Vacationing cows flood Toronto streets
So Good, Canada’s best-selling soymilk, is doing it’s part to make sure that Canada’s dairy cows get a chance to see the sights from February 21-24. Seventeen vacationing cow mascots (equipped with bright Hawaiian shirts, cameras and postcards) are visiting some of Toronto’s most popular tourist attractions to interact with passersby and promote the growing popularity of So Good soymilk.
The cows, strategically positioned at the Eaton Centre, CN Tower and riding the TTC, will tell anyone who will listen, that thanks to rapidly increasing numbers of consumers buying So Good soymilk, the cows are now free from regular milking duties. Additionally, the guerrilla cows will be getting the word out about ‘Summer in the City’, the promotion’s culminating event taking place at Dundas Square complete with tiki bars, beach volleyball and live music. Over the course of the cow’s week of R&R, the heifers will be handing out coupons for So Good products and directing consumers to the promo website (www.cowsonvacation.com) where participants can enter a contest to win a Cancun vacation. Saatchi & Saatchi Drum produced 30-second radio spots promoting the ‘Summer in the City’ event and Argyle Rowland, who managed the campaign’s media and PR, will be sending out an email blast to GTA women promoting the vacation contest.
New urban radio station hits Edmonton
Milestone Media Broadcasting, the company behind Toronto’s urban radio station, Flow 93.5, teamed up with CHUM to launch 91.7 The Bounce in Edmonton last Friday. The Bounce format is ‘hip-hop’ and R&B top-40 music. As per the conditions of the station’s license, 40% of Bounce’s content will be Canadian and the station will also oversee a $4 million initiative to develop Canadian talent. Bounce also has new digs at CHUM’s interactive studio located on Jasper Avenue. Media sales for Bounce will be handled from CHUM’s offices on Jasper Avenue as well.
BBM Top 20
For a list of the top 20 TV shows for the week of Feb. 14 to Feb. 20, according to BBM, click the links below:
National Top 20
Ontario Top 20
Quebec Top 20
Toronto Top 20
Vancouver Top 20
BBM Media Snapshot: Canadians who never use an ATM machine
Non-users are mainly teens and less educated 55-plus
– 3.98 million Canadians (15%) never use an ATM machine.
– While 24% of these non-users are teenagers, almost half (48%) are age 55 or older.
– Atlantic Canada is over-represented with 19% not using ATMs, while all other regions are on par with the national non-usage average of 15%.
– Non-users tend to have a lower education than the average Canadian. They are 3.2 times more likely than the average Canadian to have no formal education at all and 2.5 times more likely to have grade school only.
– Men (49%) and women (51%) are equally represented among Canadians who never use ATMs.
– A majority of non-users (56%) have a personal yearly income of less than $30,000.
– 47% have a Visa card, 33% have a Mastercard, 8% have an AMEX card, and 37% have a department store credit card.
– In terms of yesterday exposure, the top four media for reaching Canadians who never use ATMs are: TV (90%), radio (77%), daily newspapers (48%), and the Internet (37%).
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.
BBM Super Bowl advertising report
To see a full breakdown of advertising purchased for this year’s Super Bowl, click here:
http://www.mediaincanada.com/articles/mic/20050222/Superbowl_Advertisers.pdf
TSN to replace hockey with -wait for it- hockey
Now that viewers have finally been put out of their misery with the 2004-2005 NHL season officially cancelled, they can look forward to the rest of winter with a full slate of amateur and semi-pro women’s hockey coverage. TSN’s early Spring sked features the ESSO Women’s National Hockey Championship on March 13, the National Women’s Hockey League championship game on March 26, and the IIHF World Women’s Hockey Championship from April 6 to 9. TSN will also air the final two rounds of the CIS Men’s Hockey tournament beginning March 27.
