Sport Chek and Toronto Raptors Celebrate GTA Basketball Culture through New #MyNorth Campaign

Strategic partnership with MLSE solidifies Sport Chek's position as the city's top retail destination for all things basketball

#MyNorth puts city's basketball fans in control of campaign creative through user generated content and crowdsourcing

Retailer launches new We The North clothing line from adidas, exclusive to Sport Chek and MLSE stores

TORONTO, Oct. 29, 2014 /CNW/ - Timed to coincide with the tip-off of the Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) regular season, Sport Chek (@SportChek) unveiled a new marketing campaign, #MyNorth, to celebrate the deep-rooted basketball scene in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Every day on basketball courts across the city, games are won and lost, bonds are made, heroes are born and stories are created. The new creative campaign aims to unite nine of Toronto's neighbourhoods – Brampton, Markham, Vaughan, North York, York, Etobicoke, Mississauga, Scarborough and Toronto – by spotlighting and sharing authentic stories and court culture under the banner #MyNorth.

Launching today, the program collects real stories, videos and photos from the nine different neighbourhoods and amplifies them through a media campaign that uses out-of-home, in-arena at Toronto Raptors games, social media, television, digital and public relations. The retailer's new 10 year relationship with the Raptors is part of the larger strategic partnership between the Canadian Tire Family of Companies and MLSE announced last September.

A fully integrated program, each of the nine #MyNorth neighbourhoods will have:

• A TSN-produced documentary that shares a unique, inspiring and often never before told basketball story from the community
• Out-of-home signage that is built around relevant locations to the basketball community
• Events held throughout the season intended to celebrate and curate user generated content
• An illustration by a Toronto-born artist that celebrates the city's places, people and stories
• Access to Section 307 at Air Canada Centre, the #MyNorth fan section, where for each and every Raptors home game Sport Chek is giving away over 85 tickets to neighbourhood teams and community ambassadors
• Opportunity to provide design ideas for a future We The North crowd-sourced collection that will feature pieces for each unique neighbourhood. This expanded collection will be available exclusively in Sport Chek stores in March 2015.

"What makes the #MyNorth platform so ground-breaking is that it gives creative control to the Raptors' most valuable asset – its fans," said Frederick Lecoq, Senior-Vice President of Marketing at FGL Sports. "From the content fans want to see in-arena, the images and videos that are promoted across Sport Chek's channels and the designs that are featured on new products we'll be selling in our stores next year, we're empowering fans by giving them the opportunity to connect with the team in an entirely new and exciting way."

"We see the true passion of Raptors fans every day all over the city of Toronto and beyond," said David Hopkinson, Chief Commercial Officer at MLSE. "The #MyNorth campaign celebrates the heart and passion of Raptors fans throughout the city in the neighbourhoods where they live, work and play."

In advance of the neighbourhood-specific clothing launching next year, the program announced today also includes the availability of a new We The North line from adidas that is available exclusively at Sport Chek locations across the GTA in November, 2014. 

The #MyNorth platform launches with an anthemic ad-spot which is viewable today on Sport Chek's YouTube channel, alongside an 'Undercover Pro' social video featuring the Raptors' power forward Patrick Patterson.

Raptors fans are encouraged to engage with the campaign through the hashtag #MyNorth on social media, as well as through Sport Chek's Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram channels. For more information about Sport Chek or products available online or in-store, including Toronto Raptors and new and exclusive We The North merchandise, please visit Sportchek.ca.

About FGL Sports: 
Part of the Canadian Tire Family of Companies, FGL Sports Ltd. is Canada's largest national retailer of sporting goods. Offering a comprehensive assortment of brand-name and private-brand products and operating more than 400 stores from coast-to-coast, FGL Sports includes the following corporate and franchise banners: Sport Chek, Sports Experts, Atmosphere, Pro Hockey Life, National Sports, Intersport, Nevada Bob's Golf, Hockey Experts, the Tech Shop, and S3. FGL Sports also has websites for several of its corporate and franchise banners which can be accessed through its main website at www.FGLSports.com.

About Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd.:
Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) is one of the world's premier sports and entertainment companies that owns the Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL), the Toronto Raptors (NBA), the Toronto Marlies  (AHL), Toronto FC (MLS), Air Canada Centre, Maple Leaf Square and three digital channels — Leafs TV, NBA TV Canada and GOLTV Canada. MLSE has also invested in four of Toronto's sports facilities — Ricoh Coliseum, home of the Marlies, BMO Field, home of Toronto FC, Lamport Stadium, and the MasterCard Centre for Hockey Excellence, the practice facility for the Maple Leafs and Marlies. MLSE operates and manages events at Ricoh Coliseum and BMO Field.

SOURCE: FGL Sports Ltd.

Sarah Van Lange, FGL Sports, 647-287-9582, [email protected]; Meghan Edwards, North Strategic, 416-300-5720, [email protected]