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AOL.ca relaunches as broadband portal
Today, Toronto-based AOL Canada has thrown its hat into the portal ring with the launch of AOL.ca, a high-speed public Web portal that aggregates content from across all Time Warner properties including CNN, Mapquest.com and Netscape.ca among others – for free. The new portal is aimed specifically at broadband-minded Canadians with content offered in an interactive format including live streaming and on-demand service. AOL.ca boasts a video search product featuring an comprehensive online video index of more than 1.5 million titles focusing on music, news, sports and entertainment on demand.
‘This is a real change for AOL Canada and for AOL in general,’ says Jonathan Lister, VP, audience division. ‘[We’re doing this because] daytime is prime time. With this portal designed for broadband users, it allows advertisers to go after its audience. They hit them during the day while they’re at their computers.’ Lister goes on to cite the example of the quick service restaurants’ inability to find their audience in the daylight hours. ‘With AOL.ca, (the advertisers) can target them at work, just before lunch.’ The interactive services company has also just now made all AOL content searchable on Google. ‘In the past, if you used Google, AOL wouldn’t index. Not anymore,’ says Lister.
BBM Media Snapshot: Canadians who undertake deck and fence DIY
* 5 million Canadians (19%) started or completed deck or fencing improvements (by themselves) during the last two years.
* 62% of those who started/completed deck/fencing improvements are between 25 and 54 years old; 12% are teens.
* The average personal yearly income of Canadians who started or completed deck or fencing activities is $32,800, slightly higher than the national average of $30,000.
* 75% own their own home and 77% have no interest in moving anywhere else.
* More than half of those who started/completed deck/fencing improvements by themselves also had some other home projects. 68% had landscaping or yard improvements (1.8 times the national average); 64% interior painting/wall paper, and 50% did exterior painting (1.8 times the national average).
* Their home improvement spending during the last two years was approximately $5,200 – 1.4 times higher than the national average.
* Their favoured three media for yesterday exposure are: TV (89%), radio (87%) and Internet (58%).
* Looking at radio weekly reach, their three favourite formats are: news/talk (17%), adult contemporary (16%) and classic/mainstream rock (12%).
* Their top television program types watched in an average week are: movies (71%), news/current affairs (59%), and suspense/crime dramas, hockey (when available) and home improvements, all evenly ranked in the third place at 42%.
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.
CTV originates romantic comedy
CTV and Blueprint Entertainment are in production on the romantic comedy Playing House, a two-hour CTV original movie based on the best-selling novel by Canadian Patricia Pearson. It’s the first romantic comedy ever produced for CTV. Joanne Kelly (The Newsroom) and Lucas Bryant (The Eleventh Hour) star in the story of life, love and unplanned parenthood.
The production will also air on Lifetime in the U.S.
Global nets Wimbledon finals; Princes set to air July 10
Global airs the 2005 Wimbledon tennis championships this weekend with the women’s singles finals hitting the court on Saturday and the men’s on Sunday at 9 a.m., respectively. According to Global spokesperson Christine Amendola, Wimbledon’s profile for 2004 appealed to both men and women targeting adults 18 to 49 with an even split. Last year’s national audience for the two days was 329,000 viewers – up 21% from 2003 and 59% from 2002.
For action of a different kind, Princes of Malibu, a half-hour reality series starring composer/musician David Foster and his freeloading stepsons, hits the tube on Sunday, July 10 at 8:30 p.m. in Ontario, Quebec and B.C., 7:30 p.m. in Manitoba and Saskatchewan and 9:30 in the Maritimes and Alberta. The show targets 18-34s.
Showcase uncovers its sexy side with new series
Toronto-based specialty Showcase is unveiling its Webdreams, an original documentary series set to air on Fridays at 10 p.m. beginning Sept. 2. The half-hour, 10-part show dives into the labyrinth of the online adult industry, following a group of Internet entrepreneurs based in Montreal. Webdreams is a part of the network’s ‘Fridays Without Borders’ lineup.
Prime heads for Green Acres
Prime network is heading for Green Acres beginning on Sunday, July 3. The half-hour 1960s sitcom starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor as farmers living in Hooterville airs back-to-back episodes beginning at 11 a.m.
Event
July 28
Advertising in Games West Forum
600 Townsend St., San Francisco
512.415.8300
http://www.advertisingingames.com
Building on the success of the earlier Advertising in Games Forum held in NYC in April, the West Forum focuses on the emergence of games as the next big marketing medium. Keynote speaker is Mitch Davis, CEO of video game advertising network Massive. The day-long conference will feature sessions including advergaming and campaign tracking and ROI.
