Pierre Hamilton
Influential bloggers integrate ads
In a bold move, Vancouver-based Marqui Management Systems has hired a team of bloggers to hawk the company’s services. Marqui, whose clients include the David Suzuki Foundation, makes Web-based text editing software.
In the ‘Blogosphere Program,’ a team of heavily read, influential technology bloggers will insert the company’s logo and at least one mention per week (with a link to the company’s Web site) into their blogs. For their efforts, the bloggers will receive $800 a month. An additional $50 is paid with each qualified sales lead.
New marketing tools extol the virtues of personalized direct mail
Beginning November 12, Xerox’s 1:1 Lab will demonstrate the power and effectiveness of personalized marketing. Developed by Xerox Canada and Terminal van Gogh, a Toronto-based marketing consulting firm, the 1:1 Lab is a team of researchers that allows 10 corporations to pit personalized mail campaigns against traditional direct mail, providing valuable data on response rates, the impact on sales, and cost-effectiveness.
The 1:1 Lab’s main goal is to demonstrate the usefulness of the new medium. Headed by Terminal van Gogh, Trilogy Alliance is a collection of the software, hardware, and people that provide the infrastructure and expertise companies require when developing their own successful personalized marketing campaigns. The Xerox Research Centre of Canada in Mississauga hosts the launch party at 10:30 a.m. and the event will include representatives of the key players and marketing participants.
Pride gets ‘HARD’ core during primetime
Canada’s gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered community is getting a dose of hardcore pornography as PrideVision TV re-brands its current channel. Starting November 1, PrideVision TV is airing HARD; a block of primetime porn from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m in order to facilitate a changeover to a 24/7 premium-pay adult content digital service. HARD launches in early 2005 and will feature gay erotica without traditional advertisements. PBS-style ads would appear before and after programs, but never during.
When the premium channel launches, PrideVision will re-launch as Glow TV, a lifestyle channel that represents the entire GLBT community without the adult programming. During the changeover, PrideVision has gone commercial free, but Jason Hughes, director of sales and marketing says that will change once the new channel is up and running. He expects that their current advertisers, which include Crest White Stripes, EMI music, Telus, and Labatt’s, will return. Advertising opportunities will incorporate traditional spots, show sponsorships and billboard campaigns.
Stick your ad on my butt
Wherever an advertisement or company logo can fit, The Canadian Professional Soccer League says they will entertain potential sponsors. In the world of professional soccer, advertisers have put their logos on everything from stadiums to socks, jerseys to shoes. Now, they are zeroing in on the butt. In the UK, a cash-strapped Leeds United is taking advantage of a new rule that allows advertising on the backside of shorts.
Closer to home, Stan Adamson, director of media and public relations at CPSL, says that while none of the teams in the CPSL have logos on their backside, they are interested in discussing individual team and league sponsorship. Companies such as JVC, Gatorade, and Subway currently sponsor individual teams. Adamson says that the CPSL has final approval about where and how logos appear on uniforms, but insists they are flexible. The CPSL is an 11-team league made up of teams in and around the GTA and runs from May to October.
http://www.cpsl.ca
Food Network airs the goods on Ocean Spray Cranberry Cocktail
In the weeks leading up to the holiday season, the Food Network will host an innovative marketing program that alters viewer’s notions of Ocean Spray Cranberry Cocktail. Genesis Media created a multi-pronged campaign that combines traditional TV spots with 15-second vignettes designed to reinforce the brand by highlighting the versatility of cranberries. The vignettes were handpicked to air during programming with a focus on cooking and the holiday season. In addition to the vignettes and TV spots, the campaign employs five-second brand reminders, all of which prompt viewers to visit The Cranberry Corner, Ocean Spray’s microsite. At the microsite, Genesis tracks results in order to relay effective measurements to the client.
