Toronto-based theatre company Famous People Players has retained ThreeTimesThree, also based in Toronto, to undertake a rebranding project. The assignment includes the development of new positioning, a new logo and an accompanying tagline. The new branding is intended to depict the theatre as a memorable night out. The new materials will roll out into 2014, which will be the 40th anniversary of the theatre company. "The new branding platform reflects the core essence of the company," said to Mark Tawse-Smith, strategic director at ThreeTimesThree. "The bright colours and iconic shapes hint at what you'll experience during a performance."
Shaw Media of Toronto has introduced a new advertising option aimed at movie companies. The new method debuted on May 18 during the broadcast of the Warner Bros. film The Hangover on its Showcase specialty channel. At two times during the movie, advertising messages were displayed over suspended movie content, after which the film continued playing. The messages promoted the upcoming release of The Hangover Part III on May 23. "This is an exciting twist on a commercial break," said Errol Da-Ré, senior vice-president of sales at Shaw Media. "Warner Bros. wanted a campaign that matched the impact of the Hangover franchise and our MV team delivered in spades. Viewers will be mesmerized and fans will love the integration. It will work best if the movie we are promoting has a strong connection to the movie we are airing."
Coast Hotels of Vancouver has begun a rebranding initiative. The project includes a redesigned website at CoastHotels.com and a new tagline: "Refreshingly local." The new branding is intended to reflect the "friendly, authentic spirit" of Coast Hotels, according to the company. The new website incorporates a streamlined booking process, improved functionality for loyalty program members and a new availability calendar. It also makes use of a responsive design that adapts to mobile devices, as well as new content such as local guides and event calendars. "We took the time to involve our customers and understand what really made Coast special to them," said Sarah Kirby Yung, executive director of marketing and communications at Coast Hotels. "This new brand is about honoring our 40 years of history, while building for the next 40 and attracting new generations of travelers." The new branding and website were developed by GreenRubino of Seattle and GCommerce of Park City, UT.
Warner Bros. Digital has retained Crucial Interactive as its exclusive Canadian online sales representative. The Toronto-based company will handle advertising sales for online properties including TMZ.com, EllenTV.com, AndersonCooper.com, Toofab.com, ExtraTV.com and KidsWB.com. The agreement also includes the YouTube and mobile elements of these websites. "Being able to represent Warner Bros. in Canada is a tremendous opportunity for Crucial and addresses our clients' demands for extended visibility within select female demographics," said Petar Bozinovski, president of Crucial Interactive. "The collective reach of these sites is over three million uniques per month, with over 1.5 million being female. This presents an opportunity to expand our business into previously untapped female-skewing categories, including CPG."
Toronto-based Your Brand Integrated Marketing Communications has promoted Ashley Calapatia to the position of director of communications. She joined the firm's media relations department in 2011 and was most recently national manager of brand communications. Prior to that, she was a junior consultant at Budman and Associates. Erika Zupko and Michelle DeBique have joined the agency as integrated marketing associates. Neive Lenihan has been hired as integrated marketing coordinator.
Market research company Ipsos has appointed Jeff Cail to the position of chief operating officer for North America. He was previously country manager for Ipsos in the United States. Prior to that, he held various senior management positions at Nielsen Online and Bases. Jim Meyer has been appointed chief executive officer for North America for Ipsos ASI. He was most recently at TNS North America, where he headed its brand and communications and digital practices. Meyer has previously worked for J. Walter Thompson, D'Arcy and Saatchi & Saatchi, and was the founder of Mindset Media. David Parma has been appointed president of Ipsos Marketing in the United States. He was most recently, global president of Bases and Nielsen Custom Research.
The Jim Pattison Broadcast Group of Kamloops, BC has signed agreements to purchase three FM radio stations. The company will buy Kool FM 101.5 in Calgary and FAB 94.3 in Winnipeg from Bell Media, and QX 104 in Winnipeg from Astral Media. The agreements, which remain subject to regulatory approvals, are a result of the need for Astral and Bell Media to divest themselves of several properties to meet CRTC conditions for their merger. "This is a very important acquisition for our group and, with the approval of this transaction from the CRTC, we will expand our presence in the major markets of Calgary and Winnipeg, which we have been focusing on for some time," said Rick Arnish, chairman of Jim Pattison Broadcast Group. "With the pending launch of our newest station 95.3 The Peak in Calgary, combining forces with Kool FM will allow our group to have a very strong competitive FM radio combo in Alberta's fastest-growing city. We're also very excited about the opportunity to expand in western Canada and specifically into the Winnipeg radio market with two separate stations. We are really looking forward to working with the teams at these separate Winnipeg operations as we expand into a new marketplace for our group."
