CTV still dominating the summer’s ratings
With the Olympics well underway and bringing the normal summer schedule to a close, CTV continues to dominate the Canadian television airwaves. Led by homegrown Canadian Idol whose Wednesday night episode is the most-watched program in Canada, CTV has swept all 10 spots in the Top 10 programs and 18 of the Top 20.
Results are courtesy of BBM, which has released data comparing CTV, Canwest Global and CBC programs.
Chalk Media’s techno tween ad opps
Vancouver-based Chalk Media’s latest network television program,Spy Academy, will offer up some distinctive sponsorship opportunities when it hits the air Sept. 11. Produced for YTV, this kids’ reality game show is aimed at tweens. Each episode has six techno savvy kids paired in teams of two and loaded up with the latest gadgets as they make their way through a series of tests to earn the moniker of ‘international super spy.’
Sponsorship opportunities abound whether it be through the property’s Web site, (www.spyacademy.ca), prize giveaways or title product placement. There are three primary gadgets in every show – a laptop, PDA and cellphone – which allow for sponsorship opportunities along with any other gadgets (from digital cameras to high-tech scooters) you can think of, says Spy Academy‘s executive producer Dana Johl.
‘Viewers can go to the Web site to find out more about episodes and contestants – and it also highlights the gadgets they use,’ she says. ‘So, if a sponsor were to come on and do some product placement with us, we’d also feature the products on the Web site.’
In addition to title sponsorships, advertising opps can be had with weekly prize and grand prize giveaways.
‘We give away a lot of prizes on the show and each prize sponsor gets a 10 second feature at the end of the show – including a picture of the product and voiceover,’ says Johl.
Reinventing the wheel
Hey, it looks like those wheels on that car aren’t turning. And they don’t look like your generic hubcap either. It’s not chrome, it’s not plastic – it’s ‘wheel-vertising.’
Claiming to be a low-cost way of advertising to the coveted urban demographic, this concept – from Santa Monica, Calif.-based AdFleet – involves attaching a 16.5 inch non-rotating hub cap cover carrying advertiser logos to the wheels of a car.
In July, AdFleet launched with 2,000 taxis in the Los Angeles area. Advertisers included the L.A. Dodgers, Taco Bell, Jiffy Lube, Virgin Colas and 1-800-Cheap Seats. AdFleet has plans to roll out soon in 14 markets including Toronto, Atlanta, Dallas, Boston and Washington D.C.
People – Passages, Moves & News
Toronto-based Starcom Worldwide has appointed Jeff Marchand to the newly created position of SVP of its Canadian operations, effective Aug. 19. He will also keep his role as GM, therefore continuing to oversee Starcom’s general and financial operations, lead five account directors and manage client relationships.
Marchand has 14 years of experience in media, all within the Leo Burnett/Starcom network. He is also an associate member of the Canadian Media Directors’ Council.
http://www.starcomworldwide.com/our_services.asp?title=starcom
http://www.smvgroup.com/
Gary Stephen Ross will become the new editor of Saturday Night magazine effective Sept. 1, replacing Matthew Church.
Ross is an author, editor and was formerly partner in the book publishing house of Macfarlane Walter & Ross. He is no stranger to Saturday Night, having contributed in the 1970s, acted as senior editor in the ’80s and edited the 100th anniversary issue in 1987. He has also acted as a senior editor for Toronto Life magazine.
Saturday Night is owned by Toronto-based St. Joseph Media.
http://www.saturdaynight.ca
http://www.stjoseph.com/
Tom Hopkins, partner and SVP of Markham, Ont.-based Avid Media, resigned on Thursday. The news came two months after Avid was purchased by Transcontinental Media, of Montreal. Hopkins has led the editorial direction for such Avid books as Canadian Gardening and Outdoor Canada.
Hopkins says the parting was amicable and of his choosing. He says he’d like to take some time off, with immediate plans including traveling in China with his daughter.
