Situation

TikTok Canada needed to earn trust and credibility among Canadian adults 25–54 and establish itself as a home for premium sports content. The solution: partner with the most trusted institutions in the country,  the Toronto Maple Leafs, the most valuable NHL franchise globally (valued at USD $4.25B).

Task

Create a bespoke, culturally unmissable partnership that would:

• Elevate trust in TikTok across mainstream Canadians
• Drive awareness of sports content on-platform
• Generate national conversation + earned media at scale
  

Action

I developed, negotiated, and executed a first-of-its-kind, fully integrated 1-year sponsorship with MLSE that included:

• TikTok logo on the Maple Leafs’ game-day helmets
• In-arena + in-game integrations at Scotiabank Arena
• Creator-led, on-platform sports storytelling
• A national earned-media plan that turned the partnership into a cultural moment

This became one of the most talked-about brand integrations of the NHL season.

Results

Brand & Business Impact

• +23% lift in download intent
• +36% increase in brand likability
• +16% lift in positive perception of TikTok as a sports destination
  

Cultural Impact

• 261+ global media stories
• TikTok landed in YouGov’s Top 10 in unaided awareness in Canada
• Helped reposition TikTok as a trusted, mainstream brand  not just a youth platform
  

Why It Worked

Authenticity + cultural scale:  By embedding TikTok into the fabric of Canadian hockey fandom, from helmet to arena to app,  we tapped into the most trusted team in the country to rewrite TikTok’s brand narrative for adults 25–54.