Reader’s Digest shifts gears with year-old pub
Our Canada, Reader’s Digest Magazines Canada’s bi-monthly offshoot pub, has made significant strides since its inception last January. The magazine publishes reader-written stories, recipes, photos and ideas that are selected from hundreds of submissions received every month. After 12 months of fine-tuning, Our Canada has become one of the top 20 publications in Canada, with over 200,000 paid copies per issue (according to paid circulation projections).
Now that the magazine has firmly established itself with readers, Our Canada is interested in developing new advertising relationships including polybag inserts. Distributed nationwide, the focus of the magazine has been to bring Canadians together to share ‘everything that makes them and their little piece of the country who and what they are.’
Napoleon knows Jack
Napoleon Gourmet Grills of Barrie, Ont., has been chosen as the official barbeque of the Jack Daniels Grill Out promotion across the United States and Canada. Napoleon will be featured in all P-O-S material in thousands of outlets that sell Jack Daniels and a Jack Daniels’ Entertainment booklet.
As well, there will be a contest spanning the U.S. and Canada in which five high-end stainless steel grills will be awarded as grand prizes. Another 1,300 lucky winners will get a special-edition Napoleon grill branded with the Jack Daniels logo.
BBM Media Snapshot: Canadians and RRSPs
More than half of all Canadians have an RRSP
-14.2 million Canadians (52%) have an RRSP
– Half of RRSP holders (51%) are between 35 and 54 years of age, another 20% are 25 to 34
-72% of 35- to 44-year-olds, 73% of 45- to 54-year-olds, and 62% of younger Canadians aged 25 to 34 have an RRSP
-Only one-quarter (24%) of Canadians 18 to 24 have an RRSP
-RRSP holders are 1.6 times more likely than average to have a personal yearly income of $80,000 or more
-Men (51%) and women (49%) are equally likely to have an RRSP
-79% of RRSP holders own their home
– RRSPs are equally likely to be held by Canadians across Canada with the exception of the Atlantic region. Their 44% having an RRSP is slightly below the national average of 52%
-A majority of RRSP holders (61%) contribute less than $2,500 in an average year
-Only one in five (20%) of RRSP holders contributed the maximum in the past tax year
-53% of RRSP holders name a bank as the institution they use for investments and a significant minority (28%) use a full-service broker, which is 1.5 times the national average incidence of use of full-service brokers
-75% of RRSP holders are married, only 16% are single, and 6% are separated or divorced
-55% of RRSP holders did their last tax return by themselves or with the help of a friend, another 34% had an accountant/financial advisor do it, and 10% used a tax service
-In terms of yesterday exposure, the top four media for targeting RRSP holders are: radio (88%), TV (88%), Internet (57%) and daily newspaper (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.
BBM Top 20
For a list of the top 20 TV shows for the week of Jan. 3 to Jan. 9, according to BBM, click the links below:
http://www.mediaincanada.com/articles/mic/20050111/nat01032005.pdf
http://www.mediaincanada.com/articles/mic/20050111/que01032005.pdf
http://www.mediaincanada.com/articles/mic/20050111/ont01032005.pdf
http://www.mediaincanada.com/articles/mic/20050111/tor01032005.pdf
http://www.mediaincanada.com/articles/mic/20050111/van01032005.pdf
BBM CMR
Open the attached link to view the first three months of BBM’s Commercial Tracking information for Montreal Franco incorporating PPM Ratings
http://www.mediaincanada.com/articles/mic/20050111/Montreal_CMR_Chart_Jan_05.pdf
TSN bows international all-star hockey tour
Fresh from the huge success of the World Junior Hockey Championships, TSN is airing the Primus Worldstars Tour from Jan. 12 to Feb. 2. The Worldstars tour featured a who’s who of NHL talent (Toronto Maple Leafs’ captain Mats Sundin and Ottawa Senators’ captain Daniel Alfredsson were among the players) visiting eight teams and seven countries across Europe. The tour was originally broadcast last month (Dec. 9 to 23) on pay-per-view, but this will be the first time the tournament will be broadcast to cable subscribers. The games will air on Tuesdays and Wednesdays (two of the eight games are shown at 7:30 p.m. while the rest start at 8 p.m.), beginning this Wednesday.
