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Hilton takes its upgraded hotel room on the road
The Hilton Garden Inn brought its traveling hotel room to Toronto this week as part of a mobile marketing campaign (in the old school sense). The Evolution Solution Express (ESE) TM, a 72-foot, 67,000 pound truck features a full scale model guest room and a mini display of the brand’s Pavilion lobby entrance. This is part of a cross-country promo push highlighting upgrades to the Hilton Garden Inn brand. The ESE will trek across Canada and the U.S. hitting popular tourist events and destinations.
Look out! Podcasters to number in the millions by 2010, study says
Texas-based tech research firm The Diffusion Group has released a report entitled Podcasting: Fact, Fiction and Opportunity that predicts podcasts will take the lion’s share of the market from less than 15% of portable digital music player owners in 2004 up to 75% by 2010. The study foresees the use of podcasts to have a compound annual growth rate at 101%. The report also includes the research firm’s recommendations on how podcasting will impact the production, promotion and consumption of audio programs.
http://www.tdgresearch.com
Home Depot lends a hand during Quebec’s moving day
Home improvement giant Home Depot helped out on July 1, the province of Quebec’s official moving day with a three-day promo that sent brand ambassadors scouring the city to distribute moving kits. Seven branded trucks and 14 good Samaritans hit Montreal armed with masking tape, cleaning supplies and other useful items for movers, all while lending a hand. The campaign was put together by media agency Initiative and Montreal-based OOH agency NEWAD.
Study reveals tech-savvy gay and lesbian community
Simmons, a New York-based market research company revealed that the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered (GLBT) community has a strong appreciation for emerging technologies. The study points out that GLBT adults are more likely to enjoy buying new gadgets, be the first to have the latest electronic equipment and buy them without regard for cost and are more likely to be asked by their pals for advice when buying electronics.
With respect to online activities, GLBTs are more likely than the total population to search for airline, car and hotel info online, conduct banking, get news and weather and participate in online chat. Moreover, gay men are more likely than heterosexuals to stay online longer and be more frequent online users. Lesbians are more likely than their straight counterparts to access the net using cable or DSL. The GLBT community is estimated to have a buying power of more than $600 billion per year. Full results of the Simmons report will be revealed on September 30, 2005.
http://www.smrb.com
Canadian satellite radio moves towards fall launch
Canadian Satellite Radio (CSR) is another step closer to launching its XM satellite radio service this fall, something that is music to the ears of electronics retailers and car manufacturers looking to ride the satellite wave. The company has started to build its broadcast infrastructure and is currently testing coverage patterns in urban areas to determine the best placement for its land-based signal repeaters. CSR, one of three subscription radio providers licensed by the CRTC last month, plans to put $100 million into the venture during its first seven-year licensing period. This investment includes the development and installation of its repeater and base-station network and staffing, along with original studio and production facilities and the production of Canadian content in both official languages.
CSR projects that if the satellite radio industry in this country develops as quickly as the U.S. market, the Canadian economy will benefit to the tune of $2 billion over the next decade through licensing fees, retail sales, taxes, jobs, marketing spend, Canadian artist development funs and artist royalties. As with the other two subscription services, CSR must offer eight original Canadian channels, two of them French-language, to fulfill its licensing requirements. The rest of the channels will come from CSR’s U.S. partner XM Satellite Radio, the number one service south of the border with more than 4 million subscribers. CSR is Canadian owned and controlled by John Bitove. The other two newly-licensed subscription services are a satellite service from Sirius Canada, a joint venture of U.S.-based Sirius Satellite Radio (20%), CBC (40%) and Standard Radio (40%); and a 50-channel terrestrial DAB (digital audio broadcast) service proposed by CHUM and Astral Media Radio.
Temps start work on Global
A new 10-part hidden camera series The Office Temps is set to debut on Global on Saturday, July 30 at 10 p.m. The series takes a laughable stab at the world of temping when three office temps are hired to work in a fictional office where each employee is an actor. The Office Temps is produced by Toronto’s Lone Eagle Entertainment and targets mass audiences of 18+, ‘with wider appeal for younger viewers who are into Punk’d and Faking the Video,’ says network spokesperson Christine Amendola.
BBC Kids debuts four new series
BBC Kids has picked up four new series, all slated to air on August 29. For the 2 to 5-year olds, Theodore Tugboat, a 15-minute animated series airs weekdays at 6 and 9 a.m. For the same demo, there’s also Postman Pat airing weekdays at 11 a.m. for 15 minutes.
For older kids ages 12 to 17, the network preems Celeb weeknights at 11 p.m. The half-hour comedy series is based on a long-running cartoon strip about a past-his-prime, 50-something rock star. 90 Days in Hollywood hits the screen weeknights at 8:30 p.m. and follows nine wannabe actors trying to make it big in Hollywood.
Hale steps into new post at CHUM
Maria Hale, previously VP, operations at Citytv Toronto has stepped into the newly-created role of VP, content business development. In her new post, Hale will be responsible for identifying new business and revenue opps and exploiting new forms of commerce and distribution on emerging platforms. She will also oversee CHUM’s interactive department. Hale will report to Roma Khanna, SVP content.
