New mobisodes seek brand partnerships
Two new episodic cell phone series are slated to launch in September. Soon
out of the gate will be Who Kidnapped Rachel B , billed an ‘interactive cellular thriller’ and winner of the best interactive mobile program award at MIPTV; and a ‘cellenovella’ entitled Girlz. Both are from Chooz Active Content, an Israel-based producer repped here by Toronto’s Big Bang Pictures, a subsidiary of The Nightingale Company. Big Bang has signed one Canadian mobile carrier and is currently negotiating two more.
‘Rachel B is going to run over six weeks and subscribers will get clues,video clips or animation on their cell phone,’ explains Debbie Nightingale,president of the The Nightingale Company. ‘Viewers use their phone to go to websites about possible suspects in the kidnapping and they accumulate points by guessing the name of the kidnapper. The whole time, of course,they¹re racking up minutes with their carrier.’
The company is still working out the fine details of their promotion strategy and revenue model. ‘We’re working on securing media sponsors right now,’ says Nightingale. ‘Specifically one that targets 15 to 29-year olds.’ She goes on to add that Big Bang is shopping for promo and carrier sponsorships. Who Kidnapped Rachel B is aimed at 15- to 39-year-olds with an even male/female split.
Girlz, a cellenovella with 180 one-minute chapters delivered daily to subscribers, targets 14 to 18-year-old girls. With Girlz, users can download ring tones and answer quizzes. The program also has a weekly comic strip running in print in Israel. Big Bang aims to do the same here. Both programs promise to be available across all cellular platforms.
New Avenue Media rolls out rolling ads
Vancouver-based New Avenue Media has launched a new program called Billboards without Boundaries, slapping ads on the sides of delivery trucks and cube vans all around mainland Vancouver. ‘We’re targeting mainly local businesses – from restaurants to automotive companies to tourist attractions,’ says Stephen Wilson, president. ‘And because most trucks are independently operated, we’re helping out the little guy by offering up a cut of the ad revenue to drivers.’ New Avenue Media has 30 trucks in its fleet now and with the upcoming Olympics descending upon Vancouver, the company is feeling positive about their mobile ads. Rates range from $650 to $2050. Installation and production costs are extra.
www.newavenue.ca
YTV takes Weird on the road
New partner Pringles joined Weird on Wheels (WOW), YTV’s long-running traveling road show this year. The potato chip giant is using the road show to intro its Irresistible Taste Tour, complete with Pringles crew and branded party lounge. Toronto’s the Media Company played matchmaker. WOW, now in its seventh year, is touring community events across the country until Labour Day. Games, prizes and activities abound with Hasbro kicking in two new interactive games, Lazer Tag and B-Daman Battle Zone. The long-standing Hasbro deal was brokered by Toronto-based agency Zenith Optimedia. ‘The big aim here is to get kids to play in the tournament while at the same time providing opportunities for sampling,’ says Sinatra Nathaniel, event manager for YTV. The road show is aimed at kids 6-12 with a male skew.
BBM Media Snapshot: Canadians who attend jazz festivals and concerts
* 7 million Canadians (6%) attended jazz festivals/concerts one or more times during the last year.
* Females (55%) are more likely than males (45%) to attend jazz festivals/concerts.
* 56% of jazz festival/concert attendees are between 25 and 54 years old. 20% are over 60 years old.
* 16% of jazz festival/concert attendees live alone (1.7 times national average); 10% (1.8 times the national average) are divorced.
* Quebec is the region with highest incidence of attendance, having 1.6 times more attendees than the national average. It is follow by B.C. with an incidence of 1.3 times the national average.
* The average personal yearly income of Canadians who attended jazz concerts/festivals is $36,500. ($30,000 is the national average).
* Jazz festival/concert attendees have an active entertaining life:
* 63% of attendees (2.9 times the national average) attended live theatre, 51% attended popular music concerts (2.6 times national average), 44% went to dancing clubs (2.2 times the national average), 38% went to rock concerts (2.7 times the national average), and 31% went to the symphony (4 times the national average).
* They also take in a lot of movies: 61% went to movie theatres (1.4 times the national average) and 31% attended film festivals (7 times the national average).
* Jazz festival/concert attendees’ top four media for yesterday exposure are: radio (89%), TV (83%), Internet (63%), and newspaper (61%).
* Their favourite radio formats (weekly reach) are: news/talk (28%), adult contemporary (17%) and classic/mainstream rock (10%).
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.
HGTV dresses up its roster with new game show
Alliance Atlantis’ HGTV is prepping its first-ever design game show, slated to air in the fall. The Design Game mixes trivia with design, with contestants vying for the opportunity to win household items. Producers of the show secure products such as indoor/outdoor furniture, BBQs, appliances and home electronics for prizing. Donor brands receive a verbal mention and a visual of their product on-air as well as a ‘thank you’ during the show’s end credits. Integrated ad opps are available via Synergy, the Integrated Ideas Group at Alliance Atlantis Communications. The Design Game is searching for contestants through the summer. Primary target demo is women 25 to 55.
BBC intros kids summer series
BBC Kids adds live-action series My Dad’s the Prime Minister to its weekend line-up, beginning July 9. The half-hour sitcom, a hit in 2003 on the UK’s BBC1, airs Saturdays and Sundays at 5:30 p.m. Aimed at girls ages 6 to 11, it promises to show politics through kids’ eyes.