Bravo! showcases Canadian theatrical talent
Bravo! is launching a new one-hour, 13-episode series featuring stage performances and behind-the-scenes footage of accomplished Canadian actors and comedians from venues across Canada. The Singular Series, which premiers Wednesday, Jan. 19 at 8 p.m., focuses on a different performer each week, revealing each performer’s unique style to an audience that even the biggest theatre in the country could not accommodate. Though episodes vary in subject and tone from week to week, the overall message of the program remains constant: to promote the strength and increase the exposure of Canada’s theatre community while providing viewers with entertaining solo plays.
Pride picks up new wedding show
The recent Supreme Court decision allowing for same-sex marriage has prompted Hiltz Squared Media to produce a new series for PrideVision TV. The 13-part series, dubbed I Now Pronounce You…, tracks same-sex couples before, during and after their wedding. The series is to be hosted by comedian Trevor Boris who has performed on Just For Laughs as well as being the head writer for the gay dating show Fairy Tale. The series is currently in pre-production and the producers are still searching for potential same-sex couples. The airdate is scheduled for sometime in May. Ad bumpers and assorted sponsorship packages are still available for potential advertisers through Hiltz Squared.
Hiltz Squared is also getting ready to start shooting the second season of Fairy Tale, the world’s first-ever gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender dating show. The original 26-episode season of Fairy Tale garnered much support from the gay and lesbian community, not to mention harsh criticisms from conservatives who felt that gay-themed programming such as Fairy Tale ‘normalize[s] homosexuality’. Hiltz Squared doesn’t seem to mind the attention though, having been written up in close to 500 publications worldwide since Fairy Tale‘s inception. Fairytaledating.com, the show’s two month-old on-line personal dating service has already reached 200 registered members. The second season of Fairy Tale is expected to air later in February on PrideVision.
Radio Marketing Bureau names board
The Radio Marketing Bureau, based in Toronto, has named its 2005 board of directors. Chairman is Patrick Grierson of Canadian Broadcast Sales. Vice-chairs are Lesley Conway-Kelley of CHUM Radio Sales and Tom Manton of Newcap Broadcasting.
Strategic planning committee members are John Hayes, Corus Radio Group; Elmer Hildebrand, Golden West Broadcasting; Mark Maheu, Newcap Broadcasting; Gary Miles, Rogers Radio; Luc Sabbatini, Groupe Radio Astral; Paul Ski, CHUM Radio; and Gary Slaight, Standard Broadcasting. The board also includes CHUM Radio’s Jim Blundell, Standard Radio’s Glenn Chalmers, Rogers Media’s Victor Dann, Integrated Media Sales’ Ron Hutchinson, Pattison Radio’s Gerry Siemens, Target Broadcast Sales’ Dick Sienko, Corus Radio Group’s Chris Sisam, Rawlco Radio’s Ross Tirrell; and RMB president John Harding.
Events
January 26
Sponsorship Marketing Council of Canada Breakfast Forum
This CMO panel discussion on the ‘Integration of sponsorship marketing within the MARCOM mix’ is open to all ACA and SMCC members at no charge. Seating is limited – you must register in advance. 8 a.m.- 10 a.m, Air Canada Centre, Toronto 416-964-3805
http://www.sponsorshipmarketing.ca/
April 28
Sponsorship Marketing Council of Canada’s 2nd Annual Spring Conference
The day-long conference on ‘Measuring Sponsorship Marketing Success’ culminates with the presentation of the inaugural Sponsorship Marketing Awards, which acknowledge and celebrate proven performance in Canadian Sponsorship marketing.
