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Urban music awards show seeks sponsors
Continuing the love affair between urban music and brands, the Urban Music Association of Canada (UMAC) has announced SUN TV as the official broadcast partner of the Canadian Urban Music Awards. And, according to UMAC’s marketing manager Paul Martin, sponsorship and product placement opps are still available with packages ranging from $5,000 to $35,000 depending on the buy. Brands participating include Gillette, Remy Martin, FLOW 93.5 and HMV among others. The annual awards show, which celebrates the best of Canada’s urban music industry, will take place on November 28 and 29 in Toronto and is slated for prime-time broadcast on SUN TV in mid-December. The show targets the 18-34 demo, skewing slightly male.
http://www.umac.ca
Eloda launches audit tool for TV ads
Montreal-based media monitoring firm Eloda announced the launch of a 24/7 tracking tool called Eloda Audit. The service measures the visibility of companies’ ad campaigns while confirming that ad messages and airtimes were broadcast accurately. The company claims that broadcast errors are frequent and can be as high as 21%. Through technology called AdDNA, the service is able to recognize the digital I.D. of an ad. Clients, in turn, get electronic reports and video footage to prove that ads ran when they were supposed to. Eloda claims complete impartiality, acting as the go-between between ad agencies, broadcasters and clients. Already on board during the country-wide test launch (ending this month) are the Government of Quebec, Molson Canada and Cossette for Bell Canada.
http://www.eloda.com
New IBM software tracks brands’ public image
IBM has just launched software that allows companies to track their buzz (and ultimately their brand’s image) in real time. The Public Image Monitoring Solution uses technology developed by Montreal-based Nstein Technologies to search for content from blogs, news feeds, consumer reviews, news groups and web pages. The tracking tool allows marketers to then ‘listen in’ on the buzz (using search terms entered) around new products, services and strategies – and respond accordingly where possible. The software is modular and scalable and as such, the cost is dependent on features chosen.
http://www.nstein.com/
New website shows Torontonians where to go, what to do
The CanadaPlus.ca network of sites – backed by the Yellow Pages Group — has added a new member to its growing family. TorontoPlus.ca offers visitors a guide to what’s going on in the T-dot. The site is comprised of event listings, location profiles, features, contests and a bi-monthly newsletter to subscribers. According to Kathryn Cox, city editor, the site saw 38,000 unique visitors in September and is anticipated to reach 150,000 uniques by the end of June 2006. TorontoPlus.ca‘s launch will be supported via ads on Yellow Pages Group properties as well as an ad campaign. Banner ads will appear on MSN Messenger next week. Media buys were handled in-house.
Intellimat rolls out a computer screen you can step on
Roanoke, VA-based tech firm Intellimat has introduced a new reason to look where you’re stepping. The company has just patented an inch-thick floor mat with four LCD screens that’s actually a wireless PC with full multimedia capabilities – and they’re on the lookout for Canadian distributors. Advertisers can run ads with sound on it and consumers can, well, step on it. ‘Seventy-five percent of purchase decisions are made while a customer is in the store [so the screens] can really generate significant sales lift,’ promises Debra Saunders, director of marketing. ‘And because it’s portable, it allows for flexibility.’ Though she declines to name her clients, Saunders has confirmed that she is currently shipping the screens to a major retail electronics chain in the U.S. And she’s shopping for Canadian partners now. The screens retail for approximately $10,000 U.S.
http://www.intellimat.com
BBM Media Snapshot: Canadians considering purchase of a hybrid vehicle
o 1.6 million (29%) of those who intend to buy/lease a vehicle next year are considering a hybrid as a potential option.
o Males are slightly more interested in hybrids (55%).
o 46% of potential buyers of hybrids are under 34 years old.
o Ontario and Quebec are the regions with the highest incidences of buyers interested in hybrid vehicles.
o 27% have a professional/university degree (slightly above the national average).
o 68% have 2 or more cars in their household.
o 47% drive sedans.
o 56% intend to buy/lease a sedan within the next 12 months (1.7 times the national average).
o 62% drive less than 20,000 kilometers per year.
o 33% spend more than 15 minutes commuting to work every day.
o The top three media for yesterday exposure for potential hybrid buyers are: TV 86%, radio 85% and Internet 59%.
o The most popular radio formats (weekly reach) among potential hybrid purchasers are: news/talk (22%), adult contemporary (11%) and hot adult contemporary (10%).