Hopkins joined Avid in 1994. His resignation is effective Sept. 3.
http://www.avidmediainc.com
http://www.transcontinental-gtc.com/en/fs04/p0403.html
Market Meter
Conventional Broadcast TV
4.5 (out of 5)
Broadcast TV is not selling as briskly as in the past and there seems to be a bit more flexibility from sellers this year. All major markets (Quebec, Ontario, Alberta, and B.C.) were active throughout the summer and continuing into the fall. Alberta has been selling out the fastest of all regions and getting cost-efficient inventory is a continued challenge in both Calgary and Edmonton.
In the Maritimes, inventory June through August was tight and current buying activity is coming from back-to-school retailers, malls, Canadian Tire and automotive.
In Quebec, inventory was available over the summer but is tightening up coming into the fall. For the fall, CTV is in a near sold out position across all major markets while inventory on CanWest seems to be readily available. As usual, packaged goods, automotive, retail and entertainment companies lead the way in securing fall airtime on conventional and cable.
Cable TV (aka Specialty TV)
4.5 (out of 5)
Cable TV is selling very well all through the fall, especially the kids’ networks YTV and Teletoon, which are selling out certain dayparts all the way through November already. Rates and CPMs are higher this year than last year due to higher demand.
Cable continues to erode conventional audiences and garner greater share of media budgets. Inventory is moving quickly with stations such as Showcase, MuchMusic, Bravo and TSN nearly sold out for the fall.
Research Watch
Sept. 15, 2004
BBM Radio
Summer 2004 Radio Survey
Current audience ratings, share, date trend data and listening location data
(416) 445-9800, info@bbm.ca
For a table of upcoming reports check http://www.mediaincanada.com/researchwatch/
Carat forecasts another cancellation-riddled TV season
Get ready for another frustrating TV season of cancellations and make-goods. Carat USA is projecting that close to one-third of new U.S. shows will tank before January 2005.
This prediction is part of Carat’s ‘2004-2005 New Season Primetime Programming Report,’ a mammoth 110-page analysis of the fall season network-by-network, night-by-night, as well as a marketplace overview and assessment of historical viewing and program trends, network strategies and schedules.
Buyers, Mother Corp. divided on Olympic gold status
According to media buyers, the Olympic motto of ‘faster, higher, stronger’ didn’t exactly mirror competition for commercial airtime sales at the CBC, which, media sources say, trimmed its ad rates to accommodate domestic advertisers squeamish about a Summer Games overshadowed by concerns regarding terrorism, incomplete facilities in Athens, and doping scandals.
Tourist spots to get eye-catching ad vehicles
Tourists in Toronto and Niagara Falls, Ont. will be getting an eye full this month as Panasonic unveils two Astrovision outdoor advertising screens. The larger screen, in front of the Olympic Spirit Toronto Complex in downtown Dundas Square will be 74.23 sq. metres and is part of the company’s previously announced sponsorship of the Olympic Spirit attraction. Programming will feature Olympic moments and is available for commercial advertising, which will be managed by BriteLite Media.
Meanwhile, the Niagara Falls screen at Victoria Street and Clifton Hill in the heart of the Falls’ tourist district, will be 19.71 sq. metres. RoadSide TV Network will manage all advertising for the Clifton Hill Astrovision.
http://www.roadsidetv.com
Idol draws most Canadians
Big shock – Canadian Idol is Canada’s most-watched television program, averaging more than two million viewers (2.06M for the Wednesday night performance episodes) per episode (Source: BBM).
Idol appears on CTV Wednesday and Thursday nights at 8 p.m. Beginning this week, the Thursday night results show will expand to one hour. At press time, there are six finalists left.
CTV, Consumer Reports take relationship online
CTV and Consumer Reports are taking it to the Web. Building on a three-year relationship in which CTV has used Consumer Reports’ Syndicated Television News Service segments in broadcast, www.ctv.ca/consumer will now feature articles from the independent product ratings publication on a variety of topics.
