Terry Poulton
Visa Perks expanded big-time in second go-round
So pleased was Visa Canada with the results of last year’s Visa Perks experiment that it aggressively expanded the initiative for its second foray, says Toronto-based senior product manager Sylvie Briz – who declined to disclose details on the initial ROI.
For a six-week push ending September 30, Visa’s profile-boosting campaign has evolved from Toronto-only m-couponing with local retailers and support from local radio, plus online contests last year to the national rollout of a raft of integrated features. These include: public transit domination; radio tags and promotions in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and bilingually in Montreal; customer statement inserts; a VST media pilot at 115 Esso and five Canadian Tire gas bars in the Toronto area with 15-second, text-based animated spots above the self-serve pumps; and in Montreal only, igotcha branded web pads – a portable WiFi device in coffee bars, gyms and restaurants that offers up to 15 minutes interaction with viewers when initiated.
Alliance Atlantis commissions multiplatform push for Jet Li’s Fearless
When action flick Jet Li’s Fearless premieres on September 22, it will do so amid a multiplatform initiative prompted by Alliance Atlantis’ growing enthusiasm for pre-release web pushes. Says promotions and advertising director for AA and Odeon Films Jennifer Otter, ‘This is an evolution of our overall strategy to build up our online presence into a more integral part of our overall media mix, most notably for wide release movies with a core audience of males 18-34. When we released (Jet Li-starrer) Unleashed in 2005, we did a relatively small Internet buy, mainly on the websites of top-ranking, male-skewing radio stations. With the more recent release of Silent Hill, our goal was to be much more aggressive and innovative online. We bought in-game posters on the Massive Network, super-banners on MSN and videogame site IGN.com, as well as on WWE.com, among others.’
New Canadian women’s mag seeking non-traditional range of advertisers
BOBBi publisher Abbis Mahmoud, whose premiere issue hit newsstands last week, bills his new publication as ‘the first complete lifestyle and fashion magazine’ for Canadian women 17-34 – one whose differences from other such publications begins with the fact that its covers will always feature a man, the first being actor Matthew McConaughey.
With a cover price of $4.95, the magazine’s initial circulation is 76,000 (70% newsstand, 3,750 paid subscriptions). Toronto-based Mahmoud says his strategy is ‘strong editorial content’ and a maximum ratio of 40% ads, and that he is ‘welcoming fashion and beauty advertising, but also seeking advertisers who want to reach this demographic but haven’t traditionally advertised in women’s magazines – liquor and beer, motorcycle, gadgets, computers, video games, online gaming, dating.’ Advertisers in the inaugural issue include Calvin Klein, Rocawear, Schwarzkopf and Ocean Pacific.
Mahmoud plans to build on his successful track record as publisher of another Canadian magazine, Urban Male, with an aggressive marketing campaign that will begin in September with BOBBi billboards and radio advertising in Toronto, Montreal, Calgary, Ottawa, Vancouver and Halifax. Meanwhile, in a series of promotional stunts in these cities, ‘BOBBi boys’ will stand at the busiest intersections handing out free copies of the magazine. As well, launch parties across Canada will be staged with ‘special celebrity appearances.’
In the future, Mahmoud says his team will host large events throughout Canada on a regular basis to which ‘anywhere from 2,000 to 50,000 people’ per event will be invited. These, he says, ‘will be excellent opportunities for advertisers to market and sample to a captive audience in cool settings.’
Temporary pre-site: www.umm.ca/bobbi/coming-soon.html; permanent (to come): www.bobbimag.com
The New Plan – a savvy six-way cross-promotion
Exemplifying the imaginative, multi-featured path it’s now possible – and imperative – for media to pursue, Exclaim! magazine, CBC, Mint Records, HMV, Puma and Mazda are teaming up in an exceptionally sticky, youth-oriented initiative whose end result will be a concert tour and free CD giveaway. That might seem like a no-brainer when young music lovers are the target. But check out what each of the six partners is bringing to the table to achieve admirable synergy and a potential ROI bonanza.
The kickoff concept was an anniversary celebration for Exclaim!, the Toronto-based music publication that’s been promoting new music to Canadian fans with frequent concert tours since 1991. ‘Past sponsors have included Jeep and Levi’s,’ publisher Ian Danzig tells Media in Canada. ‘And this year we once again brought together a number of organizations who are looking to target our dedicated readership.’
