Staff
NASCAR/CASCAR deal opens up ad opps
In a joint effort to increase fan interest and visibility for stock car racing in Canada, the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) and the Canadian Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (CASCAR) have entered into a multi-year operational and marketing agreement. ‘NASCAR will lend operational and marketing expertise to help grow Canada’s only national stock car series,’ says George Pyne, COO of NASCAR. ‘This partnership further demonstrates NASCAR’s support of grassroots racing throughout North America and our efforts to bring sponsorship and licensing opportunities to businesses at every level of the sport.’
The alliance means ‘advertisers will have real access to racing on the ground,’ says Randy Paul, managing director, sponsorships at Toronto-based TSN Events. He says there will be fully integrated opportunities ranging from brand awareness to on-car and on-track advertising to hospitality.
There are, of course, different levels of sponsorship, with customized packages to meet the advertiser’s demands. The integration can also include a media component. NASCAR officially entered Canada in June and is in the process of talking to potential sponsors. None has been revealed as yet. NASCAR is the top-rated motor sport on Canadian television with a fan base in this country of six million.
New study reveals shoppers drawn to the net for holiday shopping
A new study done by MSN Canada shows that more Canadians are planning on avoiding the chaotic shopping mall scene by making their purchases for the holidays on the Internet. The study revealed that 42% of Canadians polled plan to buy gifts online in 2004, compared with 32% in 2003 and 23% in 2002. Of the Canadians who plan to buy gifts online this year, reasons like 24-hour shopping (76%), the ability to shop from any location (72%), and the ease of price comparisons (63%) topped the list for why they prefer shopping on the Net.
The online poll of 1,200 Canadians (aged 18 and older) was done by OpenVenue e-Research Solutions from Oct. 29 to Nov. 4 among visitors to the sympatico.msn.ca Web site.
Clear Channel dominates mega mall
Clear Channel Outdoor has an imposing presence in recently-opened Toronto area mega-mall Vaughan Mills with 24 new mall poster ad displays. The company’s four-by-six-foot backlit mall displays and directories have been custom designed for each different zone within the mall.
Vaughan Mills, Canada’s first enclosed centre in 14 years, is 1.2 million square feet with more than 200 anchor and specialty stores, restaurants and entertainment venues. Of these, many are the first in Canada, including Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World, Burlington Coat Factory, NASCAR Speed Park, Lucky Strike Lanes and The Hudson’s Bay Company’s Designer Depot. The centre also features the largest Tommy Hilfiger outlet in the world. In addition to mall media advertising, three-year-old Clear Channel Outdoor (www.clearchanneloutdoor.ca) product line also includes airport advertising and spectaculars around Dundas Square, Atrium Media Tower, and on the Gardiner Expressway in Toronto as well as transit in Ottawa and interior and exterior signage at the Metropolitan Toronto Convention Centre.
VIM: the ultimate product placement scenario
Vimation, a video interactive media agency based in Newport Beach, California, have created VIM, the ultimate product placement scenario, which allows marketers to place a brand or product into an interactive video.
ImaginAsianTV, a 24-hour Asian cable TV network, is Vimation’s first client and their Vim-enhanced Web site allows visitors to navigate through a branded cityscape. By clicking on items, visitors can obtain programming previews and extra features within the video. The technology also enables advertisers data reports and customizable measurement tools based on user profiles, time of day, or geographic location. Company president David Hemingway plans to push the technology even further, although those improvements are still in development. Pricing depends on how complex the video interaction will be, but Hemingway says the bare minimum will run about $50,000 (U.S.), and that Vimation has yet to entertain a Canadian offer.
New Canadian incentive association launches
The Incentive Marketing Association-Canada Council had its opening bash last night in Toronto. The new group is the first offshoot of the seven-year old Incentive Marketing Association (IMA) in the U.S. Currently membership stands at 15, but Rob Purdy, IMA Canada president (and Carlton Group president), is aiming to hit 50 in the first year. IMA
Canada’s executive director is Dave Forde, who is also GM for the Association of Internet Marketing and Sales.
The group plans to raise the profile of the $32 billion North American industry through training and research. Currently Canada accounts for $1 billion of that, but Purdy says the IMA goal is to take that to $5 billion. Canadian members have access to U.S. IMA resources through the partnership, which include legal resources on areas such as gift certificates and online, seminars, and a certificate program. Other services include data base resources, targeted marketplace research and ‘best practices’ case studies.
http://www.imacanada.ca.
In other media news…
TiVo Will No Longer Skip Past Advertisers (L.A. Times, November 17). When it debuted in 1999, TiVo revolutionized the TV experience by wresting control of screen time from advertisers, allowing viewers to record shows and skip commercials. TiVo’s slogan said it all: ‘TV your way.’
Behind the scenes, though, TiVo was courting advertisers, selling inroads to a universe most customers saw as commercial-free.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-et-tivo17nov17,0,927837.story?coll=la-home-headline
CTV announces debut of Lives of the Saints
CTV debuts the first of a two-part, four-hour mini-series Lives of the Saints in January 2005. Based on the best-selling trilogy from Italian-Canadian author Nino Ricci, the made-for-TV movie stars screen siren Sophia Loren, Kris Kristofferson, Nick Mancuso, Fabrizio Filippo and Jessica Pare. The film chronicles one family’s search for the truth in an epic adventure spanning 30 years and two countries (Italy and Canada).
An official at CTV says the story, about a family torn apart by murder, suicide, and secrets, has mass appeal and should resonate with anyone who has known the joy and pain of immigration. That said, Loren and Kristofferson draw in the 25-54 year old audience, while CTV hopes to capture a younger demo with the addition of up-and-comers Pare and Filippo. CTV projects that advertising will sell out by January, but noted there are still opportunities available. Lives of Saints is a joint production by Toronto-based Capri Films and Italy-based RTI and airs on Jan. 2 from 9-11 p.m., concluding on Jan. 3 in the same time slot.