‘We’re giving people the best there is in consumer advice,’ says Mark Sikstrom, executive producer of ctv.ca, of the enriched site. The two companies will share revenue generated from subscriptions sold. Like the Consumer Reports magazines sold in Canada, the site will include products and ratings grids specific to this country.
In other CTV news, the network will be carrying the Primetime Emmy Awards Sept. 19. The show skews high with key targets, including F18-34 (Index 132), F25-54 (Index 153) and household income $100,000 plus (Index 129). (Source: Nielsen Media Research 09/15/03-03/28/04 – Base P2+.)
Glacier completes acquisition of Weyburn Review
Glacier Ventures International, of Vancouver, has acquired an 80% share of The Weyburn Review and The Weyburn and Area Booster, community papers based in Weyburn, Sask. The deal is scheduled to wrap tomorrow. With the Weyburn purchase, Glacier hopes to extend its reach of the Saskatchewan advertising market.
Glacier owns numerous agricultural magazines and community newspapers, such as The Western Producer and Country Guide, with a combined distribution of over 530,000 in Western Canada. The ag pubs cater mainly to larger regional, national and multi-national agricultural advertisers.
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s BMW comics!
Online success story The Hire, at bmwfilms.com, was just the beginning. Now New Jersey-based BMW North America is enlisting A-list talent, Dark Horse Comics, of Portland, Ore., to turn The Hire into an original comic book series, the first of which, Scandal, streets this month. Pat McKenna, BMW’s consumer communications manager, says the comics are geared at holy-grail skew 18-to-34 males. ‘It’s the audience everyone’s chasing.’
The plan is to build a buzz organically for the six-book series, repeating the M.O. of bmwfilms.com, which spawned 64 million views.
Fine Living’s better living ad opps
New lifestyle net Fine Living will offer up some unique advertising opportunities when it hits the dial September 3rd for its Canadian debut. The Alliance Atlantis offering is a Scripps Networks channel devoted to better living, which launched in the U.S. in 2002.
It spans five lifestyle programming categories – adventure, transport, favourite things, personal space and every day stuff. The series debuts range from Radical Sabbatical (about people who pursue their passions), to Fantasy Camp (which is about destinations for adult campers who want to hone their spy or racecar driving skills).
Each of the series has a templated info take-away feature related to the programming, supplying onscreen facts on everything from buying the perfect bottle of wine to road trip tips. This ‘essential’ programming offers opportunity for sponsor participation.
‘Essentials are innovative short-form type programming that are typically 60 seconds in length and cover various topics that are very client friendly,’ says Errol Da-re, VP of sales and promotions for Alliance Atlantis. ‘They have value-added information that enhances the viewer’s experience and the reason they work well compared to regular vignettes that you might see on the air in Canada right now is that they are very slick in terms of the programming style – it’s very information savvy.’
The Fine Living demo (based on US viewers) is in the 25 to 54 age range with an even men/women split, and an average income level of $75,000+ (USD).
New gay wedding series to hit Global
Global TV and Vancouver’s Paperny Films will begin production on a new series, My Fabulous Gay Wedding on Aug. 21 in Toronto. In each of the six, one-hour episodes, airing on Global in early 2005, the series will follow a different gay or lesbian couple as they prepare to exchange their wedding vows. With only two weeks to plan, the My Fabulous Gay Wedding team will be assisted by a wedding planner in organizing the couple’s nuptials.
Opportunities are plenty for companies throughout the show, says Jennifer Polyzotis, director of product placement. ‘In relation to product companies, we are working with clothing, liquor, food and a variety other companies throughout the show,’ she says. ‘We are also using product for placement in the show, as gifts for our wedding couples and as exclusive sponsors of the series. And although we are unable to use dialogue on the show to refer to media or product companies due to regulations from Global and MTV, we are able to give companies an after-show credit and possibly to feature them in a segment on one of the six shows.’
