Study dissects Chinese demographic’s buying behaviour
Toronto-based consumer analytics firms Research Solutions and Manifold Data Mining have collectively released a study entitled Target Market: Chinese Consumers in Toronto. This report is the first in the Target Market series, which studies the multi-billion-dollar ethnic market in terms of its history, demographics, lifestyle, culture and purchase behaviour.
http://www.rsicanada.com/Special_Reports.htm
Food Net serves up new look
The Food Network is attempting to whet the appetites of its current audience as well as draw new viewers to the table with a new look and attitude. The rebrand will be served up Tuesday, Sept. 6 and will include revamped on-air branding elements and a new logo. The new look was deemed a good idea in light of a programming shift from an instructional bent to an entertainment and lifestyle thrust.
The circular logo has a vibrant red (cherry tomato) inner circle. ‘Food’ appears in a white font within the circle. On-air versions of the new logo also appear in a light green (snow pea) and orange (pumpkin).
The saucier Food Net will be reflected in an on-air campaign that includes three new 30- and 15-second image spots. One has a female guest at an upscale dinner party fixing her broken dress strap with a piece of spaghetti.
There will also be an extensive print campaign debuting Sept. 5 in Toronto and Sept. 19 in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg. Sherida German, director of marketing at Food Network, says elements include radio, billboards, subway and GO train interiors as well as newspaper and such magazines as Chatelaine and Elle. While she can’t reveal the total spend, she says: ‘It’s definitely the biggest fall campaign we’ve done to date.’
The net’s Web site, Foodtv.ca, will re-launch in mid-October with new content to complement the new on-air look. On-air and online creative were created in-house while the rest was developed by FCB Toronto in conjunction with Food parentco Alliance Atlantis.
Nielsen Media Research Spend Trend: Back to School
Out-of-home big for back to school
Out-of-home was second to TV in 2001 but grew by leaps and bound to take the lead in 2003 and then capture 55.8% of back-to-school spending in 2004. Most of the spending comes from apparel and shoe categories with jean marketers accounting for amounts ranging from one-third to more than half of the advertising spend in the past four years.
Weeds to Showcase in October
Specialty net Showcase is showcasing half-hour dramedy series Weeds Wednesdays at 10 p.m. beginning Oct. 12. This is the first time the acclaimed series starring Mary-Louise Parker and Elizabeth Perkins is coming to Canadian TV screens. In the U.S., the show premiered earlier this month, though ratings info is not available. According to spokesperson Pam Mollica, the net is ‘selling commercials with billboards and promos that are tagged with the advertiser and their positioning statement.’
W rolls out home improvement show
W, Canada’s network for women, is introducing another entry to the crowded home improvement genre. Save Us From Our House! brings together a relationship strategist and a contractor with designers to rescue fighting families. The team negotiates peace between the family members while tackling the problems of the house itself as well. The show airs Thursdays at 9:30 p.m., beginning Oct. 13.
Gay/lesbian channel gets the word OUT for fall
Gay and lesbian diginet OUTtv is expanding it footprint and announcing new shows for fall. Originally available on Rogers, recently Shaw Cable and Star choice have picked up OUTtv, with Bell ExpressVu in the final negotiations of carriage. When the deal is complete (scheduled for month’s end), the net will be available to all digital subscribers across Canada, increasing potential viewers from 20,000 to more than half a million.
A sampling of new series includes QueerEdge, airing weeknights beginning Monday, Sept. 12 at 8 p.m. and examining all that defines the word ‘queer.’
Next up is I Now Pronounce You… which follows the nuptials and catches up with the happy couple three months later. Airs Tuesdays at 9:30 p.m., beginning Oct. 4.
Then in Chris and John’s Road Trip OUTtv personalities Chris and John show what they did on their summer vacation, hitting the road for six eps of crazy antics in various cities. The show begins Monday Oct. 17 at 9:30 p.m.
Of a decidedly different bent is Get Bent! a crash course in yoga with unlikely people taking up the pastime in unlikely places, from dykes on bikes to firefighters. The show airs Fridays at 8:30 p.m., beginning Nov 4 for 13 eps.
Mega project for Discovery
Discovery looks at the most complex and dangerous engineering projects around the world in Megabuilders. The original Canadian production airs in six parts and premiers Sunday, Sept. 18 at 8 p.m. (9 p.m. PT.) with two back-to-back episodes before settling into its regular slot on Thursday, Sept. 22 at 9 p.m. (10 p.m. PT.) Megabuilders should be a good draw for the channel’s aud of adults 25-54 with a male skew.
Connection planning: Lowe Roche adds media expertise to agency with new role, new hire
Lowe Roche has hired Joy Sanguedolce as connection planner, a newly formed position in the agency’s strategic planning department. The twist for the agency renowned for its creativity: Sanguedolce comes from the media side of the business. She has been with Cossette Media for the past seven years, most recently as media supervisor.
Sanguedolce joins Lowe Roche on Sept. 6 and media buying is definitely not part of her job description. Brett Marchand, agency president, explains connection planning as a companion discipline to strategic planning. ‘If the strategic planner is in charge of the message – what it’s going to say, what does the consumer want – then the connection planner will be in charge of how you go to market. What’s the role of media, of PR, in-store, word of mouth, or grassroots events?