Domination or bust for Global’s virtual roadblock mission
Cheekily christening a host of upcoming multi-platform activities ‘Media Domination 2006,’ Global Television has vowed to give its new and returning prime-time shows as much oomph as possible by engaging in ‘one of the largest and most aggressive fall launch marketing initiatives on record in Canada.’
Scheduled to begin rolling out on August 21st, the campaign will feature what the network terms an unprecedented level of exclusivity in a raft of sole-advertiser buys, plus dramatic guerilla marketing, event presence and outdoor maneuvres.
A wide variety of custom creative was developed in-house by the television marketing department and tailored to key Global franchises Prison Break, House, The Simpsons, Family Guy, Survivor, Shark and Brothers & Sisters, with select outdoor creative updated regularly to reflect series’ premiere dates, reprising the network’s pioneering strategy last season. Key drop dates for the radio, online and guerilla portions of the campaign – geared to promote series’ premiere days – are August 21st and September 5th.
Canada’s first media player for BlackBerrys launched
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.
Yahoo.ca’s home page redesign gives advertisers exclusivity
So confident is Yahoo.ca that advertisers will embrace its newly redesigned home page that it more than doubled its ad sales force in anticipation of last week’s launch. The company’s investment will likely pay off if other advertisers are as enthusiastic about the extensive makeover as Best Buy Canada’s Vancouver-based online marketing manager Jeff Veldhuizen. ‘I like the new version of Yahoo’s home page at least 100% better than what was offered before, particularly because it gives the advertiser exclusivity on the page,’ he says. ‘This new approach will lend itself very well to us, especially when we want to do a branding campaign versus direct response. We definitely plan to use (this venue) more in the future than we’ve done in the past.’
MiC‘s K-I-S-S Pick: magazine scent strip for a hotel chain
What should a hotel smell like? That’s the offbeat question that sparked the creation for Westin Hotels & Resorts of a fragrance dubbed White Tea, plus a novel and far-reaching print campaign, all courtesy of its NYC-HQ’d creative agency, Deutsch Inc. First came the blending of the perfume – elegant with just a hint of snootiness – and then its migration to a raft of Canadian and American magazines in the form of a scent strip.
The strip first began appearing down south this spring in The New Yorker, Real Simple, Travel & Leisure, Golf, Condé Nast Traveler, Gourmet, Food & Wine, Forbes Life, Wired, New York Times Sunday Magazine, Self, Time Business, Departures and T:Travel. In Canada, it’s running until the end of the year in EnRoute, GolfStyle, Golf Canada, Ski Canada, Maclean’s, Time, Elle Canada, Canadian House & Home, Food & Drink, Toronto Life and Western Living.
Boomers embracing podcasting faster than under-24s
According to the first comprehensive national survey of podcasting in Canada, the baby boom generation is taking to podcasting at almost double the rate of users under 24. Prepared by Sequentia Communications and Caprica Interactive Marketing and released yesterday, the survey found that the term ‘podcast’ was familiar to fully 77% of those surveyed, and 67% said they were interested in downloading one.
‘Podcasting is moving away from early adopters and into the mainstream, and is no longer synonymous with young, tech-savvy men,’ says Sequentia president Jen Evans. Adds Caprica president Leesa Barnes: ‘Although Canadians rely on other sources of information, podcasts are quickly becoming integrated into their daily consumption of news and entertainment. This survey also shows that Canadians will become impatient with podcasts that fall below their standards. Content is indeed king and this old adage holds true to podcasts as well.’
The top 5 podcasts among those surveyed include TWIT/This Week in Technology (Canada), The Ricky Gervais Show (U.K.), Quirks and Quarks (Canada), Lost (U.S.) and CommandN (Canada). The report is downloadable from www.canadianpodcastlistenerssurvey.ca.
Canadian Internet advertising up 54% from 2004
Enough Canadian marketers have jumped into Internet advertising that the Toronto-based Interactive Advertising Bureau expects total 2006 revenue to top $801 million. In a report released yesterday, the IAB pegged the amount spent in 2005 at $562 million, a 54% increase from the previous year, in which the comparable figure was $364 million. Approximately $124 million or 22% of ad dollars were allocated to the French Canadian market.
