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Molson to podvertise with Corus
Podcasting has opened the door to virgin territory for Canadian advertisers. The new field may prove to be fertile ground as Molson has signed on as podcast sponsor for The Ongoing History of New Music and Legends of Classic Rock. Corus Radio worked directly with Molson and its media agency Mediaedge:cia to make the deal.
The ad campaign will run from May 9 to Labour Day. The sponsorship will appear as intros by program hosts Alan Cross and Jeff Woods.
Chris Sisam, VP of sales with Toronto-based Corus Radio, says: ‘Nothing has been done like this in Canada; it’s the first its kind.’
Lennox tries cool new cinema ads
A residential air conditioning and heating manufacturer is hoping theatre audiences’ reactions to its innovative advertising campaign run hot and cold. Dallas, Tex.-based Lennox Home Systems’ campaign is a sponsored entertainment feature in a new digital advertising pre-show network just launched in movie theatres to reach people in Toronto’s extended market area. In a spring campaign running April 29 to May 26, the ad features an animated slide along with names and phone numbers of local Lennox dealers, followed by a montage of the summer’s blockbuster movie trailers. The tagline is ‘Cool. Reel Entertainment brought to you by Lennox.’ From September 26 to October 30, the tag will be ‘Hot. Reel Entertainment brought to you by Lennox,’ and be followed by previews for holiday movies. The ads will appear in 21 Cineplex Odeon and Galaxy Cinemas on over 210 screens. Publicis Dialog is behind the creative.
Branded affinity cards for charitable donations
San Diego, Calif.-based Kintera is bringing good causes and brands together with pre-paid Charitygift cards that can be personalized or private-labeled for corporations and non-profit groups. The card purchaser chooses the dollar amount of the donation and then customizes the card with greetings, messages, illustrations, photos or logos. The 10-digit Charitygift number can also be printed on custom invitations and greeting cards.
The recipients choose the charity that will receive the donation by logging on to a secure Charitygift Web site – or the marketer’s own Web site – using the identification number on the card. Marketers are using the Charitygift cards as holiday gifts or to thank clients and employees, guest speakers and survey/focus group participants, or as part of promotions or special events. Some of the U.S. companies that have had Charitygift programs include Intuit for its TurboTax software, Country Music Television, Omni Hotel, Arthur Andersen and Bank One.
The cards are sold online at www.charitygift.com and can be sent via the post or e-mail. Kintera, which also has a U.K. operation in London, provides enterprise-level software platforms and related services to non-profit organizations.
Canadian Satellite Radio inks multiple deals
Canadian Satellite Radio (CSR) and Asian Television Network have signed a content distribution agreement for’Mosaic,’ a multicultural radio offering to be broadcast across North America. As well, French-Canadian musical talent will be showcased across Canada and the U.S. on ‘La Musique,’ a newly created program being offered by CSR and partner XM Satellite Radio. The show will air on a weekly basis.
Additionally, CSR and Toronto-based Corus Entertainment announced a partnership that will allow Corus to acquire a small ownership in CSR. Corus will provide Canadian content for the service, including French-language programming.
The CRTC has yet to approve the new services, however late last year a Decima research poll found that one in three Canadians are ‘very interested’ in satellite radio.
New software aids online ad viewing
In a bid to improve the experience of viewing online ads, Norway-based ViewStart has rolled out a product called VeyeTech that enables instant video loading at all online connection speeds for high-quality video. It doesn’t require plug-ins or downloads and can work across different browsers and platforms, using little server-space and bandwidth.
ViewStart introduced VeyeTech to the U.S. market at the Ad:Tech Exhibition 2005 in San Francisco at the end of April.
http://www.viewstart.com
HDTV slow to take off: Survey
Only 6% of all Canadians are watching TV in high definition. A national survey by Astral Media’s The Movie Network and Ipsos-Reid found that Canadians are slow to adapt to HDTV technology.
– 14% of Canadians currently have an HD-ready TV set, and of those only 40 % have the set-top box required to deliver an HD-quality picture.
– 16% percent of Canadians said they were unaware they even needed an HD set-top box
– 41 % of owners said they did not have a box because there isn’t enough HD content currently available from broadcasters to make it worth their while.
– One in five Canadians plan to buy an HD TV, with 46% of this group looking to make the purchase this year.
