Web to standardize ad sizes
The Interactive Advertising Bureau of Canada (IAB Canada) has launched the Canadian Universal Ad Package (CUAP), the first phase in a program that aims to lower ad costs and reduce production and media planning problems by standardizing online ad sizes. Phase two, due later this year, will cover rich media and video streaming standards.
A similar successful foray in the U.S. sparked the initiative.
http://www.iabcanada.com.
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/20050118/Toronto_CMR_Chart_Dec_29.pdf
http://www.mediaincanada.com/articles/mic/20050118/Vancouver_CMR_Chart_Dec_29.pdf
TSN getting into the reality television game
I’d Do Anything, an ESPN original one-hour series, is coming to TSN Mondays starting Jan. 24. IDA tests the limits of contestants’ pain, shame and good conscience to win ultimate sports fantasies for their friends and loved ones. Dispelling the laws of common sense, contestants will participate in feats of incomprehensible stupidity such as playing basketball with wild Mexican bulls and returning a punt against a pro football team with no blockers. The show’s prizes include a qualification into The World Series Of Poker, a round of golf with Tiger Woods, and a chance to spend time with an NFL team during training camp next season. TSN will air IDA Mondays at 7:30 p.m. (except for a pre-emption in the third week) and will televise encore presentations on Sundays at 7 p.m. or 7:30 p.m.
TSN to air full day of non-NHL hockey coverage
On the heels of the CBC’s announcement last week that the network will not air the fifth instalment of its popular annual Hockey Day In Canada broadcasting, TSN has decided to broadcast its own version titled, Hockey Lives Here: Canada’s Game on Saturday, Feb. 18. CBC claimed that, due to the lockout, airing the full-day broadcast simply would not be viable, and so the torch was passed to TSN which, in conjunction with RDS, NHL Network and ESPN Classic Canada, plans to air a full schedule of amateur hockey events.
In total, TSN will air six hours of exclusive hockey content, including coverage of the Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament, a CIS men’s hockey game between the University of Western Ontario and Lakehead University, a re-cap of the 2004 World Junior Championships, the fourth annual World Pond Hockey Championships, and various special reports ranging from how to build an outdoor rink and a report from the Canadian Women’s hockey training camp. To complement TSN’s coverage, ESPN Classic Canada will broadcast 24 hours of classic hockey games, RDS will provide French-language coverage of the days events, and NHL network will also dedicate its Saturday schedule to celebrating hockey in Canada.
Miss Marple back on CBC
CBC plans to air four new whodunit films featuring Agatha Christie’s original independent woman, Miss Jane Marple. Beginning Sunday, Feb. 6 at 8 p.m. with The Body In Library, and followed by Murder in the Vicarage and 4:50 From Paddington later in the month, the films include popular British film and television stars such as Joanna Lumley from AbFab and Simon Callow from Shakespeare in Love. A Murder is Announced, the fourth film, is set to air later this season.
MacDonald moves up at Discovery
Ken MacDonald has become the new VP of programming for Discovery Channel in Toronto. MacDonald replaces Jill Offman who has moved to Discovery U.K. Since last January, MacDonald has held the post of executive producer for Discovery’s in-house programming. His new appointment is effective immediately.
Events
AMA (Toronto) presents marketing leadership panel
Marketing veterans like Richard McLaughlin, VP marketing, RBC Financial Group and Frank Maw, president of Motorola Canada, will be coming together for a panel discussion on Thursday. ‘Marketing Leadership in the Branded Enterprise’ is presented by the American Marketing Association (Toronto) at the Ontario Club in Toronto.
The execs will discuss how marketing leaders must ensure that all of a company’s products and services are consistent with the brand, in an environment where consumers are increasingly influencing the direction of the business. The event runs 7:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. To register, call (416) 465-0070 or e-mail ama-tor@allstream.net. Requests must be received by tomorrow.
Fundamental shift in signage sparks summit
Strategy Institute is presenting ‘Digital Signage Advertising Revolution’ Feb. 8-10 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. From the mini Times Square effect evolving at Toronto’s Dundas Square to small displays in retail stores like Roots, organizers say digital signage is a fundamental change transforming advertising. Highlights of the summit include case studies by Neiman Marcus and other organizations at the forefront of this technology.
Strategy Institute is an independent Canadian-based research organization.
Quebec’s Media Awards open for entries
The fourth edition of a competition honouring the best in Quebec media strategies has issued its call for entries. The deadline for The Media Awards is Feb. 11. Media buying agencies, advertisers and the media can offer submissions in any of eight categories: television, radio, Internet, O-O-H, daily and weekly newspapers, magazines, mixed-media and media innovation
This contest is organized by Infopresse in collaboration with the Council of Media Directors of Quebec (CDMQ). Jury chair is Caroline Gagnon, VP and director of media services at Marketel. A gala will be held at the end of April and the results will also be published in a special edition of Infopresse and at http://www.infopresse.com/prixmedia/.
