Staff
Maitland appointed national sales DR at Sympatico/MSN
After pioneering online efforts at MSN Canada, Al Maitland has been appointed Sympatico/MSN’s DR of national sales for Toronto and Western Canada. The media sales teams in both Toronto and Vancouver will report to him.
Marketers start their engines for NASCAR road show
When the NASCAR Experience Travelling Roadshow begins rolling through 19 Canadian cities for its second annual go-round today, the fan-friendly exhibition will bring with it nearly as many brand exposure opportunities as speedy cars.
Canadian marketers leveraging NASCAR’s popularity among 5.8 million Canadian fans, and the fact that it’s the number-one televised motor sport in Canada, include: Headz Gamez, which is bringing a life-size version of its NASCAR Racing board game that literally allows fans to become part of the action; Coca-Cola Canada’s Full Throttle, which is NASCAR’s official energy drink in Canada and will have a show car on display; and Lilydale Foods, which will have sampling of its poultry products as well as a show car. All three sponsors will have television media support through commercial inventory during NASCAR broadcasts on TSN and Rogers Sportsnet.
Soccer’s Over – Vaudeville’s back – BBM TV Top 30 for July 10-16, 2006
With the World Cup Finals finally ended, oodles of eyes turned back to watching erstwhile hopefuls dance and sing, as reflected in the top four choices during the week of July 10-16, 2006. For a list of the top 30 TV shows, according to BBM, please click the links below:
CRTC says ads can stay in VOD fare
Cogeco cable and Bell ExpressVu got the regulatory greenlight to air spots in some VOD fare, with strings attached. The ad must already have aired in a show broadcast by a Canadian programming service, and to offer the show on VOD they need approval from the first-window Canadian broadcaster, and cannot charge the consumer for the show.
Royal Canadian Mint tries grabertising
Who knew the stately Royal Canadian Mint would ever get jiggy enough to try a spot of grabertising? That’s what it’s doing in a new campaign to coax Canucks into getting their pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, loonies and toonies out of wherever they’re stashed and back into circulation.
Wielding the tagline ‘Change is good,’ the Mint has teamed with Coinstar, Inc. – supplier of those big, green machines that count coins at roughly the speed of light and spit out redeemable vouchers – for a seven-week promotion in the Toronto area. This includes a radio ad buy, in-store promotions, a media relations program and Web marketing (via mint.ca) in both English and French.
Thirty-second radio spots will run for four weeks, approximately 5,000 bag stuffers will be available at 135 GTA Dominion, A&P, Ultra Food & Drug and Barn Market stores. As well, 50 Grabertising-branded shopping carts will be in use at 89 of the stores.
‘Grabertising is an inexpensive way to target to consumers while they are just a few feet from (our) machines,’ says Pam Aung Thin, Coinstar’s VP communications. ‘It’s an innovative way to communicate with your customer, when and where it counts, for an average of 28 minutes.’
Lamar rewarded for helping Vancouver Transit buck the odds
While revenue for public transit advertising was taking a dive elsewhere, profits for TransLink (Greater Vancouver Transit Authority) have headed in the opposite direction – in part because of the initiatives of its long-time licensee, Lamar Transit Advertising. That’s why, after a seven-year partnership, TransLink recently awarded Lamar a ten-year renewal, with an extra option that could take the deal to 2020.
Byron Montgomery, Lamar’s VP and general manager, attributes his company’s successful track record mostly to ‘our innovative, state-of-the-art transit displays and our proposal for the 2010 Olympics period.’
Nielsen Media Research Spend Trend: Media properties
As the new TV season approaches, so does all the advertising promoting the fall lineups. TV properties – cablecos, networks, and conventional stations – are the biggest Q3 spenders of all the media properties. Combined, they have accounted for 59% to nearly 65% (2005) of the spending in the category for the past four years. Dailies attract more than 40% of the dollars each year, with OOH running a distant second.