Westin Prince Hotel in Toronto
416-964-3805/514-842-6422/1-800-565-0109
http://www.sponsorshipmarketing.ca
June 19-25
Cannes Lions 2005, 52nd International Advertising Festival
The granddaddy of advertising awards shows.
+44 (0)20 7239 3400 (London)
http://www.canneslions.com/home/index.cfm?CFID=2111058=45731730
Mid-season round-up: Part 2 – CTV
CTV is set to add six shows to its schedule this month including two brand new series. In addition to its new programs, CTV is also rescheduling five of its current series including Corner Gas, which BBM lists as Canada’s number one sitcom this season. As of next week, CTV will have changed its primetime lineup for five different days with only Thursday and Friday remaining intact. With all this change, what can media buyers expect from the network that from September to December owned close to three-quarters of the country’s top 20 shows?
Deluge of support for CTV Newsnet licence changes
CTV Newsnet has received overwhelming public support for its CRTC application for licence changes to amend its mandate. By the Dec. 20 deadline for comments, the CRTC had received 1,219 letters of support for the application and just two negative missives. Those were sent by CTV’s competition, CBC and Global Television.
Last August, CTV applied to the CRTC to amend Newsnet’s condition of licence by deleting the need to operate on a 15-minute wheel format with at least two minutes of news headlines in each 15-minute segment and the elimination of the maximum of 25 exceptions per week to that requirement.
Ipsos-Reid poll says Canadian New Year’s resolutions heavy on weight loss
A recent Ipsos-Reid poll was conducted for Carb Options, a Unilever brand. The survey found that 36% of Canadians put weight loss at the top of their list of New Year’s resolutions.
-65% say they will limit the carbs in their diet;
-68% plan to exercise;
-37% will eat healthier foods; and
-11% will practice portion control.
Other methods mentioned include eating more fruits and/or vegetables (4%) and cutting down on various other aspects of their diets: fats (6%), snacking (5%), sugar (5%), calories (2%), and alcohol (1%).
As expected, the resolve to lose weight is more prevalent in the older age groups and amongst more women (42%) than men (30%). Forty percent of Canadians aged 35 to 54 put it on their lists, followed by 55+ at 37%, and those 18 to 34 at 30%.
Those over the age of 35 are more likely to cut carbs to lose weight (71%) than younger adults 18 to 34 (49%). More younger adults will whittle away the pounds through exercise (80%) than older adults (64%).
TSN Junior Hockey gets highest numbers ever
TSN’s live coverage of the World Junior Hockey Championship gold medal game on Tuesday scored a national average-minute audience of 3.2 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research. These preliminary overnight ratings are 2+ and exclude pre and post-game. Levels peaked at 3.8 million during the final half hour. The program is the second-most-watched in TSN’s 20-year history, with the 2003 gold medal game still topping it. The six-game average was 1.6 million viewers, beating the 2003 tournament, which nabbed 1.5 million. TSN is available in eight million households.
French-language RDS’s live coverage of the game attracted a national average-minute audience of 348,000 viewers. TSN.ca recorded its fourth busiest day with more than 4.23 million page views, roughly four times the average amount of daily traffic.
Bell gets results of digital signage test
Bell Canada has gleaned some results from its fall 2004 pilot program testing digital in-store signage. It joined with Convergent Media Systems of Atlanta, Ga., and Toronto’s Sony of Canada to operate the service in Canada’s approximately 300 Bell and Bell World retail stores. In the test, video screens attached to a national network replaced in-store posters and placards.
Quantitatively, Bell found a 9% increase in purchasing versus stores that didn’t have the digital signs. Qualitatively, research revealed that customers were drawn more to the dynamic advertising, perceived their wait time as being shorter and asked more questions about products. The digital signage has now been rolled out to some client stores but Bell declined to reveal their identity at this early stage.
