New avenues developing for cellphone advertising
Design firm Loopmedia and animation producer theskonkworks, both of Toronto, have joined forces to create The Animation Incubator. The joint venture will develop ‘mobisodes,’ animated Web movies and games created for the mobile wireless market, replete with advertising opportunities within the mobile content. Company president and co-founder Sonja Perovic says: ‘We are targeting kids and teens who are really into the new technologies with text messaging.’
The alliance is launching its project at the MIP-TV television market taking place this week in Cannes.
Loopmedia and theskonkworks will offer creative services to companies who want to embed ads. The venture wants to brand series of mobisodes appealing to the demographic that use instant messaging. ‘The goal for campaigns is to find brands that will complement each other for cross promotions. We want to create high quality product – with both companies splitting the cost of advertising, they can get more bang for their buck,’ Perovic explains.
http://www.loopmedia.com
http://www.theskonkworks.com
Voix deal dead
Longueuil, Que.-based Section Rouge Media and Prestige Media have ‘annulled’ the acquisition of the gay and lesbian mag La voix du Village (see MIC March 29/05) by Rouge. In a release, the parties cited ‘an irreconcilable difference’ regarding the pub’s management. There will be no cost to either party due to the annulment.
The free two-year-old magazine has a distribution of 30,000.
ComBase Market Focus: Gander, Nfld.
More than three-quarters of the adults in Gander are community newspaper readers.
* 76% report reading any community newspaper (weekday or weekend) compared to 41% who report reading any daily newspapers (weekday or weekend).
* 38% of adults are exclusive community newspaper readers and only read the community paper, not the daily newspaper.
* Exclusive Gander community newspaper readers tend to be women aged 18 to 24. They are more likely to be married or living with a partner, and homeowners.
When it comes to other media in Gander:
* 28% of adults admit they didn’t listen to any radio yesterday.
* 26% report listening to non-commercial CBC stations.
* 39% of adults report watching less than 9.5 hours of television in the past week, which is less than an hour and a half a day.
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.
History docs examine torture
The History Channel will air the controversial three-part series Torture.The series from Britain’s Channel 4 will broadcast three journalistic documentaries.
Part one, The Guantanamo Guidebook, airing Monday, April 25 at 9 p.m., follows volunteers who submit themselves to the methods of interrogation used at the Americans’ Cuban base camp. Torture: America’s Brutal Prisons, airing Tuesday, April 26 at 9:00 p.m., investigates the prison system in Abu Ghraib, paralleling current situations in the American prison system. Meanwhile, the final instalment, Torture: The Dirty Business will premier Wednesday, April 27 at 9 p.m. Investigative journalist Andrew Gilligan will look into the practice of torture techniques on terrorist suspects.
PMB Factoid
One in four Canadians shop at drug stores 5+ times per month.
Correction
In the April 7 issue of MIC, we stated that Teletoon will partner with Energizer Max Batteries May 8-29 for a two-pronged online trivia challenge – one for younger kids at www.teletoon.com and one for older audiences at www.thedetour.ca. The effort is to promote the release of Star Wars Episode III – Revenge of the Sith and the correct dates are in fact May 2-29.
Yellow Pages, Call Genie offer proximity directory to callers
The Montreal-based Yellow Pages Group is testing Hello Yellow, a free, interactive voice recognition based service. Created in partnership with Calgary-based Call Genie, provider of enhanced voice directory services, the application allows consumers to access information from 527 Yellow Pages categories and 272,000 business listings. All existing Yellow Pages advertisers are included in the database and information is presented in order of proximity to the caller’s location. However, subscribers to the service (rack rate is between $69 to $149/month) have ‘placement priority.’ Promotion for Hello Yellow ramps up this summer with the introduction of coupons and incentive offers, made easy via the self-managed Web site which allows advertisers to change the content of their presented information such as time-sensitive specials. The proof of concept period wraps at the end of 2005, and Call Genie hopes to expand the service to Western Canada, after the June 2005 sale of Advertising Directory Solutions Holdings, publisher of SuperPages, to the Yellow Pages Group.
By dialing 310-YELO (9356) from any phone in Greater Toronto and following the voice prompts of the automated operator, ‘Genie,’ callers name a category of business, then a desired location by providing a landmark, a major intersection or a neighbourhood. Listings, which include all current Yellow Pages advertisers, are retrieved within seconds with phone number, address and connection options. If the call originates from a Bell line – mobile or land – or from any other device that employs LBS (location based services) technology, the operator detects the location of the caller (typical accuracy in urban areas is between 400m to 2500m) and offers location-specific information first.
Ad opps ‘à la carte’ in new CHUM podcasts
Radio station 104.5 CHUM FM in Toronto is launching a daily podcast next month, the first of many such podvertunities unfolding within the CHUM empire. The debut pod property is its popular morning show with Roger, Rick & Marilyn, downloadable in a handy mp3 version weekdays from 5:00 a.m. at www.chumfm.com, beginning May 2. ‘We plan to launch a series of services,’ says CHUM FM program director, Rob Farina, ‘from daily entertainment news, exclusive artist interviews and CD previews [to] new music showcases. One of our main initiatives will be to make available the immense archival material [such as] interviews and performances that span CHUM FM’s 40-year history. From Jimi Hendrix to Elton John to Madonna, for the first time fans can download classic interviews with their favourite artists – unedited and uncensored.’