(Note: Promotional spots on the network or in the media property being advertised are not counted but ads on another network or medium, including those owned by the same parent company, are part of the tally.)
Camilleri appointed CEO of True North
Richard C. Camilleri, former president of CanWest Mediaworks, has been appointed CEO of Toronto’s True North Corp. (TNC). While at CanWest, he was responsible for the company’s Canadian media operations including the Global Television Network and CanWest Publications (including the National Post and 10 major metro newspapers).
TNC frames its identity as ‘The Return On Ideas Company™’ and focuses on marketing services and sales channel support. The company intends to implement an organizational restructuring when it completes the acquisition of C3 Online Marketing, a deal that’s currently under review by the TSX.
Prior to his stint at CanWest Mediaworks, Camilleri was chairman and CEO of ARIUS3D Inc, a successful technology startup that developed and deployed proprietary 3D imaging technologies. In 1993, he became president of Sony Music Entertainment, and in 1997 became one of seven members of the Global Strategic Planning Committee for Sony Music Entertainment, during which he participated in a strategic plan to transform Sony Music’s global operations for the digital age.
Grab ’em while they’re baking
Toronto’s Statements Media, which introduced dry cleaning advertising last summer, has come up with another innovative advertising medium. It’s a network of interior mini-billboards within the rooms of tanning salons across the Greater Toronto Area.
Says VP sales Joseph Magnotta, ‘These signs are comparable to those you would see within the washrooms of bars and restaurants, yet they have a more precise reach (because) people who tan are very image-conscious, typically young, and are active consumers who spend money to look good. These signs provide companies with a cost-effective way to reach this trendy demographic in a very intimate, one-on-one manner.’
After only three weeks in operation, Statements Media has signed an exclusive, contractually secured network of tanning salons and currently has more than 500 signs/faces. Meanwhile, the company is in the process of establishing another network in Montreal.
So far, two main advertisers have signed on: Yogen Fruz and an alcoholic cooler called Fruzzion. Magnotta cites average impression rates of 1,020 per sign per month. Ad rates range from $52/unit for one to 50 faces for one month (descending to $40 for six-month contracts) to $44/unit for more than 200 faces per month (descending to $32 for six-month contracts.
Interactive web murder mystery to offer three levels of brand exposure
Toronto’s SR Entertainment has plotted a raft of ad and sponsorship opportunities almost as cleverly as it did the criminal shenanigans on its about-to-launch online murder mystery game Murder at Mansfield Manor.
Advertisers and sponsors are being offered three levels of brand exposure: 30-second video commercials placed immediately following the opening credits; 30-second video commercials immediately following log-in; and the opportunity to have a sponsor’s tab between characters and credits, or a sponsor’s button toward the end of the game, between the Refer-A-Friend feature and the Privacy & Terms section.
The innovative, live-action, choose-your-own-adventure movie begins with a free mouse click on mysteryatmansfieldmanor.com. Players are filled in on the grisly murder of a wealthy oil industrialist and after that, says Rory Scherer, producer and screenwriter, participants pay a $4.99 fee to continue the game, receiving 72 hours of unlimited access to the complete website. Gameplay progresses as the player interrogates suspects, becomes immersed in red herring clues, and eventually arrests the person they believe is guilty.
Marketing strategy for the mystery game kicks off with a launch event on July 19 (8 p.m. at Ultra Supper Club, 314 Queen St. W. in Toronto), which Scherer expects to result in enthusiastic media coverage. A trailer has been posted on ifilm.com and will be added to several other websites in the near future. An email campaign to opt-in subscribers to various movie and game chatrooms and e-newsletters is in the works and, in expectation of creating a viral campaign, the mystery site itself contains a Refer-A-Friend feature. Word is evidently creeping out there already, judging by daily hits during July in the 100-500 range.
www.mysteryatmansfieldmanor.com
P&G holds onto top spot – Eloda analysis for July 10-16, 2006
P&G enjoyed its second straight week at number one, while Sony Pictures and The Brick played musical chairs for the second spot, Unilever zoomed from number 10 to number 4, and a raft of new to-10ers entered the picture for the week of July 10-16, 2006.
