The Government of Ontario is continuing to gradually decrease its radio buy after a month of fervent activity in Toronto, which saw more than 10,000 ad spots purchased.
The government still took the top buying spot in the market for the week ended May 3, with 1,041 ads purchased (which is down significantly from the more than 1,700 ads it purchased last week). It also wasn’t too far ahead of the next-biggest buyer, Allstate, which held the second spot at 966 ads (down slightly from 1,000). The Toyota Dealer Association jumped to the third spot (up from 11) with 908 ads, making the spread between the top three buyers quite narrow.
Rounding out the top five were the Government of Canada (which held steady in the fourth spot but increased its buy by about 100 spots to 782 total) and Canadian Tire (which decreased its buy to 441 spots).
Public service ads continued to be the most dominant category, but total spots decreased by about 400. Government ads came in second, decreasing their total ads by more than 1,000, driven largely by the provincial government’s 700-spot reduction in ads.
Other categories flip-flopped in Toronto, some more dramatically than others. For example, the car and truck dealer association increased its buy by nearly 30% to 1,294 spots. Financial services, on the other hand, saw a 32% reduction in total spots purchased, down to 1,176 total spots from 1,730. Other decreases included insurance providers, retail stores and trade associations, but business and consumer sales, podcast streaming and distribution and television/cable TV saw lifts.
Like Toronto, Montreal saw its provincial government stay in the top buying spot while reducing its spend slightly. The Government of Quebec purchased 801 ads, down from 1,068. Second-place finisher CTV made a big boost to its buy at 406 spots, more than four times its previous order.
The Heart and Stroke Foundation stayed put in the third spot, with a slight boost in spots (298, up from 241). Rounding out the top five were Desjardins and Accent Insurance Solutions, both of which increased their buys.
The government and union category topped Montreal once again with a slight reduction in total buys, most of which came from the provincial government’s decrease. However, public service ads are on the rise (855 total, up from 794), as are ads for the financial sector (456, up from 382) and consumer electronic sales and services (187, from 73). Eye and eye care products also increased slightly, while moving and storage ads decreased by only two spots.
However, ads in the television/cable TV category, insurance providers, restaurants and night clubs and wireless internet services all saw more significant decreases.
