It’s diet day on W
W Network is spending Jan. 1 helping women get started on their New Year’s resolution to lose weight after the holidays with a 14-hour marathon of programming called Diet D-Day. In addition to Kirstie Alley’s series Fat Actress and a special diet product-related ep of The Shopping Bags, the blitz features a new addition to W’s lineup. British import You Are What You Eat is a half-hour doc-style show in which a holistic nutritionist confronts people with exactly what their bad eating habits are doing to their health – leading to all the drama, emotion, conflict and joy reality TV offers. The first three eps begin at 4:30 p.m. with the next batch of three following at 7 p.m. On Jan. 3, the show settles into its regular slot Mondays to Fridays at 4:30 p.m. The target audience for Diet D-Day is women 25-54 and Jell-O Light has signed on as the leading sponsor.
http://www.wnetwork.com
Events
March 28
Canadian Media Directors’ Council Annual Conference
Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Toronto
416-480-6656
http://www.cmdc.ca
The conference looks at advancing the effectiveness of media advertising in Canada. Featured speakers include keynote Maurice Levy, chairman/CEO, Publicis Groupe SA and luncheon speaker Pierre Karl Péladeau, president/CEO, Quebecor. Register before January 1 and attend the 2006 conference at 2005 prices. Online registration now available.
May 24-26
Canadian Newspaper Association Annual Conference
Casino Nova Scotia Hotel,Halifax
416.923.3568
www.cna-acj.cav or bcantley@cna-acj.ca.
This year the CNA’s national conference will be focusing on a new study on the profile of young newspaper readers as well as online publishing initiatives in the face of challenges from the likes of Google and Yahoo!
Nets bump and shuffle for mid-season programming properties
Mid-season programming plans are well underway for the folks at CHUM and at Global, with key homegrown properties each set to take the lion’s share of the nets’ marketing pie. For CityTV, the big push is on for new reality series MuchMusic VJ Search airing on Monday, Jan. 30, while at Global, new Canadian drama Falcon Beach hopes to net the younger end of the 18-49 bullseye, beginning Thursday, Jan. 5.
‘From the winter through to the spring, we’ve got very reliable hits returning. Fall was stable and [enabled us to] build viewer loyalty, positioning us really well for the winter programs,’ says Barb Williams, SVP of programming and production at CanWest. Williams confirms that Fear Factor will return Mondays at 8 p.m., with 24 taking the 9 p.m. slot in January.
CMDC’s Media Digest goes online
The Canadian Media Directors’ Council’s 2005/2006 Media Digest is now available at www.cmdc.ca to view or download. Media Digest provides an overview of the Canadian media marketplace using various methods, including: charts, graphs, and demographics. Approximately 100 people from 30 different media agencies compiled the reference guide.
CanWest hitches a ride with Nissan and Air Canada
Nissan and Global have teamed up for the NFL Global Score More promo. Viewers of NFL games on Global will be alerted via on-screen prompt to register for a chance to win the Nissan Titan NFL edition vehicle at nflcanada.com. This is the second time the two companies have paired up for the promo. The contest will start Dec. 12 and will last for five weeks with the winner’s name announcement to come on Superbowl Sunday, Feb. 5. The promotion targets males 25-54 who are core football viewers. OMD did the media buy.
Meanwhile, the CanWest and Air Canada co-promo will see viewers flying with the ‘Watch the Sun Pass’ promotion. The campaign will be advertised on Global and Canada.com starting Dec. 1 in the Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and B.C. markets. Global morning news shows will also run live promo presentations to stimulate contest entry. The contest prizing consists of Flight Passes to the Sun. Customers will be able to use the new pass as a prepaid package for six one-way flight credits to travel to a range of destinations on Air Canada or Air Canada Jazz. Marketel played matchmaker.
