CMT wrangles new series for fall
CMT, Canada’s country entertainment specialty, is offering new programming this fall ranging from music to sitcoms.
The Wilkinson’s – House Raising, is a ‘fictionalized reality’ series which follows a musical family as they move from Nashville to a small town in Canada (air time TBA). Another entry is CMT Star, which gets up close and personal with country’s stars to examine their passions and pastimes. Both series are part of CMT’s 220 annual hours of original programming.
Also new to CMT this fall are dramedy Ed, about a lawyer who returns to his hometown (weeknights at 8 p.m.) and the venerable sitcom Roseanne (weeknights at 9:30 p.m.) CMT reaches eight million households and specializes in family-friendly programming, having broadened out from its origins as a music video channel.
http://www.corusent.com/fall/cmt_fall.html
Cameras roll for new CTV flick Last Exit
CTV has begun production on a new film starring Kathleen Robertson and Andrea Roth. The movie, entitled Last Exit is a drama about road rage and targets 18-34s. A CTV spokesperson says there are lots of product placement opps available. Last Exit is co-produced by Quebec’s Forum Films and Foundry Films in Ontario.
http://www.forumfilms.ca
Garby gets a Vision
David Garby will join Toronto-based Vision TV as director of advertising sales beginning July 25. In his new post, Garby will be responsible for the growth of the net’s advertising and sponsorship revenue as well as for the expansion of its client roster. Garby will also be working in tandem with Vision TV’s media partners Airtime Sales and Trillenium Media. He will report to COO Mark Prasuhn. (See related story, MIC April 19/05.)
Event
Nov. 4-8
Magazines Canada School for Advertising Sales
Pillar & Post Inn, Spa and Conference Centre, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont. 416.504.0274. www.magazinescanada.ca
This five-day program teaches magazine advertising sales professionals the skills they need to source and secure new business.
Songbirds hit the road for Solo Mobile/eckored tour
Young songbirds Keshia Chante, Christine Evans, Amanda Stott and rising rock star Cassie Steele from Degrassi: The Next Generation are set to hit the road as the Solo Mobile eckored tour rolls through Canada beginning Aug. 11. The all-girl road show partners Solo Mobile, Bell’s new mobile brand for youth launching in August, and women’s clothing line, eckored as title sponsors. Student Price Card (SPC) is a presenting sponsor of the tour. The deal was brokered by Toronto-based thinktank, Youthography.
The Solo Mobile eckored tour rolls through Canadian cities in an effort to raise awareness for phone counseling service Kids Help Phone. The tour – an all-ages show – is aimed at teens 13-19 with a female skew and will be supported via print ad buys in rags Fashion 18 and record store freebie Access with regional radio stations conducting on-air contesting. As part of the sponsorship, eckored, Solo Mobile and SPC are providing product prizes.
Exclaim! tour seeks additional sponsors for young, male aud
Exclaim! magazine will soon be rolling out its Aggressive Tendencies Tour 2005, sponsored by MuchLOUD. The tour, featuring hard-driving bands Converge, Terror, Cursed and Mare, runs from Sept. 24 in Vancouver to Oct. 8 in Quebec City and is a spinoff of the Aggressive Tendencies section of the magazine. Both target those elusive 16-24s – at least 70% male – so the tour is seeking appropriate sponsors in the cellphone and other consumer goods categories.
Aggressive Tendencies will be getting talked up on MuchLOUD, which is both a Saturday night show on MuchMusic and a digital channel. The fun will also feature a contest on the Exclaim! site in which entrants can win CDs of the touring bands, Much stuff and, potentially, prizing from additional sponsors.
Sears launches online shopping channel
Sears Canada has taken its online shopping experience to a whole new level with the launch of Sears Web TV. Visitors to the retailers Web site and customers who have opted to receive Sears e-mail messages and updates were recently invited to ‘get the whole picture’ with ‘the next generation in home shopping.’ Billed as ‘bringing you solutions for everyday living,’ the channel offers on-demand point and click Webcasts complete with a host and featured guests discussing the product features and the latest trends.
During the Webcast, product pictures and prices come into view beside the screen to allow users to get additional product information or to make a purchase. They simply select a category to view a three-minute mini-program focusing on selected items in fashion, footwear, fitness equipment, baby products, electronics, the workshop, or the major appliances section.
http://www.Searswebtv.ca
Youthography’s PING survey studies tweens between the pages
Toronto-based consultancy Youthography’s PING survey conducted in May revealed tweens 9-13 are avid magazine readers. The latest survey results showed 56% of tween girls across the country are reading three to four magazines per month with 42% buying two different magazines per month. Tops with tweens are little sis celebrity rag titles J-14, M and Twist. But hope still springs eternal – some gals are still reading old wholesome standbys Disney Adventures Magazine and Owl.
http://ping.youthography.com/
BBM Media Snapshot: Canadians who play golf regularly
* 2.2 million Canadians (8%) play golf regularly (when in season).