CanWest steals SVP from Alliance Atlantis
CanWest MediaWorks announced yesterday the appointment of Walter Levitt as SVP, marketing. In this newly created post, Levitt will helm all marketing functions for CanWest’s broadcast properties, including brand strategy, PR, on-air promos and advertising. Levitt joins CanWest from Alliance Atlantis Communications, where he was SVP, marketing and creative services. There, Levitt was responsible for all consumer, affiliate and trade marketing, building TV brands such as Showcase, HGTV and History Television. He will report to Kathleen Dore, president, TV and radio.
Hudson goes to Genesis
Lisa Hudson has taken the newly-minted role of VP, media investment management at Toronto-based Genesis Media Management. ‘The goal of this position is to leverage our collective spending across all media forms,’ says president Annette Warring. Hudson was previously media director at the Brainstorm Group also based in Toronto.
PMB Factoid
Chewy Candies: heavy users; by age
Drama the focus for CBC
CBC revealed its fall lineup today and it’s putting most of its eggs into the Canadian dramatic series basket.
The network announced its plans to increase the hours devoted to Canuck drama by 50% while increasing comedy hours by 10%. The big push is to place its predicted heavy-hitter dramatic titles during the Sunday and Monday night timeslots.
CHUM Rocks this fall
Everybody will love CHUM – they got Chris Rock. CHUM Television’s new season lineup is headlined by the hottest fall TV property, and folks are already speculating what it will be worth. Everybody Hates Chris is the new Paramount series narrated by comedian Chris Rock, based on his experiences as a teen in Brooklyn, and was the darling of upfront screenings.
Other new series include the Don Johnson-starring drama Just Legal from Jerry Bruckheimer, about crusading underdog lawyers (A-Channels, Citytv (Winnipeg, Calgary & Edmonton) & CitytvHD); the Sex and the City-esque comedy Hot Properties about four gals who sell Manhattan real estate (A-Channel Ontario, Citytv Winnipeg, Calgary & Edmonton); the McG drama Supernatural in which paranormal evil is battled (Citytv and Space); and the Aaron Spelling crime drama about a covert ops team, Wanted.
ACA lauds Corus radio guarantee
The Association of Canadian Advertisers has cited Corus Radio’s recently announced radio ‘performance guarantee’ as a model the entire broadcast industry should emulate. Corus has pledged that if a radio spot does not air as contracted, the advertiser will be given the choice of two spots for every one that aired incorrectly, or twice what the advertiser paid for the spot in a credit. The ACA is calling this move ‘a genuine commitment to the industry and to advertisers.’ Corus has also decided to ban the use of the phrase ‘commercial-free’ on its radio stations.
The ACA represents over 200 companies and divisions, which collectively account for estimated sales of $350 billion annually.
BBM Media Snapshot: Canadians who visit national or provincial parks
* 11 million (40%) Canadians visited national/provincial parks one or more times during the past year.
* There was an equal split between males and females.
* The prairie provinces (57%) and B.C. (53%) show up as the regions with more park visitors. In contrast, only 27% of Quebecois visited national or provincial parks during the last year.
* The average personal yearly income of Canadians who visited national/provincial parks is $33,000, slightly higher than the national average of $30,000.
* Park visitors drive longer distances on average (15,000 kilometers per year) than the Canadian average of 13,500 kilometers per year.
* Radio (88%), television 86% and Internet (61%) are national/provincial park visitors’ top three media by yesterday exposure.
* Looking at the preferred radio formats of park visitors, the top three are news/talk (20%), adult contemporary (15%) and classic/mainstream rock.
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 finds up-market reality, raises curtain on Canuck dramedy
Finally, someone using reality TV as a force for good and not stupidity. CTV has picked up ABC’s The Scholar, a new one-hour unscripted series in which the winner gets an all-expenses-paid university education. Ten qualified high school seniors, who might not otherwise have an opportunity to attend one of America’s top universities, compete for a $250,000 scholarship. They must demonstrate excellence in academics, leadership, creativity and community service, while facing sudden-death oral exams from an Ivy League scholarship committee. The show preems Monday, June 6 at 9 p.m., then moves to 8 p.m. beginning June 13.
Also rolling out are Beauty and the Geek, Fridays, beginning June 17 at 8 p.m.; Dancing With The Stars, Wednesdays, beginning June 1 at 9 p.m. (see MIC May 26/05) and Veronica Mars, which premiered on Monday, at 9 p.m. and will move to its regular timeslot – Thursdays at 8 p.m. – tonight. This show about a teen P.I. in a modern-day Peyton Place was originally announced by UPN last August (see MIC Aug. 19/04.)
In homegrown fare, CTV is set to premier an original Canadian dramatic comedy series. Robson Arms will puts an interesting spin on examining the lives of apartment dwellers in Vancouver by peeking into a different flat each week. The show has already nabbed nine 2005 Leo Award nominations (for excellence in B.C. fare) and will air Fridays at 10:30 p.m., beginning Friday, June 17 with back-to-back eps at 10 and 10:30 p.m. the 13 half-hour eps will also air Thursdays at 10:30 p.m., starting June 23 on The Comedy Network. CTV is seeking an 18-34 aud, both male and female, with peripheral viewers up to age 49.
Robson Arms is complemented with a sophisticated Web site, robsonarms.ctv.ca, on which viewers can virtually step into the apartment building for the latest tenant info and sneak peeks. To kick off the series, visitors will have the opportunity to win a year’s free rent or mortgage by e-mailing video post cards to as many people as possible and then answering contest questions relating to the first three episodes.
http://www.ctv.ca
