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TBWA loses media director to OMD
OMD Vancouver has successfully wooed TBWAVancouver media director veteran Rick Sanderson. The newly minted GM will start at OMD on May 30 and will report to OMD Canada president Lorraine Hughes. His last day at TBWAVancouver is May 20. ‘I’ve been at TBWA for over 10 years and I’m sad to be leaving but at the same time, I’m excited for the chance to work with a very forward-thinking company like OMD,’ he says.
In addition to OMD-only business, which includes McDonald’s, Sanderson will be working with DDB staff on their accounts, as OMD does DDB’s media. Sanderson will be replacing OMD’s former media director Jeff Berry.
What’s does the future hold for Canada’s Internet marketing industry? You tell us…
The Association of Internet Marketing and Sales (AIMS) is in the process of measuring Internet advertising trends, and also aims to quantify which online ad methodologies are gaining momentum in Canada. To help further industry knowledge and gain insight into what’s next, AIMS is asking industry members to participate in its first annual State of the Net Nation Survey at http://www.networkwithaims.com/index.html. Those who volunteer their time and info will have a chance to win an iPod Shuffle, and may opt in to receive a summary copy of survey results.
AIMS is Canada’s largest association of Internet marketing and sales decision makers with over 6,500 members across the country. Its GM, Dave Forde, will be taking the State of the Net Nation Tour to the major markets, hitting Montreal May 19, Vancouver May 25 and ending in Toronto June 29. Media in Canada is the media sponsor of AIMS’ Internet marketing survey.
http://www.networkwithaims.com/index.html
PMB Factoid
Hot chocolate drinkers
BBM reveals latest radio figures
David Bray is SVP of Hennessy & Bray Communications in Toronto.
As the spring breezes begin to blow, things are heating up in anticipation of the CRTC decision coming out of the satellite/subscription hearings held late last year. For now, the race for ratings is as hot as ever as demonstrated by the new BBM released yesterday.
Leo She study reveals how to connect with women
Leo Burnett division Leo She recently conducted a study of 1,000 North American women to uncover how their attitudes towards their homes might be used as insight towards more effective brand communications. Methodology included online panels and ‘friendship group’ interviews conducted in their homes to keep the honesty factor up, augmented by pop culture audits of homes to suss out media habits. Universal truths revealed included ‘clutter is the new fat’ and that more women are associating their home with stressful rather than joyful emotions. As more women take on more roles outside the home (while men aren’t taking on more roles inside the home) a few related psychographic segments have been identified, and downshifting, outsourcing and hiving are among the resultant trends.
One of the home types identified which accounts for 29% of women is described as ‘Treading Water.’ They want to keep a nice house but feel overwhelmed by the workload, and are therefore looking for easy-fix products, consume fast-solution type media and respond to ads that stress simplicity. Another group (22% of women) dubbed ‘Keep It Simple’ are more focused on quality of life and relationships than the perfect house, and would be a Real Simple mag reader. Ads that emphasize ease, quality and how the product will enhance their life should click with this type. The ‘House Proud’ set (37%), are achieving their idealistic home standards and tend to read Better Homes, Creative Home and Living, and respond to ads that give details, as she likes to be a maven. The final 12% fall into a sad ‘Keeping Up With the Joneses’ group that strive for perfection to impress others more than for personal satisfaction, and are therefore grumpily obsessed about it. They tend to read House Beautiful, and are less creative than the House Proud set so respond to adverts that speak with authority and make guarantees.
Another trend noted was the elevation of the ordinary, as great style comes to everyday products, and how some marketers are responding to the stressed-out home-CEOs – such as a grocery store in Sweden arranged in a snail pattern, starting with everything you need for breakfast and ending with the dinner items.
Check out http://www.leoburnett.ca to take the quiz and see where you fall.
Coming soon: COMB approval for mobile outdoor media?
Mobile outdoor media is one step closer to becoming an audited ad medium in Canada. This morning, at its first AGM, the Mobile Advertising Council of Canada (MACC) officially launched Satellite Automated Media Information (SAMI) in Canada, which was adapted for Canadian agencies and advertisers by Toronto-based Market Information Services of Canada (MISC). The Canadian version of SAMI employs MobileCounts, a measurement methodology developed by Toronto-based Transearch Group.
SAMI is already available in the U.S., where mobile outdoor media is audited. It provides media data and planning tools like CPM impressions and maps showing market circulation. MACC is optimistic that the introduction of SAMI will help mobile outdoor media gain accreditation from the Canadian Outdoor Measurement Bureau (COMB).
MACC represents mobile advertisers in Canada. Its advisory board includes Shauna Chan, media supervisor, Cossette Media; Ed Weiss, VP associate media director, Echo Advertising & Marketing; and Laura Gaggi, president, Gaggi Media Communications.
Yellow Pages launches WebNumber service
Montreal-based Yellow Pages Group has launched a national online search tool called WebNumber that has enabled the instant creation of over a million Web sites for each business listed in the Yellow Pages directory. The WebNumber service works like this: Type the business number in the address line of any Internet browser and add ‘.yp.ca’ at the end. No area codes necessary. WebNumber will directly connect to a business’s Web page as created by Yellow Pages. The basic listing consists of the business’s address, telephone number, a map to locate the business and a ‘proximity search’ function allowing users to find what’s close by.
