NABS West Shindig
March 31
Call Sean Weller (604) 684-1111 ext. 431
The Buffalo Club, Vancouver
This annual event raises money for the National Advertising Benevolent Society, which helps ad industry folks in need.
PMB Factoid
Percent of teenagers who knit: 4. Over 65’s: 19
Sportscasters initiate plan B – but NHL ad dollars go mainly to top scoring prime time
Once the plug was finally pulled on the possibility of even an abbreviated NHL season, sports broadcasters began implementing the final stages of plan B by filling in their spring schedules with replacement players such as racing, basketball, baseball, and junior, international, and vintage hockey.
Media buyers, on the other hand, had their own alternate plans – and they didn’t call for pumping NHL dollars back into other sports programming. While the money pretty much remained with television, it was diverted away from sports and into top-rated prime time shows.
Max Trax scores trifecta of media partners
Max Trax, the Corus-owned digital music service available through cable providers, has teamed up with YTV’s Hit List, Corus Radio and Moontaxi to develop three new initiatives, just in time for Canadian Music Week (for which Max Trax and Corus are the official sponsors).
Max Trax Hit List will become a new digital music channel, incorporating the YTV’s Hit List one-hour formula into a full day’s worth of programming. Among the partnership’s benefits for the two sides are cross-promotional on-air segments, contests and web links.
The Max Trax/Corus Radio collabo will morph Max Trax Studio Q into Studio Exclusives which will deliver exclusive performances by top Canadian artists on digital cable, online and on the radio. Archived sessions will be available on the Max Trax website (www.maxtrax.com) and will include performances by Tom Cochrane, Randy Bachman and Colin James. Currently Max Trax is pursuing sponsors for the Studio Exclusives initiative.
The Moontaxi deal, the only non-Corus family partnership, will see samples of each of the Max Trax channels on www.maxtrax.com, allowing non-digital cable customers to sample all of Max Trax’s channels. Moontaxi owns the Puretracks music download service.
CBC begins broadcasting in HD
March 5th will mark the beginning of a new era at CBC. The CBC will broadcast its first show in HD with The Nature Of Things: Nature Bites Back – The Case of the Sea Otter and follow the broadcast with highlights of upcoming HD projects including Hockey: A People’s History (currently in production) and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets which will air on Sunday, March 6.
CBC HD, available from several digital cable companies (and from a UHF antenna in the greater Toronto and Montreal areas), will be based on the network’s regular schedule, with HD and wide-screen programming simulcast when available. The Newsroom, Nature of Things – Geologic Journey and Getting along Famously will all air in HD as available.
Canada’s Walk of Fame and CTV team up
CTV has finalized a three-year deal with Canada’s Walk Of Fame for an exclusive broadcast partnership. CTV plans to add a red carpet special to the event which will take place this year on Sunday, June 5. Tom Green will host the event with the inductees being announced March 8. Though somewhat of spoiler, for those of you keeping score, this year’s event will mark the eighth straight year that Roch Voisine has failed to make the cut. The 2005 Canada’s Walk Of Fame’s sponsors include Volkswagen and Mastercard.
Deloitte says focus on customer and get innovative
Toronto-based professional services firm Deloitte released its Customer and Channel Strategies Predictions for 2005 on Tuesday. Topping the list is companies taking a ‘holistic, customer-centric view of their organizations,’ said Richard Lee, lead principal of Deloitte’s Customer and Channel Strategy Practice, in a release. At the same time they need to focus on the escalating demand for corporate transparency and accountability. Among the findings, Deloitte says expect to see companies using blogs, online trends newsletters and word-of-mouth marketing to reach consumers cost-effectively.
In a nutshell, the top forecasts are:
1. A strong tie between marketing and bottom-line results
2. Greater scrutiny of corporate data protection
3. Innovative customer segmentation
4. Innovative marketing, especially using alternative channels and triggering buzz.
5. Educating the customer
6. Customer service integration
7. Increase in proximity technology
8. Focused customer strategies and solutions
Deloitte provides audit, tax, consulting, and financial advisory services through more than 6,100 people in 47 offices.
