Consumption of home brew beer; by city

The Gunn Report for Media has named OMD the top creative media agency – at 161 points – for the second year in a row. The list, which ranks the most awarded campaigns, agencies and advertisers at media competitions worldwide (including Cannes Media Lions, FIAP, IPA, the Clios and the Effies), has also named Hewlett-Packard as advertiser of the year. Meanwhile, Nike’s Canadian ‘You are faster’ campaign was the sixth most awarded campaign in the Gunn report.

Other nods went to Starcom MediaVest, which took the number two spot in the media agency race, scoring 150 points. The agency’s prize booty this year included laurels at Cannes and the U.S. Effies, two Clios, a Grand Prix at the Malaysian Media Awards and two prizes at FIAP. Third place went to ZenithOptimedia at 95 points with lead campaigns including London’s ‘Virtual history’ and France’s ‘Hype Gallery’ – both for HP. Zenith also nabbed two Effies in the U.S.

Energy drink Red Bull has announced that PHD Canada has beat out four other companies to handle media planning and buying in Canada. Montreal’s Touché! PHD will be handling the new assignment. PHD Network is part of Omnicom Media Group.

At the Association of Canadian Advertisers Executive Forum yesterday in Toronto, Corus Entertainment president and CEO John Cassaday was inducted into the inner circle of Canadian adverati with a standing O honoring him as the newest recipient of the ACA Gold Medal Award. Accepting his award at a luncheon ceremony, Cassaday spoke about a life spent in advertising, and the importance of valuing and empowering the people around you. Since he was being recognized for his exceptional leadership within the industry, as well as in philanthropic endeavors, it comes as no surprise that from his Campbell Soup (‘better than a sweater’ ) and General Foods days, to CTV and now Corus, that this a constant theme. The other trait he was honored for – innovation – also came through in his closing remarks. He left the audience to mull over the two reasons a marketer can be fired: doing nothing; or doing something, but failing, and advocated on the side of always trying.

This dovetailed nicely with the morning agenda, which focused on media innovation. The keynote, delivered by Charlie Crowe, MD of London-based C Squared, went over the reasons that the old hierarchy is breaking down and the traditional model is dead, and pointed out the archaic nature of some of the thinking, including nuggets such as that while 24-39 may have once made sense as a demo, it certainly doesn’t now. He illustrated the point with a chart noting the widely divergent preoccupations within the span – such as the 24 year-old worries if he can afford a beer at the pub, while the 39 year-old family man wonders if he can escape out with the lads to grab a pint.

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

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.