PMB Factoid
18- to 24-year-olds are three times as likely to drink flavoured vodka.
Tabloid rumours denied, but change afoot
Don’t stop the presses just yet. While The National Post categorically denies ongoing rumors about any wholscale conversion to tabloid format, there are some changes afoot.
Jennifer Bronsema, manager of retail advertising at the paper, says the Toronto section of the Post‘s Saturday edition will launch as a tabloid January 29. The section will combine movies and entertainment with the TV Times for a seven-day keeper expected to be a minimum of 64 pages. In addition, the Saturday Post, a national broadsheet section of the Saturday paper, will revert back to its previous name, the Weekend Post.
Cannonball Run hits the road in Canada
Some might remember the 1981 cinematic gem Cannonball Run starring Burt Reynolds which was based on the original 1971 Cannonball Run race across the United States (though hopefully those who saw the film’s second sequel with John Candy suffer from severe memory loss). This September, a real-life Cannonball Run, which has enjoyed particularly strong success in Europe the last three years, kicks off in Montreal for a Canadian version of the event. In an attempt to re-create the wackiness of the film classic, racers are encouraged to wear costumes to help raise money for charity. The event will be filmed professionally so the highlights of the race can be featured on the 2005 DVD to be released worldwide.
With the event just being announced, sponsorship is still available, though event organizers have already been in talks with Vodafone and Red Bull for some of the premium rights. Some of the available sponsorships include everything from decals, to banners, to advertising on the DVD. Cannonball is particularly interested in pursuing supplier agreements for both parts and cars in exchange for heavy promotion.
MIJO brokers international deal to sell broadcast verification services
This morning, New York-based TNS Media Intelligence finalized an exclusive agreement with MIJO to sell TNS’ Broadcast Verification Services for monitoring Canadian television commercials. The deal allows MIJO to offer BVS technology to the Canadian marketplace under the banner of BVS Canada. BVS technology monitors a wide range of advertising material including commercials, promos, PSAs, programs and video news releases in North America to inform media agencies within 24 hours of a schedule broadcast if their media buys have aired as planned.
ComBase Market Focus: Sudbury, Ont. (CMA)
– 80% of adults 18+ report reading any edition of a community newspaper in Sudbury; the gender breakdown is 79% of women and 80% of men
– 57% of adults 18+ report reading any edition of a daily newspaper; 59% of women and 55% of men report the same
– 80% of those who read any edition of a community newspaper own their homes and 64% are attached (married/living together)
– 81% of those who only read community paper(s) and do not read any daily newspaper(s), own their own homes
Source: ComBase 2003-2004 Study
ComBase, the Community Newspaper Database, is a syndicated consumer-media survey of more than 400 Canadian markets that provides consistent and accurate, market-by-market information to assist in the buying and selling of community newspaper advertising space.
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 at kellylevson@combase.ca.
http://www.combase.ca
Nielsen Media Research Spend Trend: Fitness, health clubs, and weight loss
It’s that time again. The time when thoughts turn from the delicious treats of the holiday season to the unwanted pounds of the new year – and how we resolve to lose them. If the huge increases in spending in this category are any indication, fitness is a big priority for Canadians.
Television reaps the most dollars from the category followed by daily papers, although newspapers’ piece of the pie has been declining year over year. In 2004, radio and out of home stole some of TV’s share and magazines recovered from their large decreases in 2002 and 2003.
click to see the chart
CBC/SRC’s René Lévesque mini wraps
A six-hour mini-series about René Lévesque, one of the most influential politicians in Canadian history, wrapped recently in Montreal, where both English- and French-language versions were produced by Ciné Télé-Action. The $11.3 million mini will air on CBC and Radio-Canada in fall 2005.
Writer Geneviève Lefebvre drew on Pierre Godin’s official biographies of Lévesque to pen a story that begins in 1958 when Lévesque, played by Emmanuel Bilodeau, was working as a TV journalist. It follows his life through the Quiet Revolution to the October Crisis of 1970 and the murder of Pierre Laporte. Additional stars include Pascale Bussières, Lucie Laurier and Marie Tifo.
TSN serves up 2005 tennis broadcast schedule
TSN will be airing over 500 hours of tennis this year featuring all four Grand Slam tournaments, 10 Tennis Master Series events (beginning with the event in Montreal), and the Rogers Cup in Toronto. The tennis sked kicks off with the Australian Open this Sunday, Jan. 16 and wraps up on Nov. 21 with the Masters Cup finals. TSN’s Australian Open lineup, with 60 hours of matches, is the first Grand Slam event of the year and looks to draw upon the successes from 2004. Last January the average broadcast drew 101,000 viewers, an increase of 22% from 2003.
