Dubbing it, what else, ‘bbTV,’ CanWest MediaWorks launched Canada’s first media player for BlackBerrys last week, complete with free giveaways, a lowball $5 per month subscription and free wireless installation, thanks to a strategic alliance with Rogers Wireless and Sportsnet.
Onscreen will be high-quality synchronized audio and video files of CanWest content including breaking and daily news from Global News, Global National, Global Morning and the Financial Post, plus daily sports info and commentary from Rogers Sportsnet.
Behind the scenes, a solid marketing plan is underway, according to Arturo Duran, president of interactive and business Integration for CanWest, who says that the initiative ‘provides advertisers with a new advertising platform to reach niche audiences in a more targeted way.’ All content downloads on bbTV will begin and end with five-second advertising promos and Duran says response from the advertising community has been keen, with General Motors, Royal Bank of Canada, Tylenol and Labatt signing on as bbTV’s first advertising partners.
The multi-platform promotional plan for bbTV, which will be pursued by both CanWest and Rogers, is aimed at target consumers, the news media, third-party content providers and potential advertisers. First up is driving awareness and penetration among BlackBerry users through a dedicated website position as part of the canada.com network – a family of leading online classified sites including working.com, driving.ca, remembering.ca, celebrating.com and connecting.com.
Advertising will continue until year end through various third-party sites, the canada.com online network and Rogers Media sites along with ads in daily national newspapers during the fall. Email marketing campaigns targeting Rogers and CanWest customers will also run through December. Next up will be the rollout of a marketing campaign for bbTV’s search engine.
www.bbtv.ca