PMB Factoid
Attendance at sporting events when on vacation; by age
BBM sees a clearer picture of radio audiences with PPM
Media agencies have based their Montreal television buys on BBM’s Personal People Meter (PPM) data for almost two years and now radio ad purchases may not be far behind. Simultaneous to the gathering of TV data, the PPM has been capturing radio listening of 22 radio stations (English and French, Canadian and U.S.) that have encoded their signals to take part in this test. The Montreal stations taking part account for more than 92% of all radio listening in the Montreal area.
On Tuesday in Montreal, Pat Pellegrini, VP research for BBM Canada, and Ken Purdye, a meter consultant with BBM, compared the diary and PPM results of radio measurement in the market for an international audience at the ARF/ESOMAR Worldwide Audience Measurement Conference.
Why men don’t relate to ads, and how to fix it
CANNES: Men are misunderstood. By the media and by marketers. This according to Leo Burnett Worldwide, which after extensive research found that over 74% of males globally don’t relate to advertising geared right at them.
Leo B delivered the news at a seminar in Cannes yesterday titled ‘Metros vs. Retros: Are Marketers Missing Real Men?’ The answer, apparently, is sort of.
Impact Mobile gears up with Indy charity
Toronto-based Impact Mobile has launched the first charity text donation in North America in support of the Molson Indy Festival Foundation. Beginning today and running until July 7, the ‘carrier agnostic’ program allows anyone with a mobile phone to key in ‘RACE’ to 100100 to donate $1 to the foundation. The mobile carrier will bill the loonie later.
To support this program, PSAs are running in the Globe & Mail, the Toronto Sun and on OneStop screens in the TTC. According to Impact Mobile president Gary Schwartz, giving doesn’t come without its rewards. ‘You can donate as many times as you want,’ he says. ‘And for every time someone throws in a loonie, they get another chance to win gold tickets to the Indy.’ Other prizes include a basketball from the Toronto Raptors’ Chris Bosh and Blue Jays tickets. All who have donated to the Foundation will also be receiving a VIP pass to the July 7 John Street Pit Party. The program is aimed at adults 18 to 29.
Marketel celebrates MasterCard media account win
In a ‘really important extension’ of its relationship with MasterCard, Montreal’s Marketel has been assigned the credit card purveyor’s national media buying and planning account. Caroline Gagnon, VP media, will be heading up the team working on the business.
Although it’s such early days that no projects are in the works yet, Jane Williams, Marketel’s VP client services, says: ‘This is a very important client for us and we’re very pleased that we’re going to be running the national account.’ She adds that Marketel has been doing a lot of creative work for MasterCard for a number of years, adapting its global campaign for Quebec, ‘so this is a really important extension for us to have the national media buying and planning contract.’ Marketel is a member of McCann Worldgroup, which manages the MasterCard account internationally.
Sympatico/MSN looks to develop on-demand formats
Sympatico/MSN has joined ID!A, Innovations in Digital Advertising Group, a cross-industry organization working to develop formats and standards that will make digital advertising more viable for advertisers. This includes the creation of on-demand advertising standards and opportunities, and the reconciliation of any technical issues that could growth of this area of the industry.
Sympatico/MSN is the first Canadian company to join the organization and will be focusing on enhancing on-demand opportunities for advertisers on TV, Web and mobile communications platforms. ID!A members include over 40 executives involved in on-demand TV from advertisers and agencies; the cable, satellite and conventional broadcast industries; technology companies to programmers from ABC/ESPN, Discovery, MTV, Scripps, Turner, and TVGuide.
Nielsen Media Research Spend Trend: Summer Vacation
Dailies are basking in a summer spend spree. This category experienced steady growth from 2001 through 2004 with daily newspapers garnering the majority of the investment, ranging from a high of 69.8% to 63% to its lowest in 2003. TV is a distant second and clocked in with a high of 18.9% last year. Not surprisingly, the hotel chains and hotels & resorts segments were the biggest spenders, followed by sporting goods stores.
ComBase Market Focus: Reaching 18-34s in B.C.
A desirable target group for many advertisers is the younger demographic of 18- to 34-year-olds. This target is becoming increasingly difficult to reach using some traditional media and is the demo that many new free daily print publications such as Metro, Dose and 24 Hours are seeking.
18-34s are considered by many to be ‘media grazers’:
* 27% can’t be reached with daily newspapers in B.C.
* 32% can’t be reached with radio in B.C.
* 50% are light TV watchers, watching less than 9.5 hours weekly.
But in British Columbia, community newspapers reach 68% of 18-34s with weekday editions compared to daily newspapers with a 41% weekday reach.
Source: ComBase 2003-2004 Study
ComBase, the Community Newspaper Database, is a syndicated consumer-media survey of more than 400 Canadian markets that provides market-by-market information. It is an initiative of the Canadian Community Newspaper Association and its nearly 700 members across the country. For more information, contact Kelly Levson, senior project manager, kellylevson@combase.ca.