GM stands pat, IKEA makes giant leap – Eloda ad analysis for July 10-16, 2006
GM retained the top spot for the Toronto market. But the big news is that IKEA jumped from 567th spot to fifth. Media Monitors for July 10-16, 2006.
Consumer appeal of big-brand names declines among electronics shoppers
According to a recently released study by the Baltimore-based Vertis research agency titled Customer Focus® 2006 Home Electronics, the ability of brand names to influence shoppers for electronic products has declined in the United States from 40% in 2004 to just 29% as of June 2006.
Discounts and coupons are taking precedence over brand names in the decision where to shop, according to Vertis VP of market insights Jim Litwin. ‘Since consumers are always looking to upgrade their home electronics products, it is not surprising to learn that special offers like discounts and coupons are one of the most important factors for 19% of consumers, compared to 15% in 2004.’ He adds that the study shows that ‘circulars are an effective medium to reach home electronic consumers, therefore marketers looking to communicate offers to consumers should consider advertising inserts.’
While men tend to be most likely to be the chief shoppers for home electronic products, the study found that women are taking a more active role in deciding which electronics to purchase. In particular, 91% of women 35-49 claim to be either the chief shoppers or to share equally in home electronic purchasing decisions, compared to 86% of women 18-34 and 86% of women 50 and older. On the other hand, 94% of men 18-34 and an equal number of men 35-49 claim to be the chief shoppers or to equally share in the decision-making process, compared to 92% of men 50 and older.
www.vertisinc.com
Pepsi’s Dew Fuel to hijack Much sites for all-nighter
As if being gobbled up by BGM weren’t enough of a shocker, Much Music sites in Toronto and Vancouver will be hijacked from midnight to 6 a.m. July 14. The perpetrators will stage a unique media event to launch Pepsi Cola Canada’s new youth-oriented Dew Fuel.
The concept, says Tony Chapman, CEO of Toronto’s Capital C, ‘was to tie in the DNA of the brand – Explicit Energy – with an all-night party,’ with the first three hours staged in T.O. and the final three in Vancouver.
‘We developed Dew Fuel from scratch,’ he adds, ‘after Pepsi assigned us the Mountain Dew Energy brand last fall. We went back to them with a complete makeover including a new name, positioning and brand key, packaging and creative template, including digital, promotion, point of sale, advertising, sampling, a full 360.’
The Dew Fuel brand made its worldwide debut in February. Its website, which contains kickass animation, is www.dewfuel.ca.
Capital C’s Live Event Division is producing the hijack party, which will involve live bands and video gaming Chapman bills as ‘the hottest gaming girls in the world, who will destroy the boys in head-to-head competition.’
He lauds OMD for ‘believing in the concept’ and credits Jet Star Entertainment’s collaboration and the support of brands including Xbox 360.
Scotiabank to target Canadian travelers online
‘Last year, 88% of consumers planning to travel either researched or purchased their trips online’ – signalling their receptivity to websites enhanced with innovative video messages from marketers, says Paul Deverell, COO, Travel Shop Television.
His argument has just convinced Scotiabank to become the first major advertiser on Travel Shop Television’s new online video network, which targets Canadian travellers. The Scotiabank campaign (which can be viewed on the network’s targetvacations.ca site) includes a :30 second video ad that runs pre-roll, as well as a clickable rectangle and leaderboard featuring the Scotia Gold Preferred Visa card.
Says Rick White, VP brand & marketing management for Scotiabank, ‘Research in this area is telling us that online video doubles the impact of brand awareness and ad awareness compared with the average performance of online ads.’
Deverell touts his network as a breakthrough for advertisers. ‘This is a new and innovative way to get messages in front of (consumers) while they are actually shopping … on travel websites. Instead of just looking at still pictures, they are able to watch broadcast-quality video of destinations or properties resulting in a better shopping experience.’
