It wasn’t the intention of Vancouver-based Novus Entertainment to launch their latest service, Canada’s fastest internet, during the Olympics, says DJ Woodworth, manager of marketing and sales at Novus. But the timing couldn’t be more to their advantage, she admits.
‘In the internet broadband world, speed is becoming more and more important,’ says Woodworth, because more consumers are conducting more aspects of their lives online. ‘But speed matters with the Olympics as well.’
To promote the service, which at 200 megabits per second will improve video and audio downloading, sharing, streaming websites and gaming, Novus is putting much of its effort in an out-of-home strategy. Every day during the Olympics, the sales and marketing team will dress up in track suits, waving signs that say ‘Speed Matters.’ They will also set up a demonstration booth at Concord Pacific Place, which is in the heart of the Olympic Expo, as well as have a booth at the Year of the Tiger Festival which takes place for Chinese New Year on Feb. 14 and attend the BMO Marathon in April.
Novus currently serves Metro Vancouver but plans to expand to Burnaby and Richmond this year. Its main competitors are Telus and Shaw Communications, so having a street team presence is integral to their self-handled media plan because of their focus on community roots. ‘It’s a much more personal touch,’ says Woodworth. ‘It really personalizes it when people are out there and explain the service to them, they’re much more likely to pay attention,’ she tells MiC. Other aspects of the Novus campaign are search engine marketing and a viral component that will launch later in the month.
Although the extreme high speed service is expensive – almost $300 per month – Novus believe their target demographic, those who use the internet for communications, entertainment and small business needs, will cough up the cash for the convenience.
‘People have less time waiting for big files to download. A lot more content is being viewed online,’ says Woodworth, adding ‘gamers love us.’