Although TSN’s broadcasts of the World Under-18 Hockey Championship and the National Midget Hockey Championship at the end of April are not likely to challenge last year’s playoff hockey ratings, Canada’s diehard hockey fans (presumably the same ones who tuned in for the seemingly never-ending lockout discussions) will at least have something to watch. The first half of May will see 17 games from the IIHF World Men’s Hockey Championship broadcast, followed by the RBC Royal Bank Cup, touted as ‘the Stanley Cup of Canadian junior ‘A’ hockey’ on May 15. TSN will also continue to show classic NHL games.
New cop drama premieres on CH
CH is set to air a new series exploring an NYPD detective’s return to the job after he loses his sight. Blind Justice, premiering on CH Hamilton, Vancouver Island and Montreal on Tuesday, March 8 at 10 p.m., follows detective Jim Dunbar’s return to the police force after his sight is taken in the line of duty. Similar to Sue Thomas, a dog co-stars.
Celebs buckle up for six-day race across Europe
For the sixth year running, nearly 200 cars will compete in one of the most lavish and competitive races ever imagined. Many celebrities are counted among the participants, including Adrien Brody, Burt Reynolds and Tony Hawk, who will all buckle up for an intense six days. The race was arranged by British entrepreneur Maximillion Cooper and spans two continents and 3,000 miles before the winner is crowned in Cannes. The Gumball 3000 will premiere on MEN TV this Saturday at 8:30 am and will be repeated later in the day at 4:30 pm and 1:30 am.
It’s a dog eat dog world
$25,000 will go to the ‘top dog’ on MEN TV. Dog Eat Dog, a weekly game show premiering at 5 p.m. this Saturday, combines many of the reality show staples into one, as six contestants vie for the grand prize each episode. After competing in a series of physical challenges, the winner, or ‘top dog’ has the advantage, but must use that advantage to outsmart the others in mental competition.
12th Annual AAAA Media Conference & Trade Show
Wed. March 2-4, 2005
Hilton New Orleans Riverside
New Orleans
(212) 682 2500
www.aaaa.org
Topics range from advergaming and branded content to targeting specific areas like multicultural and youth markets.
Mobile Marketing Association & CTIA Present Mobile Marketing Roadshow 2005
Sun. March 13, 2005
Ernest N. Morial Convention Center
New Orleans
(212) 330 8380
www.mobilemarketingroadshow.com
Mobile marketing is one of the newest ways to reach consumers. Experts provide a guide to apps such as ITV, alerts, CRM, M-coupons, sweepstakes, ringtones, games, polling, etc.
IMC Montreal 2005
Mon. March 14-16, 2005
Hotel Crowne Plaza
Montreal
1 800 363 6016
www.internetmarketingconference.com/montreal/
PMB Factoid
Calgarians are 83% more likely to drink green tea.
Text your mind at Speaker’s Corner
CityTV Toronto’s Speaker’s Corner, the CHUM Television’s DIY programming flagship for the last thirteen years, is giving viewers a new way to speak their mind on screen. Beginning Saturday, February 26, at 8:30 p.m., viewers will be able to use SMS to send text messages to Speaker’s Corner (at a cost of 50 cents per message), that will appear at the bottom of the screen for all to see. The technology, dubbed Text2Screen (developed in conjunction with Ericsson Canada), will facilitate not only on-screen dialogue, but will also allow viewers to anonymously connect with other Speaker’s Corner viewers off-air through the use of their mobile phones. And there’s an opportunity for sponsorship tags at the end of these connections.
New tech eliminates need for Mom to pick out your clothes
Ottawa-based Invotrax has debuted their revolutionary Digital Clothing Assistant in the Buffalo Jeans flagship store in Carrefour Laval Mall in Montreal. Using electronic sensors, the DCA detects items brought into changing rooms and displays relevant information regarding the customer’s selection of garments including available colors and sizes as well as other in-store items that match or complement chosen items. According the Buffalo’s assistant marketing director Zanthy Galiatzatos, sales have gone up in the Carrefour Laval Mall store since the DCA has been installed and the company has plans to introduce the DCA in other store locations across Canada. Check out the Invotrax website at: www.invotrax.com
