Camp Teletoon to stop at nine Canuck cities
From Canada Day until Labour Day, Toronto-based specialty station Teletoon is taking its show on the road, hitting nine cities across Canada in a blue Hummer, Teletoon trailer in tow. For its maiden voyage, Camp Teletoon is partnering with Saputo’s Cheese Heads snacks to bring the fun to the specialty’s target demo – kids 6 to 11. Game Boy Advance SP will also be using the camp to intro new video games. The deal between Teletoon, Saputo and Game Boy was brokered by Blitz Direct, Data & Promotion.
ComBase Market Focus: Targeting grocery shoppers in Penticton, B.C.
Women have long been recognized as the main influencer in family grocery shopping decisions. In the Penticton CA (central area) there are 16,600 women aged 25-plus – and they are loyal newspaper readers.
* 71% of these women can be reached with a single weekday insertion in the local community newspaper – the Penticton Western News.
* Only 56% of them can be reached with a single weekday insertion in the Penticton daily newspaper – The Herald.
They are frequent readers of their local community newspaper.
* 90% of women 25-plus read three or four of the last four issues of the Western News.
* By comparison, only 68% read four or five of the last issues of The Herald.
In Penticton, primary grocery shoppers – women aged 25-plus – are best reached by the local community newspaper, the Western News.
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.
TSN to air 13th Annual Telus Skins game this weekend
Golf’s best will cross clubs this weekend for the 13th annual Telus Skins Game on TSN. Vijay Singh, John Daly, Canada’s Stephen Ames and golf legend Jack Nicklaus will hit the Nicklaus North Golf Course in Whistler, B.C. for the two-parter TV event to air on July 4 and 5 at 3:30 p.m. each day. As is now custom, the TELUS Skins game will feature all four players sporting wireless microphones allowing viewers to follow the stars while on the greens.
TSN will also air the TELUS Skins Game Special on Sunday, July 3 at 7 p.m. featuring interviews with the four golfers and a look back at the show’s history.
Brat’s entertainment: New CTV reality series kicks butt
Times have been firmed up for a couple of summer entries on CTV. Brat Camp, a new show about recalcitrant teens getting a kick in the butt, is part of the summer reality onslaught (see MIC May 26/05). It’s based on the award-winning British series of the same name and will have a special two-hour preem at 8 p.m. Wednesday, July 13 after Canadian Idol. The six-part show chronicles out-of-control youth sent to wilderness school in an effort to straighten them out. It will then settle into a regular one-hour timeslot on Wednesday July 27 at 9 p.m.
Also in the wing(tip)s is So You Think You Can Dance, a 12-week companion to the hit series Dancing With the Stars. This search for America’s best dancer debuts on CTV with a two-hour ep on Wednesday, July 20 at 8 p.m., before setting into a regular one-hour timeslot at the same time on July 27. As usual, CTV is shooting for a mass aud 18+ with both these shows.
Pellegrini moves from BBM to U.S. posting
Pat Pellegrini is leaving BBM Canada by early August to take on the role of SVP at international market and audience research company TNS Media Research in New York. His replacement at BBM has not yet been chosen. Prior to joining BBM as VP research in 2001, Pellegrini had been a senior researcher with MapInfo Canada. He returned to Canada in 1999 after three years as assistant professor at Ohio State University.
Pellegrini has received numerous research award, is a frequent speaker at national and international conferences, and his papers are published regularly in international research journals. He teaches statistics for media studies at the University of Guelph-Humber as well as being a member of the advisory board for the Spatial Information Science program at McMaster University.
etc.tv attracts big brands for August test, September rollout
Molson Breweries and General Motors are just two of the major national advertisers looking to explore the potential of on-demand advertising by signing on for the trial run of Montreal-based etc.tv in August. Ian MacLean expects to release the full roster of participating big brands in early July once all the final arrangements have been completed.
MacLean, who is VP of Media Experts’ iTV Lab division as well as VP/GM of etc.tv, says the test of the ad-on-demand network will begin in August following a software upgrade of Videotron set-top boxes in July. The full rollout to Videotron’s interactive cable subscribers is slated for September.
2 Magazine takes ad integration to new level
Due to popular demand, Toronto-based book 2: The Magazine for Couples is expanding its integrated advertising opportunities. The pub, which celebrates its first anniversary with its summer issue due on newsstands this week, has been running advertorial features that it calls ‘2 Magazine Promotions.’ Participants’ products are used to create an attractive spread into which advertiser logos are also integrated. The feature is promoted in one issue and then executed in the next issue so advertisers get a double hit.
The vehicle, which covers topics like bedroom makeovers, has proven so successful that 2 has expanded its offering by introducing a contest for its anniversary issue. Readers can enter until July 5 at www.2magazine.com for a chance to win a ‘Couple Makeover,’ a package that includes, this time around, clothing from Point Zero and a weekend retreat at The Couples Resort, among other things.
Chatelaine.com launches online games for women
Toronto-based Chatelaine.com is now offering online games targeted to women. Female-favourite games found on www.chatelaine.com/games include Jewel Quest for puzzle fiends; Diner Dash for the online entrepreneur and Mah Jong Quest where players are challenged to match tiles. The deal was brokered in-house. Games are available as a 60-minute trial with the option for the user to purchase the full version for $24.99.
Corus CEO to receive ACA Gold
Media and marketing vet John Cassaday, CEO and president of Corus Entertainment has been named the recipient of the ACA Gold Medal Award for 2004. In receiving the gold, Cassaday joins the ranks of many marketing and media professionals dating back 64 years including Sunni Boot, Robert Galloway and Hugh Dow to name a few. The Corus CEO will be feted on Nov. 9 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto. The ACA, a national not-for-profit association formed to help members max out their marketing communications ROI, reps over 200 companies and divisions across the country.
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.
