Case Study:
Boston Pizza
International
& Partners
Case study content property of Kidzsmart Communications and their respective clients.
Inclusive Sports Outreach
Since 2012, my team has collaborated with Boston Pizza International to enhance their family outreach program and expand their equity, diversity, and inclusion initiatives. We developed creative projects with various pro sport partners, emphasizing diversity and a welcoming environment for all, strengthening Boston Pizza’s reputation as a socially responsible brand.
The Brief
To create family-friendly sport market campaigns developed for Boston Pizza and their pro sport partners, including Hockey Canada, Rogers Sportsnet, and NHL teams like the Vancouver Canucks and Calgary Flames, as well as the Toronto Blue Jays and Toronto Raptors. These campaigns focused on DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion), promoting active lifestyles, and incorporating STEAM education elements to align with Boston Pizza’s commitment to a welcoming environment for all.
The Scope
National restaurant campaigns consisted of creative strategy, design, illustration, character development, and storytelling across print and digital mediums.
My Role
Creative Director + Lead Character Designer + Concept
The Method
We began by conducting focus groups with customers from various communities to inform character design, kids’ content, story, and design direction. Insights revealed the importance of kids seeing themselves in stories and illustrated characters, leading to a creative approach that reflected the diverse Canadian communities Boston Pizza serves.
We continually develop on-strategy themes with Boston Pizza, ensuring all kids’ activities, storytelling, and character development supported inclusive messaging. Our ideation process reinforced positive examples of community leadership and emphasized valuable soft skills learned through sports leadership, including positive examples beyond sports.
Design Process
Based on feedback from kids and parents in focus groups, the design process emphasized creating inclusive characters through themes of mentorship. These characters aimed to establish a strong emotional connection with BP’s family patrons and serve as brand ambassadors.
The development focused on the personalities and backstories of these characters to make them relatable and positive role models both on and off the field. This led to the creation of the BP Kids characters and a contemporary redesign of Lionel, BP’s mascot, who served as a mentor promoting kindness and respect.
The BP Kids program design incorporated classic sport design elements to align with the client’s goal of becoming a family-friendly sports bar. This visual language resonated with sports fans, creating familiarity and comfort for families.
Lionel’s redesign embodied Boston Pizza’s values, featuring prominently throughout the program and promotional material, effectively connecting with the audience and creating a welcoming environment for children and parents.
Solution
Our deliverables included quarterly books, digital marketing assets, and occasionally mobile apps, all centred around storytelling featuring the kids’ characters and Lionel. We also provided online materials and downloadable content showcasing characters in various kids’ activities, along with digital assets for Boston Pizza’s social media and TV campaigns.
Core assets of the program were even up-cycled and adapted to social media-friendly “wearables,” such as paper-craft masks and helmets, which were popular with pro sports partners and used for cross-promotion. Additionally, we supported BP’s marketing team with event collateral like photo-friendly standees and promotional materials for their popular kids eat free events.
Results
Since the collaboration began, Boston Pizza has seen a 39% increase in family patrons across Canada, marking an 14-year partnership with my team at Kidzsmart Communications. The program’s success has led to larger partnerships with NHL, NBA, MLB, and Hockey Canada, and recently garnered attention from Nintendo for a new kids’ activity book project. Boston Pizza praised Kidzsmart for delivering on-brand, educational, engaging, and fun content, significantly enhancing loyalty through the kids’ program.