Canadian youth interacting with three screens
Mobile phones have become the third information and entertainment screen for Canadian youth along with the TV and PC. They are now spending about eight hours a day with these devices. A recent study conducted for Motorola Canada by Research Strategy Group, a Toronto-based marketing and opinion research company, found that those aged 15 to 34 are spending 23% of their time with their mobiles phones, 37% with television, and 40% with the home computer.
Mobile phone time is increasing among the younger age group, 15 to 20, who spend 39% of their time with TV and 13% with the mobile phone. The older segment, 30 to 34, spend 51% of their time with TV and 9% with the mobile phone.
The teens and young adults surveyed are primarily using their phones to make and receive calls (98%) and most are text messaging (61%). They are downloading ringtones (44%) and playing video games (32%).
More than one in four (28%) use their mobile phone as their main or only phone and four in five have their mobile with them (80%) or turned on all of the time (77%).
Other findings include:
* While 8% are currently downloading and listening to music on their mobile phones, more that half of those polled (55%) find this feature appealing;
* While 19% are sending and receiving email with their mobile, 67% are interested in doing so;
* Nearly one quarter (22%) are currently capturing, downloading and sharing photos on their mobile phone, but 68% say it’s an intriguing feature to have on a mobile device;
* 14% are accessing news, weather and sports information while more than half (56%) are interested in this function;
* 7% are recording and sharing video clips but almost half polled (44) find it appealing.
Research Strategy Group collected the data for the Third Screen study during 1001 online interviews conducted in June of this with 15- to 34- year-olds, each with access to a mobile phone for personal use.
AOL’s teen channel traffic spikes with Thermasilk’s hot guy
AOL Canada is enjoying its flirtation with Thermasilk’s ‘hit on my hot guy’ campaign, an online promo the hair care brand is doing with Habbo Hotel and MuchMusic wherein teen girls build their virtual dream date. The brand hook-up — AOL’s contribution being an online polling and voting site called the ‘hot guy face-off’ – is being used to leverage AOL Canada’s Teens content channel called ‘RED’.
Because of its involvement, the media company has seen a spike in traffic to RED. Becky Bolt, senior manager of corporate communications at AOL Canada says, ‘We are seeing a significant increase in the traffic on our RED channel (from both members and the AOL.ca portal channel) by 6,000 uniques since launching last week. The Thermasilk campaign components are integrated into news, side bar polls and the Hot Guy Face Off.’
See related story http://www.mediaincanada.com/articles/mic/20051013/habbo.html
Nielsen Media Research Spend Trend: Cold and Flu Season
Nielsen Media Research Spend Trend: Cold and Flu Season
TV is the aching, sneezing, snuffling, coughing medium
Marketers of cold and flu products overwhelmingly choose TV as the remedy for their advertising needs, spending as much as 93.1% of their budgets in 2003 and 89.1% on TV last year. If misery loves company, ailing consumers will gain some comfort from all the images of fellow cold and flu sufferers in this season’s barrage of TV commercials.
Global develops print and air deal for House & Home
Global is set to premiere half-hour design show House & Home with Lynda Reeves. The show will begin airing on Monday, Oct. 31 on Mondays and Fridays at 3 p.m. In a brand extension initiative, the deal involves a book publishing component via CanWest’s publishing division and a weekly column to be written by Reeves for the media company’s newspaper properties across Canada including The National Post. The weekly column appearing in the Home section of newspapers beginning the weekend of October 28 will highlight various home décor topics. According to Greg Treffry, VP of business development at CanWest, the print column will not be tied to the show.
‘This initially started as a broadcast license agreement but we saw it as more,’ explains Treffry, ‘We saw this as a great example for us to use all of our properties.’
He says this show has a completely different look and feel from other Lynda Reeves home design shows and that the net is exploring ‘other opportunities like this because it’s a good example of how to use all of our other platforms.’ The deal was done direct.
IFC to run 30 days
IFC will air Morgan Spurlock’s documentary series called 30 Days. The six-part one-hour unscripted series follows the filmmaker (of Super Size Me fame) as he chronicles people who are willingly taken out of their own environment to live in another person’s reality for 30 days. The series begins airing on Sunday, January 1 at 12 p.m.
Global names Shipton as VP, original programming
Christine Shipton has been named VP, original programming. In her new remit, Shipton will oversee all original fiction and non-fiction programming. She joined Global as director, dramatic programming last year.
CanWest MediaWorks hires three
CanWest MediaWorks has named three new hires to beef up its broadcast marketing initiatives. Of the new hires, SVP of marketing, TV and radio, Walter Levitt says: ‘This was done to create focused brand teams. It’s part of our new commitment to be very marketing and brand focused across all our properties.’
Tim Kist has joined CanWest as director of marketing for specialty, leading all projects for all of the net’s specialty brands. He left APTN where he held the role of director of sales and marketing. Kist will be based in Winnipeg. Brad Parry has taken the role of director of marketing for CH TV, spearheading all marketing initiatives for the CH brand across Canada. His most recent role was as director of marketing, advertising and DM for Calgary-based Adculture Group. He will be based in Calgary. Both Kist and Parry will report directly to Levitt.
Jamie Schouela has been hired as director, advertising and promotions strategy for Global TV. He was most recently director of marketing at Alliance Atlantis and will oversee the strategic direction for all on-air, off-air and online marketing. Based in Toronto, Schouela will report to David Hamilton, VP of marketing at Global.
