2023 Winner

CASE SUMMARY

OLG wanted to showcase its continuing commitment to Ontario communities in an authentic and tangible way through a partnership initiative with Major League Baseball. It needed to find a way to resonate with Ontario baseball fans 19-35 years old in order to raise OLG’s brand sentiment and ingrain it as a
company that genuinely cares for local communities.

While researching Ontario baseball communities, The Hive uncovered an historic team from a small town. The 1934 Chatham Coloured All-Stars were the first all-Black team to win an Ontario Baseball Association Championship. Despite making history and overcoming the racial segregation, inequality and injustices of the time, this team is currently not in the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.

The insight was that due to this exclusion, memory of this team is fading among modern baseball fans. It was decided that OLG was going to honour The 1934 Chatham Coloured All-Stars in its own way to keep the team’s memory alive. The idea was to leverage OLG’s partnership with MLB by bringing the team back in baseball’s most popular video game—MLB The Show 22. This idea broke new ground as it became the first to make an historic all-Black baseball team playable in a video game.

OLG consulted with The Chatham-Kent Black Historical Society,
The University of Windsor and several descendants of the team,
including National Hall of Fame member Fergie Jenkins Jr., to ensure it was showcasing them in an authentic and inclusive way.

It also worked with the team at Sony to ensure the re-creation of the team and integration into the video game would be done seamlessly, leading to an engaging user experience for gamers and viewers on platforms like Twitch and YouTube.

With collective support, it meticulously rebuilt the entire 13-man roster using MLB The Show’s existing customization tools. It used historical images, vintage baseball cards and University of Windsor archives to ensure every player’s face,
fielding position and batting stance matched the 1934 roster.
Once built, iy made the roster available for gamers so they could build and
play as the team on PS5, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch.

A campaign film featuring Fergie Jenkins Jr., other descendants of the team and the President of The Chatham-Kent Black Historical Society was also created to introduce The 1934 Chatham Coloured All-Stars to modern baseball fans
and showcase their debut in MLB The Show 22.

In just four weeks since its launch, this first of its kind campaign has received international acclaim and has been featured on CBC, CTV and local news
outlets across Ontario. This initiative has given a new generation of
Ontario baseball fans the chance to connect with this historic team
in a modern, meaningful and groundbreaking way.

Credits

Creative Agency: The Hive
Chief Creative Officer: Simon Creet
Chief Strategy Officer: Dustin Rideout
VP Client Services: Shawna Hayman
Associate Creative Director / Copywriter: Mike Albrecht
Associate Creative Director / Art Director: Ryan Speziale
Account Director: Lauren Smith
Project Director: Tracy Chang

Production Company: Fela
Director: LeSean Harris
Director of Photography: Shady Hanna
Producer: Jeff So
Executive Producer / Founder: Taj Critchlow
Executive Producer: Fuliane Petikyan
Chief Operating Officer: Dean Rosen
Head of Production: Amir Karimi
Integrated Producer: Mikayla Fasullo
Producers: Makers
Executive Producer: Roma Ahi
Producer: Sam Hall
Editorial: Married to Giants
Offline & Online Editor: Nick Yumul
Assistant: Parnika Raj
Producer: Airees Angellakis
Colour: Artjail
Colourist: Clinton Homuth
Assistant: Austin Tang
Audio: Oso
Creative Director: Harry Knazan
Creative Director: Daenen Bramberger
Producer: Kristine Lippett
VFX: Daniel Pianezza

Media agency: Mediacom
Group account director: Sandra Hayes
Account director: Goli Samii
Media planner: Jamie Ellis

Client: OLG
Director, marketing communications: Yvonne Leung
Manager, marketing communications: Kate Perkins-McVey
Director, enterprise brand experience and marketing: Greg Dermer
Director enterprise media and commercial sponsorship: Lou Pagnotta
Manager, enterprise brand experience and marketing: Atefeh Zare
Manager, commercial sponsorships and media: Andreia Goncalves
Director, social media: Lisa Bassett
Manager, social media: Klaudia Las
Director, media relations: Tony Bitonti
Director, equity, diversity and inclusion: Tyjondah Kerr
VP, communications: Jenna LeBlanc
VP, brand and marketing officer: Maxine Chapman

Partner client: MLB
Senior manager, international partnership activation: Andres Zapatas
Director, international corporate partnerships: Khalid Basyuni
Senior coordinator, partnership activation and sponsorship: Tyler Hart