Tim Hortons secures title sponsorship of 2012 NHL All-Star game

NEW YORK – Tim Hortons, one of North America's largest quick-service restaurant chains, has secured title sponsorship of this season's National Hockey League All-Star Game -- deepening the company's multi-year partnership as the Official Quick Service Coffee, Donut and Breakfast Restaurant of the NHL® in Canada.  Moving forward, this year's event will be known as the 2012 Tim Hortons NHL® All-Star Game.

The 2012 Tim Hortons NHL® All-Star Game will take place on Jan. 29 at Scotiabank Place, home of the Ottawa Senators, during the 2012 NHL All-Star weekend. This will mark the first time Ottawa has hosted the NHL All-Star weekend.

As part of Tim Hortons being named the title sponsor, it will receive various assets in connection with the 2012 NHL All-Star Game, including a prominent in-ice brand position; camera-visible dasherboards; on-air mentions of the Tim Hortons brand in connection with the event name and logo on CBC broadcasts, including branded pre-All-Star Game promotion, integration of the Tim Hortons brand throughout all NHL-controlled media properties including NHL.com, NHL Network™ and NHL Radio,™ the opportunity to integrate the Timbits Minor Hockey players into promotional activities and more. In addition, Tim Hortons will serve as the presenting sponsor of both the Tim Hortons NHL Elimination Shootout™ within the NHL All-Star Skills Competition and the NHL trophy exhibit within NHL Fan Fair,™ the fan festival that will offer interactive games, attractions, and more, during the NHL All-Star weekend.

The 2012 Tim Hortons NHL® All-Star Game is following the huge success of the 2011 NHL All-Star weekend that introduced the first ever NHL All-Star Player Fantasy Draft™, and where the League earned significant increases in viewership in Canada and the United States, a 42% increase in sponsorship revenue over the last All-Star Game held in the U.S., an all-time record for video starts on NHL.com and the best retail performance for a U.S.-based All-Star Game in seven years. The weekend captivated the city of Raleigh for three days as fans tailgated, flocked downtown and more than 31,000 people attended the NHL Fan Fair™ event.

"We're excited to be back in Canada to host an extremely important platform that celebrates hockey and our players," said Kyle McMann, the NHL's Vice President of Partnership Marketing in Canada. "As a partner that supports the whole spectrum of hockey, bringing the NHL All-Star Game to our nation's capital allows Tim Hortons to provide fans the ultimate hockey celebration."

NHL Network™, NHL.com, NHL Radio™ and NHL Mobile™ will have all angles of the game covered with a full slate of live programming and fan initiatives. Live television coverage of the game will be provided by NBC Sports Network in the U.S. and CBC and RDS in Canada.

"Having the 2012 Tim Hortons NHL All-Star Game in Canada serves as the perfect rallying point for Canadians who love hockey", said Bill Moir, Chief Marketing Officer of the TDL Group Corp.  "For a company whose history and brand strategy is so inherently tied to the world's greatest game across all levels, it reinforces how ideal this partnership is in helping celebrate the NHL's finest in Ottawa".

 Tim Hortons is one of the largest restaurant chains in North America and serves about two billion cups of coffee a year in Canada and the United States. Tim Hortons is a significant sponsor of several NHL teams, including the Buffalo Sabres, Calgary Flames, Columbus Blue Jackets, Detroit Red Wings, Edmonton Oilers, Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks and Winnipeg Jets.

Additional details about the 2012 NHL All-Star weekend festivities to be announced in the coming weeks.