BuzzMetrics launches syndicated service ranking buzz around primetime shows
New York-based BuzzMetrics, an online word-of-mouth research firm, has launched a syndicated service to listen in on TV discussions posted by viewers on blogs, message boards and the like. The TV*BuzzMetrics ratings will explain key drivers of end user engagement and value. Its pilot version tracks buzz on the top 30 new primetime programs and will be delivered monthly from November 2005 through June 2006. Key metrics include: buzz levels trended over time, viewer sentiment, program involvement rankings and brand and topic associations. According to the October 2005 buzz watch, the TV*BuzzMetrics pilot has found that three of five programs generating the most buzz come from NBC — My Name is Earl, The Apprentice: Martha Stewart, and Surface. BuzzMetrics is an affiliate of VNU, owners of ACNielsen and Nielsen Media Research.
http://www.buzzmetrics.com
RedToronto.com lets users click and connect to advertisers through PDAs
Toronto-based neighbourhood-centric search engine redCity Search has released a wireless application protocol (WAP) version for its redtoronto.com site. With this new tool, BlackBerry, Palm Treo and other wireless PDA addicts will be able to search for Toronto-only business listings on redtoronto.com and have the option to be connected via phone instantly. ‘We’re expecting a viral response to this by way of word-of-mouth,’ says Lucy Forcina, director of marketing. Forcina says that the redtoronto.com site boasts an average of 1.3 million hits per month and that the company has recently launched a Mississauga search site called – appropriately enough – redmississauga.ca. She adds that redCity Search has plans to expand across North America in 2006. There are more than 100,000 GTA-based businesses currently listed on the site.
MMA and Copernicus launch joint sponsorship measurement tool
Marketing Management Analytics (MMA) and Copernicus Marketing Consulting and Research, both of Wilton, Conn., have announced a new service to help marketers assess a sponsorship program. The MMA/Copernicus Sponsorship Evaluation Service analyzes sales-based ROI, brand and consumer equity. The tool promises to provide insight into the sponsorship’s impact on brand equity based on quantitative research as well as a blueprint for measuring sponsorship. MMA and Copernicus are independent operating units of Carat. The tool has been used previously by Fortune 500 consumer packaged goods, retail and financial companies.
http://www.mma.com
http://www.copernicusmarketing.com
Nielsen Media Research Spend Trend: Hair care and accessories
TV and magazines have good hair days
TV and magazines make the cut in a category that’s all about image, glitz, glamour, and having the right look. Marketers of hair care products and accessories greatly increased their spending between 2001 and 2004 but continued to funnel their budgets almost exclusively into these two visual media.
CTV preps new mega-buck Canuck drama: Whistler
Cameras have started rolling on the set of Whistler, a new Canadian hour-long drama, set in, you guessed it, Whistler, B.C. The show boasts ‘the biggest production budget ever,’ pulling together CTV, and prodcos Toronto-based Blueprint Entertainment and Vancouver-based Boardwatch Productions. U.S. cablecaster, The N, a network for teens, will also be adding Whistler to its schedule. The 13-part series is set to air in HD in 2006. According to the net, product integration opportunities abound.
Bathroom Divas to air January 7 on Bravo!
Bravo! is set to air six-part, hour-long doc series Bathroom Divas: So you want to be an opera star? beginning Saturday, Jan. 7 at 9 p.m. The weekly series follows six finalists hand-picked for an opera boot camp. The last singer standing will be awarded a debut performance with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
Discovery to air series on real-life hauntings
Discovery Channel keeps viewers frightened with a new six-part series investigating stories behind real-life hauntings. A Haunting premieres on Friday, Jan. 6 at 10 p.m., dramatizing real-life ghost stories using the latest forensic tools.
Event
Dec. 9
Mobisodes – Content on the Move
The Original Motorcycle Cafe and Lounge, Toronto
info@nmba.ca
This event will examine markets for the mobisode. Panelists Anita Doron, director of the mobisode, The Wandering, and Judy Gladston, executive director of Bravo!FACT and MaxFACT, will discuss the opportunities and challenges.
PMB Factoid
Book store loyalty cards; by city
Text SMS spy missions up excitement around DVD launch
Twentieth Century Fox is recruiting mobile to infiltrate holiday shopping cells. With the launch of the Mr. & Mrs. Smith DVD today, mobile-toting fans across the country will get a chance to participate in secret spy missions. Montreal-based Speed Promotions and Toronto-based Mindshare have spearheaded a national mobile promo (with back-end support by Toronto’s Jambo Mobile) that partners national retailers and brands for prizing as part of the DVD launch. Last week, street teams dressed in spy gear in Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver gave out cards to drive traffic to smith.jambomobile.com, a site where folks are can sign up to participate in text-based ‘Smith missions’ invitations. Other promo executions include radio spots and OOH via Zoom Media and New Ad posters. Mindshare did the media buy. The promo targets 15-24s.