Display advertising, including CPM and direct response banner advertising programs, plus sponsorship, continues to garner the largest portion of the online advertising pie at 41% of total revenues, while search advertising grew to a 35% share of all online advertising in 2005. The remaining online ad categories included classifieds/directories at 22% of total revenue, and email at 2%.
‘There’s no question that Canadian marketers are getting the Internet religion,’ says Lynn Fletcher, formerly Arnold Worldwide’s chief strategic officer and now a partner in Toronto-based Fletcher Weir Consulting.
Cadillac signs on as sponsor of CBC’s Dragon’s Den reality series
What could be more symbolic of the aspirations of the entrepreneurially-minded contestants on the upcoming reality series Dragons’ Den than a spiffy new Cadillac STS-V? That was evidently the no-brainer notion that prompted GM’s Cadillac brand to sign on as the series sponsor in a deal brokered by Cadillac AOR MacLaren McCann.
‘The opportunity to be involved with the show made a lot of sense for Cadillac, a brand that reflects its co-stars’ cachet and maverick spirit,’ explains Richard Phillips, group account director at MacLaren McCann. ‘This show stands apart from the typical bravado of 20-something-targeted reality shows. It’s an exciting and fast-paced look at how big money wheeling and dealing goes down.’
Lauren Richards to head Starcom MediaVest Canada
In appointing veteran media specialist Lauren Richards CEO of Starcom MediaVest Group Canada today, Chicago-headquartered parent company Starcom MediaVest Group clearly signaled an intention to boost its focus on media integration.
‘Integration is paramount for any successful company or product and innovation in media is definitely one of my big beliefs,’ Richards told Media in Canada. ‘I’m so glad we’re now in the days of seeing media working more closely side by side with the creative people and the account people, and having more confidence in ourselves (to be) fully at the table as part of the team.’
Prior to officially settling into her new office within the Leo Burnett agency on July 31, Richards was senior VP/national media director of Cossette Media for 18 years until resigning last September. At Starcom, she succeeds Patrick Walshe, who left this week after a stint of about two and a half years.
Leo Burnett president David Moore says he is ‘very excited about partnering with Lauren because I know her track record and I know the passions she has are all about media innovation. I think she will be a great leader and one who’s going to partner very successfully with Leo Burnett.’
If they’re coming, he will build it
Ginormous, interactive LED screens perched high atop venues like Toronto’s Dundas Square aren’t new. Temporary versions of same – capable of capturing action in real time, and assembled Lego-style right at the hot spots where huge throngs of people will soon show up – are.
‘We say ‘where is a big crowd going to be, what’s its demographic makeup?’ And then we go after advertisers who’d like to reach those particular people on our screens,’ says Paul Riley, president of Jazz Media Group, who launched his Toronto company last October.
Smart Woman Survival Guide offers intelligent opps to marketers
‘A host of organic product placement opportunities’ has been built into W Network’s upcoming The Smart Woman Survival Guide series, says Marilyn Orecchio, director of sales for the net.
The 13-episode lifestyle series about the lives and loves of a group of women who work on a fictional lifestyle TV show called Smart Woman debuts this fall, but the first two seasons have already been mapped out, complete with brand integration opps.
Harper Collins went deep and digital to reach readers
Haven’t yet heard of Londonstani, the sizzling new novel about British-born Asian gangstas in the mean streets of the U.K.? You will, thanks to the most innovative book campaign since Jack McClelland led a parade of chariots and gladiators down Yonge Street in a blizzard.
HarperCollins Canada is pulling out all the stops for Gautam Malkani’s buzzed-about debut novel, which just hit Maclean’s bestseller list and was described by a reviewer as ‘street-wise, blinged-out Sikh teenagers running riot in a London suburb.’
- Some GroupM Canada senior executives have left the agency
- Havas Media Canada makes three senior leadership appointments
- Spotted! Warner Bros. rolls out bloody stunt for new Final Destination
- CMDC launches new campaign to champion local media
- Is GroupM being dismantled? Reports point to rebrand and restructuring