On May 1, The Movie Network started TMNHD, which airs movies and series 24 hours in high definition. The HD channel is free to subscribers of TMN. TMN’s regular schedule featuring HBO and Showtime programming will be available on the new channel. All in-house productions with TMN, such as ReGenesis, G-Spot, Slings & Arrows, and Terminal City will also be broadcast in HD as long as viewers have their HD set-top box.
DY hits youth where they eat
Digital Youth (DY), an online wireless youth network, and Digital Advertising Network (DAN), a mall-based video display company, have organized an interactive contest targeting tweens and teens. The Mobile Minutes $20,000 Text & Win Contest will be running in food courts during May and June.
Trivia questions will appear on digital video display screens in food courts, and participants will use their mobile phones to text message their answers for a chance to enter into the draw for grand prize. Urban radio station FLOW 93.5 will promote.
BBM Media Snapshot: Canadians who attend home/garden shows
* 4.5 million (17%) Canadians attended a home/garden show one or more times during the past year.
* Only a slight majority of home/garden show attendees are females (55%).
* The top two age groups attending home/garden shows are between the ages of 45 to 54 (23%) and 35 to 44 (20%). Hardly any young people (12 to 24 years old) attend.
* Highlights about home/garden show attendees include: 84% of them own their own house; 71% live in single detached homes; 20% plan to move during the next two years.
* 14% of home/garden shows attendees have hired gardening/landscaping services.
* The top three improvements/projects during the last two years among home/garden show attendees were: interior painting/wall paper (52%), landscaping or yard improvements (51%), and exterior painting (36%).
* 32% of home/garden show attendees spent more than $5,000 on home improvements in the past two years, 1.5 more than the Canadian average.
* The top three media for yesterday exposure for home/garden shows attendees are radio (89%), television (88%) and daily newspaper (61%).
* The top three radio formats among home/garden show attendees (weekly reach) are: news talk (23%), adult contemporary (20%) and country (9%).
* 66% of home/garden show attendees consider ‘gardening and homes’ their top type of magazines (readership in past month), followed by ‘food and beverages’ with 48%.
* Movies (71%), news/current affairs (69%) and home improvement shows (50%) are the top television program types watched in an average week by home/garden show attendees.
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.
Gay wedding series set to preem
Global TV and Vancouver-based Paperny Films have finished production on My Fabulous Gay Wedding. Actor/comedian Scott Thompson will star in the six-episode reality series as the ‘Wedding Fairy.’ Toronto stylists and planners will work with six gay couples in a time-crunched period leading up their wedding days. The show will debut on Global on Wednesday, June 1 as follows: Ontario/Quebec/B.C. at 10 p.m., Manitoba/Saskatchewan at 9 p.m., and Maritimes/Alberta at 8 p.m.
See MIC Aug. 19/04 for more info on the series.
Ray ends his day
The sitcom heavyweight Everybody Loves Raymond is airing its final episode after nine seasons. The last show will be preceded by an hour-long retrospective special titled Everybody Loves Raymond: The Last Laugh. Featured in the pre-show will be behind-the-scenes interviews with cast and producers, past clips, and the drama from the last week of production. The final half-hour episode will air Monday, May 16 on Global in Ontario/Quebec/Alberta/B.C. at 8 p.m., Manitoba/Saskatchewan at 7 p.m. and the Maritimes at 9 p.m.
Time change for BBC Canada
Please note that Blackpool has changed its air date and will now premier on BBC CANADA on Aug. 7 at 9 p.m. rather than June 5 at 9 p.m. as was reported in MIC April 28/05.
Alliance names two VPs
Elizabeth Duffy-MacLean has been named VP public and regulatory affairs with Alliance Atlantis Communications in Toronto and Chris Fuoco is the new VP affiliate marketing. Duffy-MacLean joins AAC with more than 15 years of experience in the private sector in specialty and conventional broadcast regulation. She spent time working with NetStar, CTV and most recently as VP, regulatory affairs and policy Strategy with Bell Globemedia. Fuoco has been with AAC since May 2003, when he joined as director of affiliate marketing. Previously, Fuoco served as director of core programs for Bell ExpressVu.
http://www.allianceatlantis.com.
Events
Nov. 24
The CASSIES
Westin Harbour Castle Hotel, Toronto
416-482-1396 x 230
514-842-5681
http://www.cassies.ca
This Canadian advertising awards show is based on proven business effectiveness. There is a new category of award this year for B2B. Deadline for entries, which are to be filed online, is June 30.
PMB Factoid
Clerical/secretarial workers are 56% more likely to buy 10+ pantyhose per month than the average women.
