allow the selection of the Blue Jays—celebrating home-runs and playing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” during the seventh inning stretch. After approximately six months of developmental time, the product was ready for a January 2013 launch.
Red Light 2.0, the second released iteration of the product, allows Budweiser Canada to partner with NHL clubs to play their official goal horn rather than the generic horn. The Dallas Stars, St. Louis Blues, Boston Bruins, Los Angeles Kings, Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Blackhawks, Winnipeg Jets, and Calgary Flames have partnered with Budweiser Canada to include their goal horn thus far. Budweiser expects to expand their partnerships to include more horns in the future. By including the official goal horn of these teams, it allows fans to feel closer to the actual live in-arena experience.
Another customizable feature the Red Light offers is the option to delay the goal horn. Some broadcasts are slightly delayed, so the horn would sound before the broadcast showed the goal being scored. Now, there is a function that allows the user to delay the horn based on their experience with the broadcast feed. Presently, 0, 1, 2, 5, and 10 second delays are available.
Initially, the goal of Budweiser Canada was to elevate the experience of watching hockey games for fans. While that is still the core goal for Budweiser, they also aspire to continue evolving the idea of the Red Light. When the Red Light was first launched, Budweiser was unsure how Canadians would respond to their product. And Budweiser certainly did not anticipate the lights selling out on the first day, and multiple times since. In fact, Budweiser Canada has surpassed 75,000 Red Lights sold in Canada.
Once the WiFi capabilities of the Red Light are connected, Budweiser Canada can identify where the signal is coming from. Although none were sold in the United States, Budweiser Canada noticed their lights being activated in their neighbor to the south. It appeared that fans were bringing their Canadian goal light over the border. Since noticing the interest of American fans in their product, Budweiser decided to open the gateway to the United States. Oosterhuis says there was initially a soft launch in the spring, which resulted in 1,000 lights selling in the final month of hockey season. Now with the hockey season in full-swing, Budweiser Canada is approaching a hard launch of their product in the United States. Thus far, it is not known where it is most visible in the United States; however, the expectation is that it is concentrated in the Northeast due to the increased hockey interest in that area.
In Canada, it is most visible in Ontario, which is the most populous province in the country, though Budweiser’s partnership with the Calgary Flames has helped increase adoption in Western Canada.
Lesser known features of the light include the expanded capabilities for the Toronto Blue Jays. Also, if the light is on prior to puck-drop in a selected game, it notifies the user that the game is starting in five minutes, giving fans enough time to “grab a Budweiser and get ready for the game!”
Budweiser Canada hoped to build their brand in Canada and felt hockey would allow the company to connect with their consumers. Since launching their product, Budweiser has noticed a significant improvement in the perception of their brand. And due to their success, Oosterhuis says Budweiser plans to continue their growth in the Canadian market; for example, Budweiser Canada has just launched an application that includes hockey-related emojis that can be used in text messages. The application also includes capabilities such as sharing an animated red light on social media.
Budweiser Canada recognizes the potential of the Red Light and felt it was “a great asset for the brand to extent to the United States,” Oosterhuis said. And it is much easier to actually sell the light directly to those in the United States, instead of consumers having to purchase their product in Canada.
But due to the difference in hockey culture in the United States and Canada, their marketing platforms have slightly differed. Oosterhuis explained the need for a 360-degree campaign in Canada, approaching it from all platforms and angles. However, a more tactical approach is necessary to market in the United States since Budweiser has to find hockey fans and notify them that this product is finally available in their country.
After seeing the success of their sales expansion, Budweiser Canada is still striving to improve. In the short-term, Oosterhuis says that his company is looking to “democratize the Red Light. [Thus far] it is a huge success. The worst thing is not finding a new powerful and creative idea. [And once that idea is found, the challenge is] finding ways to find it to fans, selling in team stores, and following the path.
Creatively, [the question is] how can this be taken to new heights? For example, last year for the Olympics, a Red Light blimp was created to flash the red light across the skies for [Team Canada] goals.” At the moment, Budweiser Canada is looking to continue their approach, while looking for new ways to evolve creatively in the long-term.