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Nielsen Media Research Spend Trend: Career search and training
Dailies are the choice for career and training ads. They own this category, capturing anywhere from a high of 68.7% to a low of 51.7% of the annual ad dollars for the past four years. Radio showed the most improvement with annual increases resulting in a jump from just 0.4% of the pie in 2001 to 8.1% last year. Overall media spending in the category declined yearly from 2001 to 2003. The spend rallied last year but did not reach its 2001 level.
ComBase to unveil Wave 2
ComBase, the Community Newspaper Database, is set to release Wave 2 results next month. The organization (combase.ca) will be unveiling its Wave 2 survey results to Toronto agencies in a presentation to be held Wednesday, Oct. 26 at the Hilton Toronto from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.
The next wave of interviewing is scheduled to begin in January. Results from these interviews will be released in next fall. ComBase is a syndicated consumer-media survey of more than 400 Canadian markets.
BBC Canada puts big push behind Kumars
BBC Canada is bringing a colourful U.K. hit to this country. The Kumars at no. 49 follows a South Asian family living in Britain who host their own chat show in a building in their backyard. Guests are real-world celebs. The show will air Tuesdays at 9 p.m., beginning Oct. 11.
The diginet is putting lots of effort into promoting the program to both South East Asian viewers, current BBC Canada subscribers and a mainstream aud of A25-54. With the help of Mango Moose Media, they branded a Mini Cooper with Kumars artwork in August and drove around pertinent Toronto neighbourhoods during the Masala Mendhi Masti festival. Mango also sent out a street team of girls in saris to hand out Kumar postcards and branded snacks at the Festival of South Asia in the city’s Little India neighbourhood.
But the main campaign goes to market Oct. 3 in Toronto and Vancouver. Elements include outdoor in the Toronto transit system and the Vancouver SkyWall Mural; TV spots on South East Asian digital channels; print in TV books, the National Post, Metro Toronto, 24 Hours Vancouver and the Vancouver Province and targetted South East Asian publications.
Life highlights money woes in November
Life Network has a limited series primed for airing in November. For Love or Money looks at the power money has to bring relationships to an end. Couples argue over money more than any other subject. Other problems include what happens when a woman chooses to stay home with her new baby and no longer has an income; and dealing with a partner who can’t be trusted with money. The four episodes will air Nov. 20, running back-to-back from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Following, at 8 p.m., an ongoing series on a related subject, Til Debt Do Us Part premiers. In each episode, financial expert Gail Vaz-Oxlade helps families go from red to black by getting to the root of their destructive spending habits.
Kostick returns with new cooking series
Popular cooking show host Ken Kostick is back with a new program on Global, PRIME and CH. Countertop to Table Cuisine is based on the chef’s recent cookbook. The premise is that Kostick presents recipes without using a stove or conventional oven.
Known best for his cooking series What’s for Dinner?, Kostick will preem Countertop to Table Cuisine on Saturday, Sept. 24 on Global(take a deep breath) in Saskatchewan at 3:30 p.m., in Ontario and Quebec at 8:30 a.m., in the Atlantic provinces at noon, in Alberta at 3 p.m., in Manitoba at 11:30 a.m. and in B.C. at 7 a.m. The show will air on CH Hamilton, Red Deer and Vancouver Island at 12:30 p.m. and on PRIME at 9:30 a.m., also beginning Sept. 24.
Fusion names Cooper
Vancouver-based Fusion Alliance Marketing has named Bill Cooper as group account director, corporate sponsorship marketing, working on the Bell account. Cooper will manage Bell’s sponsorship portfolio and provide strategic leadership for their programs in Western Canada. Previously he was director of client services for the event management division of ESPN STAR Sports. Fusion, a member of the Cossette Communication Group, helps clients develop sponsorship and corporate philanthropy programs.
Event
September 27
McLuhan International Festival of the Future – Media Chaos
Metro Hall Council Chambers, Toronto
http://www.mcluhanfestival.com
This half-day event looks at the impact of mass communication and media on global culture. Modern media experts — including president and CEO of The Media Company, Doug Checkeris – bring their varying points of view on the future of satellite radio and television in Canada.
***NEWS FLASH*** Boot and M2 Universal nab top media kudos
Strategy magazine’s Media Agency of the Year awards were handed out this afternoon at the first ever Media in Canada Forum, held in Toronto’s Downtown Marriott. ZenithOptimedia’s CEO Sunni Boot was once again named media director of the year. Boot has held the title since the last media agency awards, which were given out in 2003.
‘Is David Verklin here?’ asked Boot during her acceptance speech, referring to the keynote speaker and Carat Americas CEO. ‘I see the change. I feel the crackle. I appreciate this award most as it comes from the media. We wouldn’t be here without you.’
M2 Universal also brought home some gold, taking the media agency of the year title for the fourth consecutive time. Silver went to MindShare, while Mediaedge:cia nabbed bronze.
This year’s honourable mentions went to ZenithOptimedia, Cossette Media and OMD.