For business owners, the more print/Web products purchased through Yellow Pages, the more comprehensive their site listing. For example, the directory’s listing for Vancouver’s Granville Hotel – type in 6837373.yp.ca – shows a ‘check rates’ hyperlink, an e-business card, display ad, hotlink to the hotel’s Web site and a business profile in addition to basic listing info. What’s more, national advertisers on Yellow Pages get a ‘click to call’ feature on their site allowing the user (by entering their own phone number and area code) to connect to the business’ nearest office. This function will ring your phone, instantly connecting you to your local Mr. Rooter or whatever else you may be looking for. ‘The objective here is to add value,’ says Jean-Pascal Lion, VP, electronic directories. ‘Many [small/medium enterprises] don’t have a Web presence. So [WebNumber] allows our advertisers to increase their Web presence. It’s difficult for merchants to buy a domain, create a Web site and maintain it so in a way we’re doing this for them. And for users, it’s a more complete experience.’
Cortex Publishing forecasts a big, Beautiful summer
For the folks at Toronto-based Cortex Publishing, big is beautiful. On July 29, Beautiful, a brand new women’s health, fashion and lifestyle magazine for the size 14+ market, hits newsstands across North America. It promises ‘Vogue-style’ fashion spreads and size-positive editorial. According to a news release, the pub is the place for the fashion and beauty industries to demonstrate their acceptance of the full-figured woman as a fashion icon.
Beautiful will be published bi-monthly as separate Canadian and U.S. editions with a cover price of $5.95 in each currency. Three issues are on tap for 2005 with six slated for 2006. Beautiful‘s primary target readership is women 25-44 with a personal income of less than $24K up to $44K. A one-time, full-page ad runs $8,750 in Canada (guaranteed rate base of 50,000) and Us$25,950 in the U.S. (guaranteed rate base of 200,000). Requests for complimentary copies of the premiere issue can be fulfilled on their Web site.
www.beautifulmagazine.net
Amazing wins race
CTV scored a record audience for the finale of reality show The Amazing Race 7 on Tuesday. The two-hour wrap-up show drew 4.2 million viewers during the final half hour. The average-minute aud 2+ was 3.83 million, according to BBM.
New Panasonic Theatre set to open in June
The new Panasonic Theatre in downtown Toronto will boast more than the talents of the Blue Man Group next month. As part of its sponsorship package, Panasonic will outfit the theatre lobby with plasma screens of various sizes mounted on ceilings and pillars reminiscent of an art installation. A 65-inch plasma screen will provide the main focal point upon entry. Wakeham & Associates Marketing (WAM), a division of Sponsorship Marketing Group, LLC, brokered the deal.
‘There will be a large ‘Panasonic Theatre’ sign on the marquee and we will have our product catalogues on stands in the lobby,’ reports Ian Kilvert of Panasonic Canada. ‘Depending on the room available inside, we may have a poster in the lobby (as well as) a full page ad in the program.’ On-site staff will also be outfitted in Panasonic Theatre-branded uniforms. The theatre will open for previews on June 7 with a gala opening on June 19.
Gillette, Much ring up promo
Tapping into the popular new ad opp trend, ringtone sponsorship, Gillette is working with CHUM Interactive to promote TAG body spray for men. Starting on May 16 at www.muchmusic.com, users will be able to download a free Tag ringtone from the MuchShop located at www.shop.muchmusic.com. Tag has partnered with MuchMusic.com to offer users one of 5,000 free Tag ringtones that can be downloaded to users’ mobile phones, literally putting the Tag brand in the back pockets of consumers across Canada. The cost to the consumer is generally $2 per ringtone, but in this case, Gillette covers the bill (the company gets a discount for purchasing in bulk.)
New Canuck/U.K. Sci-fi series gets green light
Space has signed on for season one of Ice Planet, a series about the marooned crew of a spaceship. The folks behind the Starhunter series, producers Daniel D’Or and Philip Jackson, have a five-season storyline in mind. They start shooting in Toronto this summer, and also in the U.K., on a budget of $32.5 million, as a ‘twinned coproduction’ between Toronto-based SpaceWorks Entertainment and Highgate Films in London.
The series stars perennial tough guy Michael Ironside (The Perfect Storm) as the unfortunate ship’s captain, and is slated to air in the fall of 2006. This is not the first version of the series, and it may not be the last. The story comes from a 2001 German film and was supposed to become a series two years ago via a copro between Regina-based Minds Eye Entertainment and H5B5 Media of Germany. That deal fell through, however, and the rights holder moved on to SpaceWorks. The producers are also eyeing a videogame version and a second feature.
NFL inks deal with CHUM
CHUM is going to be broadcasting Monday Night Football. The longest-running primetime sports series on TV will kick off its 36th season on CHUM’s Citytv stations beginning Thursday, Sept. 8 at 9 p.m. when the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots host the Oakland Raiders. City will then air 16 consecutive Monday night games starting Sept. 12 at 9 p.m.
Felicity enrolls with W Network
The popular series Felicity returns to TV, this time on W, beginning Saturday, June 18 at 8 p.m. The net will air all four seasons of the critically acclaimed coming-of-age drama. W is targeting women 18-54 for the show, which is the channel’s target aud in general. It picked up the program hoping to build on the success it’s had with fellow feel-good women’s series The Gilmore Girls.
Felicity originally premiered in 1998.
http://www.corusentertainment.com
Event
May 26
The Next Marketing Frontier…Building Trust
The Ontario Club, Toronto
416.465.0070
ama-tor@allstream.net
The American Marketing Association – Toronto presents a breakfast discussion on whether building trust can build brand loyalty and equity. Panelists include Daryl Aitken, head of marketing, eBay Canada and Luke Pollard, VP enterprise development, The Loyalty Group.
