Fast Break: How Tylenol’s NHL Partnership Delivered Immediate Results

In January, the NHL announced a new partnership, naming Tylenol its official pain, cold & flu symptom relief partner in Canada. In addition to numerous category exclusive rights and designations through the league’s digital and social media channels, the brand also received on-site activation opportunities at the All-Star Game and Fan Fair in Toronto and TV visibility during the Stanley Cup playoffs.

As previous posts have discussed, sponsorship is usually a long-term play. It typically takes years for brands to build awareness and engagement with fans. But thanks in part to a category that had been open for 10 years—meaning Tylenol did not have to supplant an incumbent pain relief sponsor in consumers’ minds—and effective use of its assets, the Kenvue, Inc. brand was able to achieve some impressive results in a matter of months.

Prior to this year, Tylenol’s leading market share in Canada had slowly but steadily declined since late 2020. By last October, its share had shrunk to 30.8 percent, three full points off its peak this decade. Having once led its nearest pain relief competitor by 6.1 points in early 2020, Tylenol found itself slipping to the number two spot last fall, as the competitor became the new category leader with a 31 percent share of the market.

But following its NHL program execution in the first half of 2024, Tylenol reversed the three-year negative trend. As noted by the Sponsorship Marketing Council Canada in naming the partnership as its gold award winner in the Sports—Budget Over $501K category, Tylenol’s return on investment included:

• Market share increased 2.5 points to 33.3 percent, reclaiming the market leader spot by 3.2 points over its competitor
• Sales dollar volume increased 10.2 percent, representing millions of incremental dollar sales
• Increased sales through a strategic partnership with Amazon that included an NHL Score Against Pain branded wrap and QR code on Amazon delivery boxes
• Consideration up 52 percent year-over-year.
• Favorability up 53 percent year-over-year
• Media value return of 3.6 times marketing spend
• Campaign awareness two times higher than industry norms

While the Score Against Pain NHL brand messaging was featured on in-store retail displays across Canada and on NHL digital platforms, Tylenol augmented it with a Rise Strong from Pain outdoor and social campaign during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

As three of four Canadian postseason contenders—the Maple Leafs, Jets and Canucks—were eliminated in the first two rounds, leaving only the Edmonton Oilers to try (and eventually fail) to break the 31-year streak of U.S. teams winning the championship, the brand launched ads addressing the pain of fans in the Toronto, Winnipeg and Vancouver areas.

As Kenvue senior brand leader for pain care Brittany Chopra said to marketing news source Strategy, “Unlike other brands that sometimes focus solely on the rally moment, Tylenol stuck by the fans, comforting them should there be a painful void left from missing out on a chance to bring the Stanley Cup home.” She added that the campaign was also intended to boost Tylenol’s visibility and brand affinity, while conveying care and empathy for Canadians who experience pain.

The combination of traditional activation elements with a less-than-typical association with the suffering of losing versus the celebration of winning appears to have paid off in a major way for a brand partner that was in a position to authentically align itself with pain.