* They are mostly adults over 45 years old.
* 70% of regular golfers are males.
* The Prairies stands out as the region with the highest incidence of regular golfers with 1.5 times the national average.
* The average personal yearly income of those who golf regularly is $46,500, 1.5 times more than the national average.
* The average value of personal savings and investments among regular golfers is two times the Canadian average of $60,000.
* Regular golfers are notable sports event attendees. They are 4.4 times more likely to go to golf events than the national average, 2.3 times more likely to go to football games and twice as likely to go to horse racing events.
* Among their top purchased items during the last two years are: golf equipment (1.5 times more than the national average), a satellite dish (1.6 times more than the national avg.), and a hot tub (1.8 times more than the national avg.).
* TV (93%), radio (91%), Internet (62%), and daily newspaper (62%) are their top four media (yesterday’s exposure).
* When referring to radio programming usage, they listen twice as much to sports reports and 2.4 times more to sports talk/phone-in programs compared to the national average.
(Movies, news/current affairs, hockey when available, and golf – 4.7 times more than the national average – are their most popular television programs by weekly average viewing. They also watch 2.78 times more NFL games, 2.2 times more CFL games, and 2.1 times more baseball games compared to the national averages.
Source: BBM RTS Canada Fall ’04 / Spring ’04
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.
Tons of fun fare for kids this fall
Here’s an overview of more new fall shows for kids. For more Teletoon programming, see MIC June 21/05.
Food Net serves up feast
October is rollout month for the Food Network. The new fare begins Oct. 3 with Everyday Food at 8 a.m. The show offers quick and easy solutions to everyday cooking challenges and airs weekdays. Next up is Christine Cushing: No Reservations. The popular Cushing is joined in her new series by three guests each ep, weekdays at 11:30 a.m. At 7 p.m. and airing each Monday, Food Net invites viewers to Crash My Kitchen. The series combines ‘tough love intervention with group-hug support’ to help families out of their food ruts. Also beginning on Oct. 3 is The Family Restaurant. Airing Mondays at 9 p.m., the show takes viewers behind the scenes at the emporium of fiery restaurateur Yianni Psalios and his exuberant Greek family.
Weighing in on Tuesdays at 7 p.m., beginning Oct. 4, is Weighing In. ‘Calorie commando’ Juan Carlos Cruz uses a ‘satisfy, don’t deny’ philosophy to help a group of participants slim down over a three-month period.
Two new entries debut Friday, Oct. 7. At 7 p.m., a designer and a certified food inspector visit families to uncover their safety and design Kitchen Crimes. Meanwhile at 8 p.m. Recipe for Success follows the inspirational stories of people undergoing career makeovers to get into various aspects of the food business. Both shows run weekly.
Marinas takes the reins at MPG Canada
Gerardo Marinas has officially taken up the post of managing director at MPG Canada (MPG/Maxxmedia). Marinas is new to Canada and has been working in a variety of positions with MPG Global for seven years. He was most recently SVP of international coordination, which involved streamlining operations across countries and markets. Before joining MPG in 1998, Marinas was marketing manager for Pepsi Cola in Madrid and was brand manager for Unilever’s AXE deodorant and other fragrances. He is fluent in Spanish, German, English, French, and Italian.
In a surprising move late last month, David Chung, long time president of MPG/Maxxmedia, departed the agency to make room for Marinas. Chung, a 30-year veteran of the business, joined Vickers & Benson in 1996 to establish Maxxmedia as a media planning and placement subsidiary of the company. At that time, V&B had sold its 50% stake in Genesis Media and hired Chung to bring the media component back into the agency. Prior to V&B, Chung was SVP, national media director at Lowe SMS, which had recently been merged into Roche Macaulay & Partners, and had also held senior media positions at J. Walter Thompson, FCB, and MacLaren:Lintas (now MacLaren McCann).
Event
September 20
Media in Canada Forum: What’s the Plan
York Event Theatre, Toronto
416.408.2300 x313
www.mediaincanada.com/forum/2005/
Presented by strategy and Media in Canada, the forum will assemble a group of leading media and marketing representatives to offer their insights and share tangible solutions for the challenges media agencies and marketers are facing. Keynote is David Verklin, CEO, CARAT Americas, speaking on ‘The Crackle of Change.’
PMB Factoid
People who have taken a European vacation in the past three years are heavy readers of PMB publications.