Event
Nov. 10
Children, Youth and Media Conference
Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Toronto
www.act-aet.tv
The day-long conference organized by The Alliance for Children and Television, brings together kids’ TV broadcasters and youth experts to discuss media trends. The event includes panels such as ‘What’s New with Teens,’ with Michael Wood of U.S. firm Teenage Research Unlimited.
Mobile on Demand goes national
According to Dan Reitzik, everyone’s going digital. The president of the Vancouver-based online and wireless community Digital Youth, announced that the company’s Mobile on Demand program is expanding to five markets, and as a result of the expansion, they’re busy searching for sponsors. The initiative, a partnership with CanWest Media Works, offers brands a bundled mobile and print buy. The weekly full-colour, full-page ‘mobile marketing destination’ in Friday editions of CanWest print properties in the Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa and Montreal markets will contain content such as mobile stories (called ‘Text in the City’), ads and contests. The biggest draw? Ringtones provided by exclusive category sponsor, Universal Music.
Mobile on Demand initially ran as a test in CanWest’s Vancouver Province last spring. In some weeks, text-ins fluctuated between 400-5,000, depending on content and contests offered that week. Because of that continuing success, the 16-week national program will be offered in the Vancouver Province, Calgary Herald, Edmonton Journal, Ottawa Citizen and Montreal Gazette beginning November 18. Digital Advertising Network (DAN), a Digital Youth partner, will support the promo through its network of in-mall screens. DAN Media will also be selling Universal ring tones.
Sears to make guest appearance on Corner Gas
In a deal brokered by Toronto-based media agency Mediaedge:cia, the Sears brand is set to make a guest appearance in this season’s holiday episode of Corner Gas. The Sears Wish Book catalogue will be written into the script as characters reminisce about ordering items from the book as children. A campaign to draw viewers to the episode, at this time tentatively scheduled for a December 12 airing, will launch in the first week of December and last until the end of the season.
‘We did some proprietary research into product placement and looked at [factors such as] is it effective? Does it impact awareness and purchase intent?’ explains Bruce Neve, VP and managing director at Mediaedge:cia. He says that based on findings of that research, the agency then looked for a property with the same core values as Sears – that being ‘accessible, friendly, popular but not trendy. So we came up with Corner Gas because it’s Canadian and it appeals to everyone.’
Marc Gavreau, national manager of media services at Sears Canada says this marks the first time the brand has entered the world of brand integration.
‘In terms of being in the script, yes. We have, in the past, provided product in exchange for airtime but this is the first time for real integration. Success for us is increased awareness for the Wish Book.’
Top TV advertisers: Eloda analysis
The following research is the first in a new weekly series for MIC that looks at new TV ads by category. This info, for the week of October 7-14, was gathered through Montreal-based ELODA’s online TV advertising tracking, auditing and viewing services. The company’s technology identifies the signature ‘DNA’ of individual TV ads in support of marketing research initiatives.
Top 5 Categories with the Most New Commercials
Latest BBM RTS survey shows surprising stats
The latest RTS survey results from BBM Canada have uncovered some interesting results, including Playboy and Maxim are not just for men, teens shop at some unlikely places, Canadians are thinking hybrid for their next car purchase, casino visitors may not be who you think they are, meat alternatives are gaining ground and many other interesting consumer facts.
Survey highlights include:
* 31% of Canadians who shopped La Senza in the past year were men
* 23% of La Senza shoppers are teens 12-17
* 29% of Canadians who intend to buy a vehicle next year, are considering a Hybrid as a potential option
* Ontario and Quebec are the regions with the highest incidences of Hybrid interested buyers
* 311,000 Canadians visited casinos 12 or more times last year
* For 60%, high school is their highest level of schooling
* 38% are retired (2 times the national average), 9% are unemployed (2 times national avg.)
* 3.6 million Canadians (13%) consumed meat alternatives (soy, tofu, tempeh) during the last 30 days.
* 440,000 Canadians (2%) read Playboy in the past month.
* 15% of Playboy readers are female
* 1.1 million Canadians (4%) read Maxim in past month
* 22% of Maxim readers are female
* 3.6 million Canadians (13%) download music occasionally/frequently
* 20% agreed with the statement ‘I feel very lonely’ (2 times the national average)
* 2.9 million Canadians (11%) participate in discussion or chat groups occasionally/frequently
* 62% are under 24 years old (3 times national avg.)
BBM RTS, a syndicated consumer-media survey of over 61,000 Canadians, conducted twice a year by BBM Canada.
MIC’s creative pic: Belair and Diesel get on the GO
Beginning this week in Toronto, look out for GO Train cars wrapped in BELAIRdirect creative. The campaign, created by Montreal-based agency Diesel, shows a vandalized car with belairdirect.com scratched into its doors. Print executions bearing the same creative theme are posted inside the trains. The campaign aims to draw traffic to the insurance company’s website. The media buy was managed by Touché.
Harding chooses non-renewal at RMB
Current president of the Radio Marketing Bureau (RMB) John Harding has announced that he is not seeking a renewal of his current contract, which ends in the spring. He retains his title until a replacement is named. Harding has served as president of the RMB for the past seven and a half years. He serves on the BBM Radio Executive Committee as well as various boards of directors including that of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters.
