Catwalk watches designers claw their way to the top
Life Network is entering the cutthroat world of fashion with a new British show, Project Catwalk. The program, hosted by Hugh Grant ex model Elizabeth Hurley, is the British version of the popular American show Project Runway. It gives 12 talented and hungry fashion designers a chance to show their stuff in the highly competitive industry. Competitors are given challenges and each week someone is eliminated. The final three remaining will show a women’s wear collection during London Fashion Week. The winning designer’s collection will be displayed in ELLE magazine. Meanwhile, in a parallel competition, 12 hopeful models battle it out with the winner wearing the victorious designer’s outfits in the ELLE feature. Project Catwalk will air Mondays at 10 p.m., beginning April 10.
Carney joins SavvyMom Media
SavvyMom Media, publisher of e-newsletter SavvyMom Today, has hired Mike Carney as director of ad sales. He will oversee integrated advertorial and email marketing opportunities at SavvyMom. Prior to this post, Carney was director of online media sales at Monster.ca and online specialist at globeandmail.com.
Events
March 7
Social Marketing: Tapping Into The Power Of Connected Customers
The National Club, Toronto
416.760.3344
www.aimscanada.com
The Association of Internet Marketing & Sales presents this breakfast seminar that asks questions like ‘What advertising practices deliver results in social (i.e. online) media? Is blogging right for my company?’
Brands join athletes in Torino for the Olympic games
Call it national pride or call it mass audience availability, but brands are doing what they can to take advantage of what they hope will be an engaged audience. For Rene Bertrand, executive director of media sales at CBC, it’s a good thing. ‘We have 15 sponsors this year. That’s a record for us.’ Last Olympic games netted 12 sponsors, he says.
‘Everyone’s really trying to leverage their involvement,’ Bertrand says citing Bell Canada as an example of one such sponsor. Bell Canada’s piece of the sponsorship pie is all about high interactivity. Exclusive CBC/Radio Canada content will be available to Bell Mobility customers. Hourly highlights will air 18 times daily in English and 13 times in French for MobiTV subscribers.
EMI spreads viral Morningwood for Valentine’s and heavies up on innovative print efforts to reach youth
EMI Music Canada wants music fans to wake up with Morningwood this Valentine’s Day. In a move to intro this new pop/punk band, the label will unleash a viral V-day card inviting folks to ‘Wake Up with Wood.’ The e-card is just one part of an awareness campaign, says Andres Mendoza, marketing director at the label. The e-card features full streaming video of the band’s single, ‘Nth Degree’ and an invitation to ‘give a friend some wood.’ Mendoza says the objective here is to drive folks to the band’s website at morningwoodrocks.com, and offline, to head to retail partner HMV, which will feature the CD at a low promo price point. Hard-copy V-day cards will also be inserted in Dose, while teams in Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto will hit the streets spreading the wood. ‘The release is also supported by a new ‘Strut– approved initiative,’ says Mendoza of the promo’s other print partner. A sticker approved by the hip, entertainment/lifestyle magazine ‘will be on all Morningwood CDs and the band will perform at an upcoming Strut anniversary party.’ Ad buys in Vice round out the program. Deals were done direct.
Diversity in Canada study deciphers media use of key cultural market groups and finds ads missing the mark
Toronto-based Solutions Research Group will be unveiling findings from a study that polls more than 3,000 culturally diverse Canucks from the Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal markets on March 1. The study conducted in nine different languages including: English, French, Cantonese, Mandarin, Punjabi, Hindi, Urdu, Spanish and Italian polled folks on topics ranging from lifestyle habits to social perspectives and media and brand use. The Diversity in Canada study also offers an overview of media preferences by language. Top line findings include:
* Chinese Canadians are above average Internet users (80% used Internet from home in the last 7 days versus 68% in the general population of Toronto/Montreal/Vancouver)
* Chinese Canadians are average in time spent with TV but spend less time with radio than the average population
* 40 % of South Asian Canadians watch TV in a language other than English or French on a weekly basis
* Yahoo is the leading online brand destination by a wide margin for both Chinese and South Asian Canadians
* Hispanic Canadians are more likely than all other groups surveyed to agree with the statement ‘I rarely see advertising messages intended for me’ (65% agree)
http://www.srgnet.com
New WOM metric co. finds Canadians unmoved by mass advertising, chatter most about Mr. Clean
Toronto-based word-of-mouth marketing expert Agent Wildfire has joined forces with U.S.-based BzzAgent, a word-of-mouth marketing and researching firm. Agent Wildfire will deliver BzzAgent’s BzzCampaign and BzzBlast solutions to Canadian brands. An October survey of 700 Canadians by BzzAgent revealed:
* 62% say: ‘There are just too many commercial messages for me to be bothered paying attention anymore’
* Canadians place little importance on the mass advertising of brands: while 44% of Americans are influenced by mass advertising, only 17% of Canadians are
* Canadians are connected: 72% of Canadians are online, receiving 80 messages per day and averaging 13.5 hours/week in usage – all stats near or at the top of the world rankings
* Canadians are cosmopolitan and highly urbanized; most large Canadian cities outrank their U.S. counterpart cities on quality of life, with four out of five respondents living in urban areas
Some surprisingly non-sexy brands made the buzz list (survey says this is because it’s the stuff around us every day). The top five named were Mr. Clean (because of its new eraser product), Swiffer, iPod, Xbox and Tide. Apple came in at number six, followed by Tim Hortons. Pepsi was number eight, with communications giant Rogers and Coke at the bottom at number nine and ten, respectively. The categories were wide-ranging, covering everything from food to automotive to health and beauty.
