Supermarket chains are locked in a relentless fight for attention. Competing on price and proximity is no longer enough, and brands now have to win the battle for exposure. And when it comes to winning national pride, there are few arenas as powerful as international sport.
That’s why events like the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship have become such a hotspot for retail marketing innovation. But instead of relying solely on physical branding or traditional ad slots, grocery brands are increasingly turning to virtual advertising to carve out relevance, reach, and return.
Here we explore how chains like Penny, Lidl and Kaufland are rethinking the rules of sponsorship, using virtual advertising to put themselves at the heart of the action, on-screen and in-store.
For a brand operating across select markets, the ability to deliver targeted, localised marketing is a serious advantage. Traditional pitch-side branding and print campaigns, whilst still hugely valuable, work well for brands with broad presence. For the local angle, enter virtual advertising.
By overlaying dynamic digital branding onto broadcast feeds, sponsors can adapt messaging by country, language or even audience segment. Grocery brands, operating with highly local strategies, have been quick to spot the potential.
At the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship, virtual advertising has helped grocery sponsors maximise visibility in front of millions, without the cost or compromise of physical assets. And crucially, it provides a natural bridge to their digital and in-store campaigns.
Penny signed a four-year deal covering 2024–2027, starting with virtual advertising before transitioning to physical boards in the final year. Their approach is part of a wider activation strategy built around their identity as a long-term partner of German ice hockey, including the national league, federation and clubs.
Off the ice, Penny launched the Penny WG campaign, a digitally-led concept creating a sharehouse experience for fans during the World Championship. It was backed by branded content, social interaction, and physical retail tie-ins.
Penny has seen consistently strong consumer recognition across ice hockey campaigns, thanks to deep integration with the sport’s ecosystem.
With a one-year deal focused on Sweden and Denmark, Lidl kept things sharp and specific. Virtual advertising allowed them to gain meaningful visibility in exactly the markets they wanted, without the cost of broader activation or logistical complexity.
The short-term partnership format gave Lidl the flexibility to test the waters while still leveraging the full visual power of a global championship.
Partnering with Czech and Slovak federations, Kaufland used virtual advertising to embed itself into the fan experience across both the 2025 and 2026 events.
Kaufland benefitted from extensive free-to-air (FTA) coverage via Czech and Slovakian TV and similar broadcasters, creating powerful national visibility at a relatively low media cost. The campaign aligned tightly with in-store promotions and federation engagement.
Beyond the broadcast, Kaufland Slovakia also turned sponsorship into a fan-facing experience. Through a competition run with broadcaster TV JOJ and a Slovak travel agency, Slovak fans were given the chance to travel to Stockholm for the Slovakia and Finland game.
Almost 30,000 people participated in the activation, leading to more than 180 tickets distributed. Winners received match tickets, branded hockey gifts and private-label refreshments served on the plane and had a sightseeing tour before the match turning the journey into an extension of the campaign.
“Sponsorship for us is a commitment to the community as well as a media play,” said Sven Reinhard, CEO of Kaufland. “We believe in creating real experiences, not just exposure. Giving our customers the chance to travel to support their team in person, to live that moment, reflects exactly how we approach every campaign; with a focus on national pride, customer value and deep integration with the sport.”
Even though the team lost, the atmosphere and fan spirit showcased exactly why Kaufland’s integrated strategy continues to deliver.
While Tesco’s activation in 2024 leaned more on physical boards, it was paired with a clever digital loyalty programme: scratch cards offering prizes like jerseys and VIP tickets. This was supported by humorous, culturally localised video content on social media, such as Czech fans delivering playful stereotypes of their opponents in the opponent’s native tongue.
The result was over 3 million Instagram views, 2,500 new followers and more than 700,000 website visits linked to the campaign, showing what happens when digital visibility, social storytelling and physical activation are all working from the same playbook.
Virtual advertising can be a strategic weapon for brands that understand the nuance of local markets and the value of real-time relevance. Here's why it's gaining traction:
The grocery sector has always lived and died by proximity and how close they are to customers. What virtual advertising offers is a new kind of proximity: Emotional, contextual and cultural.
Other industries with strong local footprints such as telecommunications, insurance, banking, tourism, airlines, food and beverage, as well as betting, lottery and online casinos could take a page from the grocery playbook. Sport offers reach. Virtual advertising turns that into relevance.
Ready to explore how virtual advertising can activate your brand in sports sponsorship?
We’ve helped leading grocery chains deliver measurable results through tailored virtual advertising solutions at the IIHF WM and beyond. Whether you're a supermarket chain or a brand in another consumer-facing category, we can help you create campaigns that resonate locally and deliver globally.
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