In a new category this year, Carat Stratagem was named the top media shop in Quebec.
Vice mag promos video game via hockey art show; seeks sponsors
The guys at Vice are hitting the art gallery scene. You read that right. Vice magazine, the indie glossy freebie that was once crafted in a basement in Montreal, has grown up. In a brand extension initiative, the rag’s in-house marketing agency, Addvice, is bringing ‘Slapshot,’ a travelling hockey art exhibit sponsored by 2K Sports and Xbox, in an effort to intro the brand-new NHL 2K6 videogame.
‘We were given a lot of liberty [by client 2K Sports] to promote the new game. And so we asked 30 artists from all over the world to each immortalize the greatest – and most notorious – hockey players,’ explains director of marketing Erik Lavoie. ‘The art show was launched in New York last week, and it’s really just a way for us to get people to talk about hockey.’
NOW Mag enlists WebTrends for reader analysis
In an effort to put some muscle behind its ad reach numbers, Toronto alt-weekly rag NOW Magazine is working with Portland, Ore.-based web analytics firm WebTrends. The mag is using insight from WebTrends to create vertical content communities such as NOW4 Music, NOW4 Food, etc. According to a release, WebTrends’ On Demand product provides NOW advertisers more detailed data on visitor preferences and interests by geography, allowing the ability to drill down to readers’ interests to the postal code level. As a result, advertisers can implement geo-targeted ad campaigns. WebTrends is also evaluating the effectiveness of NOW‘s content and marketing promos such as its e-mail newsletters, off-site banners, on-site promos and affiliate marketing programs. The analytics firm names retailer Pier 1 Imports and automaker Toyota as clients.
http://www.webtrends.com
Les Hebdos du Québec revamps
The venerable Quebec community newspaper association, Les Hebdos du Québec, has given itself a new name, Hebdos Québec, and a new logo designed by Graphème. Hebdos’ new image will be touted in ad campaigns planned for the fall. ‘Localisez. Visez. Touché!’ is meant to illustrate the effectiveness of the weeklies which reach four million readers weekly.
Hebdos Québec was founded in 1932 to promote and stimulate the development of the weekly press by offering members a variety of research, marketing and professional development services. The association has 142 local papers within its purview across the province.
Treats Coffee gets digital signage
Out-of-home digital signage company BrandView, of Toronto, has just signed a deal to install 40-inch plasma screens in Treats Coffee outlets. The initial rollout will be to 25 stores in office tower and university locations in the Toronto area, likely leading to an eventual national rollout to 100-120 locations.
Similar to the Captivate elevator network, the screens display news, weather, etc. with advertising added to the mix. The company estimates it is currently reaching 250,000 viewers per month.
http:// www.brandview.ca
BBM Media Snapshot: Canadians and breakfast bars
* There are 1.3 million Canadians (5%) that consume breakfast bars at least once a week.
* Heavy breakfast bar consumers are primarily under 44 years of age. Canadians 18 to 24 years old consume 2 times more than the national average.
* 56% of heavy breakfast bar consumers are males.
* Single people consume 1.4 times more breakfast bars than the national average; engaged people consume 2.7 times more.
* Heavy consumers of breakfast bars have a higher likelihood of consuming prepared foods.
* They order/buy 2.7 times more food from drive through, 1.9 times more take-outs and 1.6 times more deliveries, compared to the national averages (order/buy 1+ times per week).
* They also have strong preferences for certain types of restaurants. They visit or order from pubs 1.9 times more than the national average, 1.8 times more from submarine sandwich shops, and 1.8 times more from chicken restaurants (visit/order 1+ times per month).
* Looking at categories where they spent $500 or more last year, breakfast bar consumers spent 2.5 times more on women’s shoes, 2.1 more on stereo equipment, 2.1 more on wedding services, and 1.9 more on home decor, compared to the national averages.
* Heavy consumers of breakfast bars attended 1.7 times more boat shows and 1.7 times more auto racing shows. They also attended twice as many bridal shows.
* TV (90%), radio (90%) and the Internet (68%) are their top three media choices by yesterday exposure.
* Based on weekly reach, classic mainstream rock (1.7 times the national average), mainstream top 40/CHR, and adult contemporary are their preferred radio formats.
* Movies, reality shows (1.6 times more than the national average), and news/current affairs are the top TV program types watched by breakfast bar consumers in an average week.
Source: BBM RTS Canada Fall ’04 / Spring ’04, 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.
Discovery Health preems sex and death for November
Specialty net Discovery Health is bringing two new series to TV screens this November. The half-hour Cheating Death: Amazing Stories of Survival preems Nov. 1 and airs on Tuesdays at 9 and again at 9:30 p.m. The series looks at people who have lived through lightning strikes and impalements. Would be a perfect sponsorship opp for the old Timex ‘Keeps on ticking’ campaign.
Nov. 4 is the premiere date for Strictly Sex with Dr. Drew. The 10-part hour-long series is hosted by med sexpert Dr. Drew Pinsky who walks folks through all things sexual Fridays and Saturdays at 9 p.m.