ComBase Market Focus: Camrose, AB
More than 90% of Camrose adults read community newspapers:
– 91% report reading any community newspaper (weekday or weekend) compared to 57% who report reading any daily newspapers (weekday or weekend).
– 36% are exclusive community newspaper readers and read only the community paper and not the daily newspaper.
– Exclusive Camrose community newspaper readers tend to be women over the age of 50. They are 8% more likely to be married or in a common law relationship and homeowners.
And when it comes to other media in Camrose:
– 26% of adults admit they didn’t listen to any radio yesterday.
– 4% report listening to non-commercial CBC stations.
– 44% of adults report watching less than 9.5 hours of television in the past week, or 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.
CFL returns to TSN for more games than ever
The CFL is back on TSN for another season and this year it’s stronger than ever. For the 2005 CFL season, TSN will broadcast 54 games, four more than they have in the previous two years. 20 of those games will be Wendy’s Friday Night Football games and will be broadcast in HD. 2005 will see a pre-season game between Hamilton and Toronto in Halifax, the first ever CFL game played there. The season opens June 22 and will feature the Labour Day game, the Hall of Fame game, a Canada Day double-header and the Grey Cup on Nov. 27 live from Vancouver.
Kenny and Spenny set to return in the fall
Former CBC reality/comedy series, Kenny vs. Spenny, has been picked up by Showcase, which plans to air 15 new episodes of the series beginning this fall. The series, currently in production until mid-May, centers on the friendship and bitter rivalry of lifelong pals who try to top each other in a series of hysterical contests. A hidden gem that aired weekly on CBC afternoons, Showcase plans to air the show later in the day to try to better reach the male 18-34 target demo. Contests for the upcoming season include ‘Who can stay naked the longest?’ and ‘Who can meet the most celebrities?’.
Kelsey Grammer returns to television
Kelsey Grammer couldn’t stay away from comedy for long. Fresh off 11 years of Frasier, Grammer is set to return to the world of television, this time as an executive producer. Kelsey Grammer Presents: The Sketch Show will premiere March 13 at 9:30 p.m. on Global in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia. Grammer’s new project is a sketch comedy series in the vein of Laugh-In and features five comedic performers presenting approximately 30 vignettes per half-hour show. The show is based on the critically acclaimed and award winning show by the same name in the U.K.
The Contender ready to deliver knockout punch
From the formidable foursome of Mark Burnett, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Sly Stallone and Sugar Ray comes The Contender, the newest addition to the ‘Unscripted Drama’ genre, premiering Monday, March 7 at 9:30 p.m. before moving into its regular Sunday 7 p.m. timeslot on March 13. The Contender will follow 16 wannabe Rocky Balboas from training camp to the squared circle in the hopes of becoming a champion boxer and winning $1 million.
Jamie Kennedy back in the reality show game
Toronto 1 has picked up the rights to The Starlet, Jamie Kennedy’s new reality series beginning Sunday, March 6 at 8 p.m. Hosted by Jamie Kennedy, who previous hosted his own reality show, The Jamie Kennedy Experiment, for three seasons, Starlet sets outs to find the next hit young actress with a role on The WB’ series One Tree Hill and a management contract being the show’s top prize. Starlet follows a similar format to other talent search series, with Vivica Fox and Faye Dunaway participating on the judge’s panel. In true Apprentice form, the show has a catch phrase of its own. Instead of The Donald’s ‘You’re fired!’ Dunaway will tell eliminated actresses, ‘Don’t call us, we’ll call you.’
PMB Factoid
Alberta residents are 56% more likely to be heavy users of meal replacements
Cineplex Galaxy’s new digital cinema network offers flexibility, efficiency, and targetability
Cineplex Galaxy is making cinema much more attractive to advertisers with the launch of its new digital pre-show cinema network, Reel Entertainment. The pre-show is scheduled to run 20 minutes before the start of each film. Reel Entertainment premiers April 1 on 215 screens in 21 theatres in the Toronto extended market area and is expected to expand to 400 screens across the country by the end of the year.