Source: BBM RTS Canada Fall ’04 / Spring ’05, individuals 12+
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.
GolTV to air live back-to-back World Cup qualifier matches
Digital specialty channel GolTV has won the live broadcast rights of back-to-back World Cup qualifying playoff games. The broadcast starts this Saturday, Nov. 12 at 2 p.m. More matches are scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 13 and Wednesday, Nov. 16. Games are slated for broadcast in both English and Spanish. GolTV is available on Rogers Digital Cable on channel 428.
Discovery Health adds four for the new year
Specialty net Discovery Health gets your new year off to a not-so-clean start with back-to-back episodes of hour-long doc series The Life of Grime. Witness the unclean side of the Big Apple beginning Sunday, Jan. 1 at 2 p.m. Love on the Rocks begins airing Monday, Jan. 2 at 9 p.m. and follows couples as their personal lives are analyzed by relationship experts. For those who really take the self-improvement bit seriously, there’s Bodywork, a six-parter on extreme transformations from penile enlargements to transgender surgery. The series airs beginning Tuesday, Jan. 3 at 9 p.m. Finally, Body Challenge: Ultimate Slimdown makes its Canadian debut weekly beginning Thursday, Jan. 5 at 9 p.m.
TSN to air NFL’s Monday night football
TSN has announced it has struck a deal with the NFL to have exclusive Canadian coverage of Monday night football, and will be extending their coverage of Sunday night games until 2008. The Sports Network will be broadcasting 17 games of the 2006 season on Mondays, starting Thursday, Sept. 7 next year.
Bonnick joins Carat Toronto
Sandra Bonnick has been named account director for Toronto’s Carat Canada. She will be responsible for communication planning for Procter & Gamble’s Care and Baby Care brands. Bonnick previously managed planning for Johnson & Johnson at M2 Universal.
Gendron joins Eloda
Nathalie Gendron has taken the role of marketing manager at Montreal-based ad analysis firm Eloda. Gendron was formerly content manager at software company My Virtual Model.
Filiatrault joins ICA as director of professional development
Suzanne Filiatrault has been named to a newly-created position as director of professional development for ICA (Institute of Communications and Advertising). In her new role, Filiatrault will be responsible for creating a professional curriculum.
Rabble.ca searches for sponsors for new podcast network
Four-year-old online alt-news site rabble.ca has announced today that it is launching the rabble podcast network (rpn), a hub for independently produced, fully-Canadian audio programs covering subjects from books to technology to politics, among others. And they’re looking for brand sponsors.
‘[The podcasting network] gives advertisers the opportunity to reach rabble.ca visitors,’ says executive producer Wayne MacPhail. ‘It provides a multimedia buy because there’s also the opportunity to put video on the podcasts. And because it’s a subscription model, it targets a pre-qualified audience.’ MacPhail reports that the site attracts 300,000 unique visits per month with actual page views at approximately 3 million monthly. According to an online survey conducted in 2004, Rabble.ca attracts two demos: 25-38s and 41-50, skewing male.
ABC Report: Newspaper circulations on the decline
Despite numbers released yesterday by the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) revealing that North American newspaper paid circulations are on the decline, some Canadian titles are enjoying increases. The Globe & Mail increased 4% to 330,706 for its weekday paid run for the six-month period ending September 30. Meanwhile, The Calgary Herald‘s Monday to Thursday run increased by 2 percent to 116,671. In Montreal, La Presse increased 3 percentage points from 188,216 to 194,183. Le Devoir saw a gain of 3 percent, as well.
At the other end of the spectrum, Canada’s largest newspaper, The Toronto Star slipped 3% from last year’s numbers to its present 451,972 in weekday paid circulation. The National Post also saw a decrease of 4% in average Monday to Friday circulation to 232,508. Other drops include The Vancouver Sun which also dipped 4% for weekdays from 172,956 last year to 165,437 this year.
