Casters lend a hand in tsunami recovery
Canadian broadcasters are doing what they can to help recovery efforts following the tsunami disaster. At press time, the following had been announced: CBC will be running tsunami-related programming on Saturday from noon to 1 p.m. with a show called News Special: National Memorial Service for Canadian Tsunami Victims. It will air live across the full network.
Also on Saturday, Citytv will air CityPulse At Six – Tsunami Relief Special with Merella Fernandez hosting live coverage to raise funds for the victims of the disaster. The special will be simulcast on Cable Pulse 24. Meanwhile, CHUM declared yesterday Disaster Relief Day, with a fundraising blitz across all of its 32 radio stations and 33 TV stations from 6 a.m. to midnight ET. The effort is in partnership with the Canadian Red Cross.
On Jan. 9, OMNI Television will present a fundraising appeal developed in partnership with Canadians For Tsunami Relief (C.T.R.), a registered non-profit organization formed by local businesses, ethnocultural communities and social organizations.The CTR Appeal Special will air commercial-free from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on OMNI.2, and from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. on OMNI.1.
http://www.cbc.ca
http://www.redcross.ca/chum
http://www.cfmt.com/
Kid spec rolls out spec toons
Funpak premiers Thursday, Feb. 3 at 7:30 p.m. YTV is debuting a new series of zany cartoon shorts about everyone from superheroes to accountants. The net sent out an open call to internal staff for pitches with the results a 13-part series produced in-house by YTV sister company Nelvana.
Four shorts air per episode and each week viewers can log onto ytv.com to pick their favourite. The site is very interactive with streaming video clips and a message board where people can offer feedback to the animators. The winning short gets the final ep dedicated to its concept, along with the chance for its own series.
http://www.ytv.com
Star! original production showcases celebrity hometowns
Star! is launching its new six-episode original series Starville which profiles celebs and their once no-name hometowns. Premiering Sunday, Jan. 23, at 7:30 p.m., the show features interviews with family, mayors, teachers and ex-loves of famous people as well as the stars themselves to gain an appreciation of the role of a birthplace in a particular performer’s rise to fame. Upcoming episodes include Catherine Zeta Jones’ birthplace in the south of Wales and Avril Lavigne’s hometown of Napanee, Ont.
Tiegs passes away at 43
Billy Tiegs, a veteran of the Canadian marketing business who spent the last two decades in the industry, died in his sleep last Sunday while visiting relatives in Windsor, Ont. Since January 2000 Tiegs had been running TiegsMedia, where he showcased his talents as an accomplished planner and buyer. Prior to opening TiegsMedia, Tiegs spent over 18 years building experience and establishing his reputation in the Canadian marketing industry. Over the years Tiegs logged hours with some of the top names in the industry including BBDO, Young & Rubicam and J. Walter Thompson as well as at several media buying services and creative agencies.
Tiegs leaves his parents, William and Marion, his sister Trish and his brother Tim. Cremation has already taken place. A dedication service for a tree planted in Tiegs’ memory will take place later this year.
Two join Famous Players Media
Toronto-based Famous Players Media has named Beth Scott director of marketing and sales of its magazine division, which comprises Famous, Famous Quebec and Famous Kids. Scott hails from Transcontinental Media’s Women’s Service Group.
In addition, Lise Major has joined the Montreal office as account manager focusing on Montreal, Quebec City and Ottawa. Major was formerly with the magazine arm of La Presse.
ComBase Market Focus: North Battleford, Sask. (CA)
– 84% of adults 18+ report reading any edition of a community newspaper in North Battleford; with a break down of 85% of women and 81% of men reporting the same
– 32% of adults 18+ report reading any edition of a daily newspaper; only 25% of women and 41% of men report the same
– Over 50% of those surveyed only read community newspapers and not dailies (53%)
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, kellylevson@combase.ca.
http://www.combase.ca
Events
January 21
Blogs: Marketing Beyond the Website.
This American Marketing Association Hot Topic Series event looks at how Weblogs are developing into a credible marketing tool. NYC.
800-AMA-1150
http://www.MarketingPower.com/blognewyork
January 25
Ad Club Newspaper Day
The focus is on ‘Front Page Politics – Breaking Through in North America’s Most Competitive City’. Delta Chelsea Hotel, Toronto.
http://www.adclubto.com
Mid-season Round-up: Part One – CBC
The CBC is overhauling its schedule to give the network a brand new look for the mid-season and so far at least KIA has liked what it found when it kicked the sked’s tires.
Last night, CBC premiered The Tournament to strong praise from critics. With upcoming episodes directed by Bruce McDonald, the show looks to be a hit with audiences searching for both a comedy and a hockey fix. KIA Canada, The Tournament‘s main sponsor, is using the show to air its new ads which call for an end to the NHL lockout. The KIA deal was made before the show’s script was finalized which allowed for the brand to be integrated into the plot in both the storyline (the two main characters work at a KIA dealership) and in signage (rinkboard ads, and dealership ads). The Tournament‘s Web site also features KIA branded content including Web links to KIA sites and fictitious ads for the KIA dealership on the show.
