TikTok helmet logo helps target young fans

TikTok, that app that gained prominence with young teens creating their own short dancing and lip-synching videos, is heading into the world of sports in a new partnership with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

As the puck dropped on the Leafs’ 105th season, the venerable NHL franchise unveiled a partnership deal with one of the most popular content platforms in the world with the TikTok logo appearing prominently on player helmets.

For a hockey team looking for a younger audience, and a social media platform looking for more mature users, it would seem there is something in the partnership for both.

“There’s a great opportunity for us to work together and leverage each other’s audiences absolutely to be able to bring unique content to one another,” said Nadia Niccoli, TikTok’s head of marketing. “The idea of being able to partner with a 100year-old brand and such an iconic Canadian team like the Toronto Maple Leafs has really afforded us a really unique and groundbreaking opportunity to be able to be part of their legacy and the impact that they have across the sports fan base.”

The Leafs are the first hockey team to partner with TikTok, which has done only a handful of sports-related deals, including ones with UEFA’s Euro 2020, a couple of soccer teams and a NASCAR driver.

Niccoli said hockey has had an “incredible rise” on the platform, with “#Hockey” garnering 8 billion views. She said TikTok is aiming to broaden its appeal to users between 18 and 49.

The Leafs have been active on various social media outlets over the years, with 1.9 million followers on Twitter, 1.3 million on Facebook and 1.1 million on Instagram. They have just 230,000 followers on TikTok but that number is sure to rise; videos on the Leafs’ TikTok have garnered 2.2 million likes.

“TikTok has given its users the ability to shape the platform their own way and has organically built a global community through engaging, fun and educational content, which has captured the attention of our fans,” said Jordan Vader, MLSE’s vice president of global partnerships.