While Ontario Lottery and Gaming maintained the top spot in the Toronto market, domestic and international automakers accelerated their radio activity significantly in both Toronto and Montreal last week, according to the latest findings from Media Monitors.

Asia-based automotive manufactures increased their radio play count by over 130% last week in the Toronto market, and surged to the top of Montreal’s radio category rankings, recording 1069 spots last week, up from zero the week before.

Car and truck dealer associations also increased their radio rankings in Toronto last week, logging 1457 spots versus 23 the week prior.

That said, the increased radio exposure for those automotive categories didn’t translate into significant changes at the individual account level in Toronto, with OLG (2636), Canadian Blood Services (1176), the Government of Ontario (1031) and HSBC (891) hitting the top five. Subaru (852) and the Toyota Dealer Association (768) made appearances in sixth and eighth spots, respectively.

The same trend persisted in Montreal. Despite significant playcount in the category rankings, the provincial government still stayed on top (909), followed by the CDIC (357) and Hyundai making the top three (339). Nissan ranked fifth in Montreal (273), and the RAM 1500 snuck into the top 10 with a play count of 176.

Additional notable increases in the Toronto market include the bedding category (1136 up from 706), and Spence Diamonds (690) sneaking into the rankings on the account side.