http://www.agentwildfire.com
NBC Universal signs up for Simmons’ BehaviorGraphics system
New York, NY-based Simmons Research has found a client in NBC Universal. Seems the net is placing behaviour targeting at the top of its priority list and the market research firm’s TV BehaviorGraphics system is just the ticket. The tool is a behavioural targeting system merging the Nielsen National TV Index (NTI) with the Simmons National Consumer Survey (NCS) to pinpoint the best prospects for foods and services based on viewing habits. The Simmons tool drills down beyond simple demographics to individual tastes. In the U.S., the system measures adults 18+, kids 6-11, teens 12-17 and Hispanics.
They put ads where: HarperCollins posts online book as ad vehicle
New York, NY-based publisher HarperCollins has made the entire text of a new biz book available on the Web.Go It Alone! The Secret to Building a Successful Business on your Own is available on author Bruce Judson’s website found at brucejudson.com. The catch? Different ads appear on each of the title’s more than 200 Web pages. Publisher and author will share ad revenue. If this experiment proves its merit and nets the sales, the secret to building that successful business may be to kowtow to the ad dollars.
BBM Media Snapshot: Canadians, meat alternatives and healthy eating
* 4 million Canadians (14%) consumed meat alternatives (soy, tofu, tempeh) in their households during the last 30 days.
* 70% of those consumers are between the ages of 18 and 44 years old.
* British Columbia is the region with the highest incidence of meat alternative consumption (1.6 times the national average).
* 33% of meat alternative consumers have a professional degree (above the national average).
* Meat alternative consumers have healthy eating habits:
– One third purchased organic fruits/vegetables during the past 30 days (1.9 times the national average).
– 38% prepared vegetarian meals at home during the past 30 days (2 times the national average).
– 20% ordered vegetarian meals when dining out during the past 30 days (2.2 times the national average).
– 16% consume soy beverages at least once a week (2.5 times the national average).
* 21% practice pilates/yoga (1.5 times the national average).
* Their top media choices by yesterday exposure are: TV (84%), radio (81%) and Internet (68%).
* Their favourite radio formats by weekly reach are: news/talk (24%), adult contemporary (14%) and mainstream top 40/CHR (9%).
Source: BBM RTS Canada Fall ’04 / Spring ’05
The preceding information is from BBM RTS, a syndicated consumer-media survey of over 60,000 Canadians, conducted twice a year by BBM Canada. For more information contact Craig Dorning of BBM Canada: cdorning@bbm.ca.
Only in America delves into subcultures
The Discovery Civilization Channel has a new program on tap that investigates and demystifies various U.S. subcultures. Running the gamut from deadly serious to just plain odd, the 10-part series Only in America looks at the gay rodeo circuit, circus performers, country preachers and male models. Pulitzer Prize winner Charlie LeDuff hosts. Only in America airs Thursdays at 9 p.m., beginning March 2.
Food Net takes a turn for the bizarre
The Food Network has found a slot for its unusual new show, Food Jammers. The show, airing Wednesdays at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m., beginning April 5, follows three friends as they create culinary equipment using items from hardware stores, Goodwill and their own backyards.
Events
May 13-16
2006 Clio Awards
South Beach, Miami
312.583.5300
www.clioawards.com
This year the Clios are highlighting ‘unusual uses of media, repositioning of technologies and the reinvention of broadcast.’
PMB Factoid
Canadians vacationing outside Canada (past year); by region
Pundits unimpressed with Canadian leverage of Super media play
Global may have boasted an average audience of four million (source: BBM) for Sunday’s Super Bowl, but the only thing heard from our armchair ad critics was a collective yawn. Their take? If you’re looking for a mass audience, this is it. So go big or go home. Canuck advertisers played it safe here, and for the creative and marketing types polled, that just meant a good game of football and a chance to run to the fridge.