The Société de transport de Montréal has signed an agreement with Cogeco Métromédia to install additional digital display screens in the city's subway stations. The roll-out will take place in two phases between June 2013 and the summer of 2014, each covering 26 stations. The new screens will increase the inventory of displays from 116 to 223, with four screens in each station. "We have been one of the first industry players to commercialize a digital display network," said Claude Lamoureux, vice-president and General Manager of Cogeco Métromedia. "This deployment is part of the move toward digital media already in progress and will reach all of the users of Montreal's subway system every day. Métrovision also provides a new and diversified programming that we will happily share with all of the clientele."
Montreal-based loyalty management company Aimia has formed a partnership with Axis Bank of India to launch a new customer loyalty program called Edge Loyalty Rewards. The program will be managed by Aimia's India office. "We are delighted to be working with Axis Bank on their loyalty program, which will allow the bank to use customer insights and targeted communications to build ongoing relationships with its customers," said Akash Sahai, managing director for India at Aimia. "Aimia has been strengthening its presence in India and Axis Bank's confidence in Aimia is testament to that."
Y&R Toronto has added five new staff members. Mark Francolini and Jonathan Smith have joined the agency as creative directors. They will lead the creative development of the firm's Ford account. Francolini was most recently as Zulu Alpha Kilo, while Smith was previously at TBWA Chiat Day Toronto. Cheryl Geonanga has been hired as an art director. She has previously worked at Taxi, DDB and John St. Appanna Chetrandra and Cole Rosenberg have been hired as writers. Chetrandra was previously at Clean Sheet, Bos and Leo Burnett, while Rosenberg was previously at Taxi and Leo Burnett.
Toronto-based Vision7 Media has appointed David Jowett to the position of president. Vision7 Media includes media agencies Cossette Media and Jungle Media, as well as research firm Impact Research. Jowett was most recently president of global clients at Aegis Media in London, UK. Prior to that, he spent 10 years at MediaCom UK, most recently as managing director. Outgoing president Pierre Delagrave has become head of the Vision 7 Innovation Group and chairman of Vision7 Media International.
McNeil Consumer Healthcare and The Arthritis Society conducted a street promotion in Toronto yesterday intended to raise awareness of the "Walk to Fight Arthritis" fundraising event that will take place on June 9. The promotion took the form of a four-minute dance routine performed by 75 promotional workers at the intersection of Yonge and Dundas Streets, stopping the traffic. The effort is being followed-up with social media activities. "We know that over 4.6 million Canadians live with arthritis," said Janet Yale, president and CEO of The Arthritis Society. "Today we stopped traffic but our end goal is to stop this disease. We can do that by mobilizing our efforts and raising awareness and funds to support the cause."
Nova Scotia Tourism began a promotion in Toronto yesterday involving a 28-foot-tall replica of the Peggy's Cove Lighthouse at the intersection of Bay and Wellington Streets. The launch event also offered food and music from the province to passers-by. The three-week promotion was developed by Extreme Group in association with Fourth Wall Media, which is a division of Pattison Outdoor Advertising. "Fourth Wall Media is very excited to launch a one-of-a-kind out-of-home experience at Peggy's Corner in downtown Toronto," said Dmitri Melamed, general manger of Fourth Wall Media. "It's been a wonderful experience working with Extreme Group and Nova Scotia Tourism on bringing this iconic landmark to the people of Toronto. We look forward to bringing continual excitement and innovation to the world of OOH advertising across Canada."
