Sleep Country gets into bed with the Jays
Sleep Country has signed on as the official sleep sponsor of the Toronto Blue Jays. As part of the partnership, Sleep Country will appear on stadium signage and programming at the Rogers Centre throughout the season. Blue Jays TV announcer Buck Martinez will also be featured in radio and TV ads for Sleep Country.
Facebook monetizes Instant Articles for all publishers
After several months of testing, Facebook has opened up ad units in the “related articles” section of its Instant Articles product for all publishers. A blog post from Facebook said that it was encouraged by the increase that publishers had seen in the average revenue per 1,000 page views since it began the test as part of the Facebook Journalism Project in January. Currently, 10,000 publishers around the world use Instant Articles, with Canadian publications including Le Journal de Montréal, Chatelaine and Sportsnet.
Salah Bachir named OCAD chancellor
Cineplex Media president Salah Bachir has a new title to add to his name: Chancellor of Toronto’s OCAD University. His title will be formally implemented tonight, June 9, at OCAD’s convocation ceremony at Roy Thomson Hall. Bachir, who is known for his high-profile philanthropic efforts (which have earned him the moniker “Gala Salah”) will also be awarded an honorary doctorate degree from the university for his contributions to Canadian culture, art and design.
Black appoints two new national sales managers
Elyze Dudzinski and Jeremy Kahnert have both joined Toronto-based agency Black as national sales managers. The appointment comes as Black aims to double down on its efforts to provide advertisers with custom creative solutions for DOOH activations after two years as the ad vendor for the mainland and tunnel facilities at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport. Dudzinski joins Black from Quebecor, where she served as a national account manager for integrated media solutions, and Kahnert previously worked as the director of business development and strategic partnerships at Play Charging.