EXPRESSVU TARGETS OUT-OF-WAY PLACES
By Adnews Staff
ExpressVu Inc. of Mississauga, Ont. will initially push its digital-to-home satellite TV service in rural and remote communities. Print advertising done by Communiqué of Toronto will start running in December in areas that have little or no cable service. When ExpressVu adds more channels next year, it will expand its advertising into urban areas. Initially the company will be able to offer only 43 channels. This won't impress viewers in town and cities with cable service, where they can already receive up to 45 channels. Eventually, ExpressVu plans to offer a greatly expanded package of Canadian and U.S. television stations and specialty services, along with pay-TV and pay-per-view. ExpressVu will start taking orders for its pizza-sized satellite dishes on Nov. 15 and service will begin on Dec. 1. In addition to advertising, ExpressVu plans to use event marketing. It will organize happenings such as shopping mall tours "to take the picture to the people," sales and marketing vice-president Joe Zinner told Adnews this week. The mall tours will begin in December. The company wants to demonstrate the quality of sound and picture that comes with digital service and this is something that can't be done using traditional advertising, said Zinner. In addition, the company has a site on the World Wide Web where it will provide facts about digital television, entertainment databases and information about ExpressVu service. There are also links to television station sites and listing for movies appearing on ExpressVu channels. The web site address is <http://www/expressvu.com>.