Rethink stirs up cult following for Solo campaign
With its new Solo mobile product, Bell Canada is hoping 13 to 24-year-olds will never be solo. The communications giant has just launched an innovative national campaign on August 15 that has yielded results thus far of new activations at 20% above plan, according to Stewart Ellis, managing director of Solo Mobile. The guys at Vancouver-based Rethink Advertising created buzz and excitement by positioning Solo, with its walkie-talkie capabilities connecting up to five people, as the ultimate tool for social function coordination. The funny campaign consists of – among other things – microsites that seemingly have nothing to do with Solo. Visit www.chadland.ca to get an idea. A site that pays homage to teen dream boy Chad, the Chad store button features items for sale such as Chad’s toenail clippings or sweaty towel. Scroll down further and a call to action invites you to ‘get closer to other fans and to Chad’ by buying a Solo phone. Similar sites found at www.stompball.ca and www.joinmurray.org are hoping to first, incite a laugh and secondly, foster that group communication.
‘We’re riding on the coattails of everything that’s cool [to youth]. We want to build buzz and we’re asking permission [to enter their lives] by making them laugh,’ says Anthony Thomas, AD at Rethink. ‘We’re giving youth credit with this web campaign.’ Solo’s TV spots are seeded with messages intended to drive traffic to the microsites.
SRG finds Canadians want greater flexibility, control in TV viewing
Over one million Canadian households now use on-demand television services either via cable video on demand (VOD) or a personal video recorder (PVR), according to a recent study by Toronto-based market research firm Solutions Research Group.
Some other key findings of the study:
* More than one-third (36%) of digital cable households, approximately 7% of all Canadian households, have used VOD. Half of these users paid for content while the other half used only ‘free’ programs or services (for example, Treehouse TV On Demand and TMNOD).
* Close to one in 10 digital households (DTH or digital cable) have a PVR (just under 4% of all Canadian households).
* VOD and PVR users express higher-than-average levels of satisfaction with their TV service provider. Fifty-eight percent of VOD users say it increased their enjoyment of television and 63% of PVR users say the same thing.
* Amongst younger Canadians, the study found that ‘homemade TV on-demand’ using broadband and P2P file-sharing sites is also beginning to grow in popularity.
* 13% of Canadians aged 12 to 29 report downloading a 30- or 60-minute TV show from the Internet at some point in the past.
This study was conducted as part of Fast Forward, Solutions Research Group’s ongoing syndicated consumer trend research program. Telephone interviews were conducted with 1,776 Canadians aged 12 and older in May and June 2005.
EMI, Much and Habbo promo virtually with Gorillaz
Hip hop band Gorillaz are set to invade virtual community Habbo Hotels in 11 countries. The hour-long VIP visits began in Japan yesterday and will end in the U.K. on Sept. 22. Fans across the globe will get an opportunity to meet the band members, who appear as animated characters in their videos, in a live, exclusive interview/session. According to Allan Best, country manager at interactive entertainment company Sulake (the owner of Habbo Hotel), this is the first time that EMI Music and Habbo have hooked up on this large a scale. The event will be promoted by Sulake’s Canuck marketing partner MuchMusic via banner ads online and on-air promos. ‘The main objective is to attract new users to Habbo, while at the same time, EMI is raising awareness of the Gorillaz’ new album,’ says Best. The deal was done direct. Habbo’s target demo is 13- to 20-year-olds (of whom 55% are female) with a core audience of 13-16s. The Gorillaz’ Canadian visit takes place on Friday, Aug. 26 at 4 p.m. at www.habbohotel.ca. According to Nielsen/Netratings, average unique monthly traffic count to Habbo Hotel Canada is roughly 300,000 (in July it was 292,565), with users’ time spent averaging 32 minutes per visit.
Plans are also in place to bring Habbo to mobile phones in the fall. Habbo Island, the mobile version of Habbo, does not yet have a North American release date. In Finland, says Best, the animated series Habbo 2.0 is now in pre-production, with a DVD release slated after 2006.
Tobacco companies get breathing room
The Quebec Court of Appeal yesterday found it unconstitutional to prohibit the name of a tobacco company from being associated with a public event. However the use of brand names would continue not to be allowed. Big tobacco, restart your engines, and let the sponsorship begin….
Holmes and Lee grabs Dexit
Toronto ad shop Holmes and Lee has nabbed the biz of cash-alternative service Dexit from Gee Jeffery and Partners, which had the account over the last two years. In a release, partner John Lee said the company ‘wants to dramatically increase acquisition of customers while expanding its retail base.’ Holmes and Lee will also be handing Dexit’s media.
Research firm sees 5.2% increase in retail sales in 2005
Toronto-based market research firm Kubas Consultants has released its 2005 annual study entitled ‘Major Market Retail Report’ (MMRR). The study is a major consumer survey of shopping habits and store preferences in the Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal markets. Its findings? Canadian Tire is still popular, with the retailer attracting 90% of consumers in the last year. The study also uncovered that people in Western Canada (52%) were more optimistic about the economy than their East Coast neighbours (at 44%). The firm forecasts a total retail spend of $365 billion in Canada – up 5.2% from 2004 – with the biggest growth coming from the home improvement and auto service categories.
http://www.kubas.com/mmrr