Local CHUM television stations to broadcast 2004 Billboard Awards
Viewers can tune into a live broadcast of the 2004 Billboard Music Awards on local Chum television stations on Dec. 8 at 8 p.m. Held in the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, the two-hour show celebrates the biggest selling artists of the year. Singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder will receive The Century Award for his lasting contribution to the music. The New VR, The New RO, The New VI, The New PL, The New NX and the New WI will air the program via a Fox simulcast.
Ed the Sock lampoons music celebrities on MuchMusic’s Fromage ’04
After a day spent ripping though gifts, Canadians can watch Canada’s own Ed the Sock skewer their favorite bands as Ed returns to count down the worst music of 2004. Fromage ’04: The Final Countdown features the first-ever Top 40 cheesiest videos. Whereas in the past, videos were broken down into categories like ‘Worst Boy Band,’ this year there are none. Hilary Duff could beat out Hoobastank, and Maroon 5 might battle Britney for top spot. Fans will determine the final standings by voting online at www.muchmusic.com
During the holiday season, six Much original specials, from Much Most Wanted to Hot/Not, will air from Dec. 18 to Dec. 30.
The classic holiday season hits Prime
Starting at noon and running until midnight on Saturday, Dec. 4 Prime’s Classic Christmas Television Marathon will feature a compilation of holiday-themed episodes of popular television series from the 1960s, 70s and 80s.
Breaking out the festivities at Chum
Getting ready to hit the ground running for the quick approaching holiday season, CHUM has launched its festive movie lineup.
BBM Media Snapshot: Almost five million Canadians use Internet chat groups
> 18% of Canadians use chat groups while on the Internet. This represents almost five million (4,800,000) Canadians.
> Canadian teens aged 12 to17 make up the largest age group chatting on-line, 25%, but 18 to 24 year olds are not far behind with another 24% of the total. Add in those in the 25 to 34 group with 20% and young Canadians account for the large majority of on-line chat users.
> Males and females are more or less equally likely to use on-line chat. The breakdown by gender is 53% male; 47% female.
> Those using Internet chat spend far more time on-line that the average Canadian. with 25% spending 15 hours or more in the past 7 days.
> In terms of yesterday exposure, the top four media for reaching Canadians using Internet chat are: TV (86%), internet (83%), radio (81%), and daily papers (41%).
Source: BBM RTS Canada Fall ’03 / Spring ’04
The preceding information is from BBM RTS, a syndicated consumer-media survey of over 55,000 Canadians, conducted twice a year by BBM Canada. For more information contact Craig Dorning of BBM Canada: cdorning@bbm.ca.
Research Watch
December 17, 2004
Decima Research
Decima’s Pharmaceutical National Report
Challenges to name brand pharmaceutical manufacturers.
Kathleen Deslauriers (416) 962-2013; http://www.decima.com/
ABC discussion touts the virtues of pursuing the small idea in print sales and marketing
Times are changing in media and this potential new world of media that’s emerging – a departure from mass media to more one-on-one relationships – means working together in a different way to break down some of the old patterns, says one top media buyer, Renetta McCann, during a panel discussion at the Audit Bureau of Circulations’ conference in Toronto on Thursday. That was just one pearl of wisdom McCann, a Chicago-based executive of Starcom MediaVest Group/The Americas and Starcom North America; along with Sunni Boot, president of ZenithOptimedia Canada and Carat North America CEO David Verklin threw out as they discussed what marketers want from print.
McCann emphasized to the crowd of media buyers, advertisers and print execs the ‘power of small ideas,’ which she relates to hitting people behind the scenes in the industry like circulation directors, planners or strategists. While acknowledging these contacts don’t have a dollar to spend, McCann pointed out they are the guardians of the consumer and will be rich suppositories of information, which could potentially open new opportunities – albeit on a smaller scale in some instances – down the road. In a similar vein, Verklin bestowed the virtues of the newest sales trend – team selling. Verklin encourages publishers to get their editors to join them when meeting clients and that by having ‘teams of people on the publishing side of the business working together on a client line of business – circulation, editorial, publisher and the marketing department – it can provide a rich dialogue’ and make a meeting between seller and buyer outstanding.
TV commercials online, on demand
WEBVideo, of Edmonton, is evolving brand advertising on the Web. After eight months of tests, it went live in July with nine online TV-on-Demand channels covering such topics as health, travel and politics. A program set to air this week will invite visitors to the political channel to rate politicians and write reviews about them.
Surfers find the site thewebvideo.com through search engines when looking for information on a topic such as back pain. WEBVideo, which counts six Alberta provincial government departments, Nashville record labels and the Alberta Association of Chiropractors among its clients, might show a video on back pain, how chiropractors work and tips on how to find a good chiropractor, then the viewer can click on a link to the AAC’s site. Or, if the client wishes, the viewer can be automatically sent to its site when the video is finished.
The service is a step forward for brand advertising on the Net, says producer Julien Lambert. Advertisers can reach consumers who have demonstrated interest in a given product or service, thereby putting the focus not on the product but on the consumer who has sought out the information videos about brands, products and companies. WEBVideo integrates branding video-on-demand with the creation, promotion, delivery and reporting on of rich media video campaigns. There is no fee, no downloads necessary and no pop-ups. Reporting metrics include video plays, date, time, IP address and intercept survey data. About 50,000 to 100,000 video pages are viewed each month, with 50% of the audience being 16- to 34-year-old influencers.
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