Brick Brewing of Kitchener, ON has begun an Ontario contest promotion called "Muscle Up and Win a Dodge Challenger" in support of its Laker Beer brand. Consumer can enter the contest by submitting the code number from 15-can packages of Laker Lager, Laker Light or Laker Ice online at . Consumers can also enter by scanning a quick response code on the packaging. Four finalists will be randomly selected and invited to a special event, where the winner will be chosen. The contest will run until June 28. "We take every opportunity we can to jam as much value into a box of award winning Laker beer for Ontario drinkers," said Nick Relph, vice-president of marketing and sales at Brick Brewing. "We're fortunate to have a hardworking group of beer drinkers who support Laker and we're thrilled to be giving away this brand new 2013 Dodge Challenger. It's just another way for us to say thank you to all the beer drinkers in Ontario who have helped make Laker so popular in its home province."
Dare Vancouver has promoted Addie Gillespie and Mia Thomsett to the position of creative director. Both were previously associate creative directors. Gillespie and Thomsett joined the firm in 2011 as copywriters. Prior to that, the pair was at TBWA Vancouver. Richard Hadden remains president and chief creative officer of Dare Vancouver.
Toronto-based branding and marketing agency Ten81 Lifestyle has appointed Jana Masiewich to the position of director of lifestyle marketing. She will begin work on May 27. She was previously senior manager of sponsorships at Scotiabank. Prior to that, she was an experiential account supervisor at MacLaren McCann and an event marketing brand activator at TrojanOne. Masiewich has also worked at Molson Sports & Entertainment, IMG Canada and the John Labatt Centre.
Hill&Knowlton Strategies of Toronto has hired Joshua Hollenberg as an assistant consultant in its public affairs department. He was previously a consultant at Daisy Consulting Group. Sarah Bain has joined the public engagement department in the agency's Ottawa office as a senior account director. She previously held a series of communications positions in federal and municipal politics.
Toronto-based Postmedia Network has extended its paid-subscription model to all of its daily newspaper websites following a two-year pilot project. Consumers will be able to select from several subscription offers, including a bundle with the print edition, web and mobile access only, a PDF replica of the printed edition, and options for casual or occasional readers. "Newspapers around the world are realizing you can't spend millions of dollars on content and give it away for free," said Paul Godfrey, president and CEO of Postmedia Network. "We believe that readers will choose the best subscription option for them and pay for access as long as we continue to invest in the premium content, insight and commentary they have come to expect from their favourite newspaper brands." The launch of the subscription service is being promoted with a national marketing campaign developed by Us Communications of Toronto. It consists of print, digital and out-of-home ads in all Postmedia markets, as well as television commercials. The creative makes use of copy such as, "In the know, anytime, anywhere with digital access," "More to read, more to see with digital access" and "More with digital access."
The Insurance Bureau of Canada and Groupement des assureurs automobiles have launched a campaign in Quebec called "En voiture, j'assure," intended to raise awareness of car insurance issues among young drivers. The campaign addresses the topics of insurance premiums, deductibles, losses and false declarations. It includes online materials on Facebook and at Infoinsurance.ca, as well as a contest component. Young drivers can enter the contest by submitting online video clips featuring an insurance mishap. Five automobile insurance premiums worth $1,000 will be awarded to the winners. The campaign creative features actor and television personality Stéphane Bellavance, as well as video blogger Thomas Gauthier. The promotion also makes use of posters and postcards in the classrooms of the Driving Schools Association of Quebec. "There are almost 100,000 new drivers every year," said Johanne Lamanque, vice-president for Quebec at the Insurance Bureau of Canada. "Since the majority are young drivers, we used humour to explain these various notions to them, to make them aware of the consequences of making poor choices or not looking enough into car insurance."
The Children's Wish Foundation of Canada has retained Toronto-based TrojanOne Consulting Group to conduct a study of the "environmental landscape" of its annual Wishmaker Walk for Wishes fundraising event, which takes place in approximately 100 communities nationally. The assignment will include an environmental assessment, accompanied by recommendations on increasing the fundraising effectiveness of the event and a plan for doing so. "We're privileged to be working with a remarkable Canadian charity that exists to make a positive impact and difference in the lives of children with life-threatening illness," said Michael Weisdorf, director of TrojanOne Consulting Group. "We hope the Wishmaker Walk for Wishes assessment will lay the groundwork for potential future projects."
