Rogers Hometown Hockey™ Spark Challenge

Tuesday, October 13, 2020 10:00 am - Monday, October 26, 2020 12:00 pm EDT (GMT -04:00)
Rogers Hometown Hockey logo

Evolving the hockey experience

Hockey is more than just a game we play; it’s ingrained in the cultural fabric of our nation. A unifying force that transcends politics, religion, and language. It’s a rite of passage that provides memories that we’ll cherish for a lifetime.

For the past 6 years, Rogers Hometown Hockey has become a growing part of this institution, and we want to continue this tradition into its 7th season, evolving the experience to live in a COVID-safe environment while prioritizing digital and amplification opportunities.

Students: We are looking for innovative ideas to transform SportsNet’s Hometown Hockey™ experience into a state-of-the-art digital experience, rooted in hockey and community, to create a fun and engaging “family first” experience. Successful ideas will be awarded prizes! See below for more details.

Rogers Hometown Hockey Tour is the ultimate NHL® fan experience. Sportsnet hosts
Ron MacLean and Tara Slone travel across the country, making stops in 25 different
communities to celebrate local hockey stories, and the game’s biggest stars. Fans join us live for
a broadcast of an NHL
® game from the Sportsnet Mobile Studio every Sunday night.

This is a one-of-a-kind NHL® experience that provides a lot of benefits to communities on a national stage:

unified communities

Unifying Communities

Fans with Stanley cup

Localized the NHL®

Crowd in hockey jerseys

Live National Broadcast

Two men cheering

Has something for everyone

Group of girls celebrating with banner

Supports Grassroots Hockey

families posing with hockey jerseys on

Tells Canada's Hockey Story

man takes selfie with group of three in background

Supports Local Businesses

excited crowd

Brings excitement and energy

What we are looking for

Our reimagined plan will provide us with the continuation of a weekly community presence in a modified, COVID-friendly way, visiting communities across the country. For this  — we are reaching out to you, the next generation of bright minds with the hope that you’ll come to the table with a brilliant solution for the following question: 

How do we create engaging, digital, socially distanced experiences for communities across Canada that brings the NHL® to town in a big way? 

Find a way to utilize today’s technology — to create unique experiences for members of the local community that showcase the spectacle of the NHL®We need to focus on maintaining a safe — socially distanced experience. Let’s explore ideas that see community members using their OWN smartphone to interact with our experiences.

Key Objectives 

  1. How are we driving leads? You and your team need to focus on how we’re going to drive potential new business leads for Rogers. (Leads = obtaining personal information; First and Last name, email, phone + opting in to receive Rogers Marketing Communication)​​​
  2. A decentralized event. Due to COVID-19 restrictions — we need to ensure that Rogers is not seen promoting large gatherings (above levels currently allowed by each provincial government) Due to these restrictions — we need solutions that spread a 4-5 day Community Festival over multiple locations within that community. Thinking of ways to connect multiple sites to form a cohesive experience should be at the center of your solution.
  3.  Showcase innovation. As a the leading telecommunications company in Canada we need to ensure that Rogers is always perceived as being the driver of innovation in everything we do. This remains true for your response.
  4. What is the role of the SN app? As part of the Rogers Hometown Hockey experience — we need to think of ways to Fold your solution into the Sportsnet App using it as a central HUB for all experience touchpoints. Assume you will have full access to the app’s API.

Prizes: Up to $500 cash or equivalent value prizes will be granted for any idea Rogers wishes to proceed with, plus the opportunity to work with Hometown Hockey™ to move forward with idea into concept/prototype.

Rating criteria: 

  1. State-of-Art Digital Experience rooted in hockey and community
  2. Fun and engaging “Family First” experience
  3. Digital activation of the physical design to be integrated with SportsNet App.
  4. Leveraging 5G technological capabilities. (will provide a 5G brief)
  5. Output: well thought Ideas with a Low-Fidelity prototype.
  6. Bonus Point: Identified persona/user profiles and a detailed user journey.

Submission Information:

Please submit your ideas in a Google Slides / PPTX presentation outlining the following:

  1. Your Idea - Use both words and images to showcase your vision.
  2. Why it works?
  3. How it work: Listing the tech necessary to achieve your idea.

  4. How it can help achieve business objectives

Applicants should review the Contest Rules prior to submitting their ideas. Submissions should be emailed no later than noon on Monday, October 26, 2020.

For additional questions or information onHometown Hockey™ Spark Challenge email walid.ibrahim@rci.rogers.com



Rogers Hometown Hockey™ Spark Challenge brought to you by:

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