Says Roma Khanna, VP, CHUM Interactive: ‘The mobile lifestyle and use of digital music players is an exciting new way to consume entertainment.’ Farina adds that podcasting will allow CHUM to ‘extend our reach to listeners at times of the day when they are not near a radio.’ And advertisers are invited along for the ride. Says Marc Charlebois, general sales manager of 1050 CHUM and CHUM FM: ‘This creates an engaging marketing opportunity for our clients. It’s online; it’s offline. We can integrate client content into the podcast. Whereas on the morning show hosts may not expand on ad messages since they have to get right back to the music, in the podcast they can.
Radio up 2.5%, says CRTC study
The CRTC has released a state-of-the-union report on Canadian commercial private radio, with statistics covering 2000-2004.
According to the report, which counts 544 stations, total revenue increased by 2.5% between 2003 and 2004, reaching $1.2 billion. While revenues for English-language and Aboriginal stations grew during the period by 4% and 5.7% respectively, French station revenues dropped by 4.6%.
Not surprisingly there were differences in how AM performed versus FM during the period. For instance, English-language AM held steady with a 0.1% decrease to $259.5 million while FM revenues jumped 5.5% to $738.7 million. Meanwhile, both AM and FM ethnic and Aboriginal radio grew during the period: AM revenues rose by 4.9% to $20.3 million and FM 7.3% to $10.5 million.
On the French-language side, however, it was a different story. While revenues for AM radio declined by 13.2% to $22.6 million, FM revenues also shrank by 3.4%, to $172.5 million.
In 2004, there were 164 English-language AM radio stations and 274 FM stations; 15 French AM and 77 FM stations; and eight ethnic and Aboriginal AM and six FM stations. Twenty-nine new stations started up and 13 AM stations migrated to FM.
Idol throws out challenge to media
More hot air is expected from the Toronto media as they switch from their blah blah blahs to mi mi mi, la la la la’s. CTV dared the Toronto press yesterday to drop their pens, microphones and dignity and sing on stage in front of the judges of Canadian Idol. Organizers are billing the audition as ‘The Toronto Media Idol Challenge.’
The event will be taped on Monday, April 18 at 3:00 p.m. at the Royal York Hotel and broadcast for season three of the popular show. Two weeks remain before Toronto auditions start for the new season. CFTO entertainment reporter Jacintha Wesselingh and CHUM FM’s Meg Tucker have already signed on to vie for the title of Media Idol. A prize of $5,000 will be given to the winner’s charity of choice.
Amen, Epoxy merge
Montreal agencies Amen and Epoxy have merged under the name Amen.Epoxy. Amen’s one-year-old media arm will continue to use the Amen Media name. The division’s GM is Sylvie Lalande.
BBM Media Snapshot: Canadians and long distance phone calls
* 7.48 million Canadians (28%) spend $40 or more on long distance calling per month.
* Of those spending $40+ per month on long distance calls, 57% are female and 43% are males.
* The top three age groups among those spending $40+ on long distance calls are 45 to 54 (21%), 35 to 44 (20%) and 65+ at (17%).
* 34% of people living in the Prairie region spend $40+ on long distance calling. This is the highest compared to the national average of 28%. B.C., Ontario and Atlantic regions are average with 31%, 30% and 27% respectively. Quebec is the lowest with only 18% of the population spending $40+ on long distance calling per month.
* 26% of the people who spent $40+ on long distance calling also bought pre-paid calling cards in the past year.
* 41% of people who spend $40+ per month on long distance calls also spend $30+ a month on their cellular telephone.
* 12% of people who spent $40+ on long distance calling changed their supplier in the past 12 months.
* The top three media (yesterday exposure) for people who spend $40+ on long distance calling are: television (87%), radio (85%) and daily newspaper at (57%).
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.
MTV launches Web channel
A new MTV Web channel will give advertisers a vehicle to sport their goods online. MTV will debut a Web-based video content channel called Overdrive. The site will offer users with high-speed connections the chance to click and pick from MTV’s news, interviews and music videos, as well as clips from its reality shows. The site will handle between 50 to 70 clips per category every 10 days. Each clip will range between two to six minutes in length and will be played using Windows Media Video, and Windows Media DRM (Digital Rights Management). Ad space will be offered in 15-second video segments that will play prior to the start of the selected clip.
MTV Networks and Microsoft formed a strategic agreement to deliver digital entertainment at last January’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Procter & Gamble, Microsoft, and Sony Pictures will feature ads on the new site. Overdrive will start Monday, April 25.
Pamela Anderson goes intellectual
Pamela Anderson aims to diversify this spring by taking a job at a bookstore on Stacked, a new half-hour comedy on Global.
Looking to hit the 18-49 audience, Anderson’s character, Skyler Dayton, wants to settle down from her wild lifestyle, and she finds stability at Stacked Books where she is surrounded by the owners (two brothers), a jealous female co-worker and the store’s mainstay customer played by Christopher Lloyd. The show will air Wednesdays at 8:30 p.m. for six eps, beginning April 13.