BBM unveils Ottawa’s fall radio results
David Bray is SVP of Hennessy & Bray Communications. He can be reached at (416)431-5792 or davidbray@sympatico.ca
Ottawa was not included in the December release of BBM’s Fall ratings. BBM had discovered an error in its enumeration process that resulted in an imbalance of English and French respondents in this market. After analyzing the returns from the Fall survey, BBM staff determined that the Ottawa-Gatineau data was not within publication standards. Supplementary diaries were sent out for the weeks of Nov. 22 and Nov. 29 to remedy the error. These are the results of the final combined survey.
Majic100 saw solid gains, jumping to an 11.6% share of tuning for A12+ (up from 10.1 in the spring) and an 18.4% share for F25-54. The Bear continues to grow with M25-54, posting a 12.8% share.
A brief overview of share figures from the Fall 2004 Ottawa BBM courtesy of David Bray.
Click here for summary chart.
ExpressVu gambles on interactive casino channel
Casino and Gaming Television, the first 24/7 gambling network, is launching in Canada via Bell ExpressVu in May and will act as a test for the Los Angeles-based specialty prior to its U.S. introduction later this year.
TravelPress.com breaks new ground
Yesterday, Baxter Publications’ flagship pub Canadian Travel Press magazine, and sister pub Travel Courier magazine launched their interactive digital editions. This move makes Travelpress.com the first CCAB audited publication to provide digital subscriptions featuring the entire contents of its hardcopy magazines on-line. In addition to the magazines’ traditional readership, advertisers will now be able to reach the close to 3,000 opt-in subscribers of the digital service which, thanks to new site upgrades, features interactive talking ads. Travelpress.com‘s previous subscription service used time consuming zip file downloads but now offers a much more user-friendly Web-based link to pdf files.
Toronto 1 offers contest for movie ‘stars’
Toronto 1 has joined with sponsors Dreamfields Pasta and ITRAVEL 2000 to promote its Prime Ticket Movie with a chance for viewers to win a trip to Mexico. Viewers send in headshots and watch for them to appear during the Prime Ticket Movie, Double Bill, Mondays through Fridays Jan. 3 to 23 at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. If their face appears, they win a Sony flatscreen TV compliments of HomeShow Canada. If they call in within 30 minutes, they are eligible to win one of three ITRAVEL 2000 Mexican vacation grand prizes, including luggage compliments of Heys International. The grand prize winners will be announced on The A-List on Jan. 10, 24 and 31. At press time the number of entries was unknown.
The contest is being supported with a radio campaign on Toronto stations JACK-FM, CHFI, the Mix and EZ Rock. It is among some of the recent programming promotions created specifically to meet the needs of advertisers and promotional partners. Others have included ‘Killer Shirts for Killer Movies,’ a week of blockbuster films sponsored by Arrow Shirts, and ‘Guys Night In,’ a presentation of Sony PlayStation.
TLN, Pizza Nova offer slice of Costa Rica
Ethnic specialty TLN Telelatino and Pizza Nova are offering a chance to win a trip to Costa Rica with their Everybody Loves Pizza Contest. From Jan. 3 to 30, people viewing Everybody Loves Raymond weeknights at 10:30 p.m. and 11:00 p.m., and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. in Spanish, must spot the secret pizza ingredient of the day which will appear throughout the back-to-back episodes. They can then log on to TLNTV.com and click on the ingredient of the day for their chance to be entered into the weekly draw to win pizza for a year courtesy of Pizza Nova. In addition, one person will win the grand prize of a trip for two to Costa Rica.
TLN Television is majority owned by Corus Entertainment and offers a variety of domestic and international programming in Italian, Spanish and English to 3.7 million Canadian households.
http://www.tlntv.com/
Style for hommes
Toronto-based Style Communications, publisher of fashion trade magazine Style is debuting a men’s fashion trade Jan. 21.
Called style Homme, president Rod Morris says the mag will target the men’s fashion industry in Canada but will also be distributed at shows in the U.S., Italy and Germany. In fact, 50% of the 10,000 distribution will be outside Canada. The book will appear twice per year — for the spring and fall seasons. A full-page ad costs $3,990.
Innovative docu-thriller to hit Newsworld
CBC Newsworld is set to air a permutation of the reality genre – the docu-thriller. Oscar-winning director Jean-Xavier de Lestrade set out to make a documentary investigating an alleged murder but the story’s twists and turns soon turned the project into a thriller in its own right.
Hosted by former MuchMusic personality George Stroumboulopoulos, The Staircase: Crime Scene or Accident will premier with a two-hour ep Sunday Jan. 16, followed by four one-hours on ensuing days and wrapping with a two-hour finale on Sunday Jan. 23. Newsworld is looking to thrill a general audience with this one.