Check your brand into the Fairmont
Want rich people? Fairmont Hotel’s lucrative customer base (target demo: 35-55, HHI $125,000 +) is certainly appealing to most marketers. Sony Canada is tapping into it to promote its high-profile compact entertainment system, the PlayStation Portable (PSP). From now until the end of August, guests at the hotel chain’s 20 Canadian locations will be able to sign out PSPs to be used during their stay.
Some of Fairmont’s other non-traditional brand partners (as opposed to the usual hotel partners like airlines and credit card cos) include BMW, Hewlett-Packard and Holt Renfrew. ‘We decided to become more aggressive in pursuing [non-traditional] partnerships in the last few years,’ says Brian Richardson, Fairmont’s VP of Brand Marketing, adding that the chain pinpointed 10 specific categories like automotive, food/beverage and technology to actively seek partners in. ‘We’re really open to working with anyone who is targeting the same demographic.’
PunchMuch has music fans scrambling for their mobiles
CHUM TV’s PunchMuch channel launched to the delight of many an agile thumb on June 30. The fully-interactive channel boasts to be Canada’s first fully automated, all-request music video service. PunchMuch lets music fans request videos, join in on on-screen chats and polling — all from their mobile phones. The channel is powered by Oslo, Norway-based content provider Mobile Media’s ITV technical platform with its ground ops managed by Mobile Media’s Canuck partner, Toronto’s MyThum Interactive. PunchMuch targets 12 to 24s.
Live 8 reaches 10.5 million Canadian viewers
Even a long, hot, holiday weekend and the lure of cottage country couldn’t keep one-third of Canadians away from their TV sets on July 2. According to BBM Canada data, one in three Canadians – 45% of all households – watched some of the Live 8 concert extravaganza on CTV.
The average per-minute viewership of the concert was 961,000 with a high of 2.06 million at 8:16 p.m. ET. The broadcast from Barrie, Ont. was the longest program ever aired by CTV, clocking in at an unprecedented 18 hours and 23 minutes. It is estimated that 3 billion viewers watched some of the 10 concerts held around the world.
In the U.K., BBC grabbed over 50% of TV viewers for its event from Hyde Park in London, peaking with an audience of 9.6 million. That doesn’t account for those watching in pubs and at open-air screenings across the country.
The big news in the U.S. was AOL’s live streaming video of all 10 concerts, which drew about 5 million online users during its eight-hour run. ABC’s two-hour prime time Live 8 special garnered an average audience of 2.9 million (Nielsen Media Research).
BBM Media Snapshot: Gay Pride Parade attendees
* 298,000 Torontonians (7%) attended the city’s Gay Pride Parade in 2004.
* 67% of the Gay Pride Parade attendees are between 18 and 44 years old.
* 43% (1.4 times the Toronto average) are single, 49% are married.
* Gay Pride Parade attendees have an active city life:
* Compared to Toronto’s averages, they are: 3.7 times more likely to attend pet shows, three times more likely to attend book shows, and 2.6 times more likely to attend food shows.
* Gay Pride Parade attendees are six times more likely to attend the Toronto Film Festival, 4.7 times more likely to attend to the International Jazz Festival, and 4.3 times more likely to attend Caribana.
* 32% of Gay Pride Parade attendee’s are members of a health club (1.8 times the Toronto average).
* 52% own pets with 33% of them owning cats (1.3 times Toronto average).
* The top four media for yesterday exposure for Gay Pride Parade attendees are radio (89%), TV (88%), Internet (62%), and newspaper (60%).
* They tune to radio for weather reports and updates, headline news and community news/local events.
* Their magazine preferences (readership in the past month) are entertainment and music (60%), fashion (54%, 1.5 times Toronto average), food and beverages (48%), and women’s publications (47%).
* Gay Pride Parade attendees are also interested on community newspapers (average month). 18% read NOW (four times the Toronto average) and 11% read Eye Weekly (3.5 times the Toronto average).
Source: BBM RTS Canada Fall ’03 / Spring ’04
The preceding information is from BBM RTS, a syndicated consumer-media survey of over 55,000 Canadians, conducted twice a year by BBM Canada. For more information contact Craig Dorning of BBM Canada: cdorning@bbm.ca.
Molson Indy races through Global
Live coverage of the 2005 Molson Indy in Toronto will air on Sunday, July 10 on Global. The day before the race sees a one-hour pre-race qualifying special at 7 p.m. hosted by the network’s Jim Tatti and Don Martin. On Sunday, July 10, the half-hour Molson Indy Pre-Race show will show opening ceremonies. Live coverage of the race is as follows: B.C. at 9:30 a.m.; Saskatchewan and Alberta at 10:30 a.m.; Manitoba at 11:30 a.m.; Ontario and Quebec at 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. for the Maritimes.
YTV offers peek at Pokemon Chronicles
Following the movie presentation of Pokemon: Mewtwo Returns on Saturday, August 27 at 4 p.m., YTV will air a sneak preview of the newest Pokemon series, Pokemon Chronicles, at 5:30 p.m. Chronicles is based on characters from the previous Pokemon series and answers some of the questions raised there like as what happened to Misty at the Cerulean Gym?
The series gets underway for real in the fall. Target aud is 6-11s.
