Want rich people? Fairmont Hotel's lucrative customer base (target demo: 35-55, HHI $125,000 +) is certainly appealing to most marketers. Sony Canada is tapping into it to promote its high-profile compact entertainment system, the PlayStation Portable (PSP). From now until the end of August, guests at the hotel chain's 20 Canadian locations will be able to sign out PSPs to be used during their stay.

Some of Fairmont's other non-traditional brand partners (as opposed to the usual hotel partners like airlines and credit card cos) include BMW, Hewlett-Packard and Holt Renfrew. "We decided to become more aggressive in pursuing [non-traditional] partnerships in the last few years," says Brian Richardson, Fairmont's VP of Brand Marketing, adding that the chain pinpointed 10 specific categories like automotive, food/beverage and technology to actively seek partners in. "We're really open to working with anyone who is targeting the same demographic." Read More

For a list of the top 30 TV shows for the week of June 27-July 3, according to BBM, please click on the links below:

National
Ontario
Quebec
Toronto
Vancouver

CHUM TV's PunchMuch channel launched to the delight of many an agile thumb on June 30. The fully-interactive channel boasts to be Canada's first fully automated, all-request music video service. PunchMuch lets music fans request videos, join in on on-screen chats and polling -- all from their mobile phones. The channel is powered by Oslo, Norway-based content provider Mobile Media's ITV technical platform with its ground ops managed by Mobile Media's Canuck partner, Toronto's MyThum Interactive. PunchMuch targets 12 to 24s.

Even a long, hot, holiday weekend and the lure of cottage country couldn't keep one-third of Canadians away from their TV sets on July 2. According to BBM Canada data, one in three Canadians - 45% of all households - watched some of the Live 8 concert extravaganza on CTV.

The average per-minute viewership of the concert was 961,000 with a high of 2.06 million at 8:16 p.m. ET. The broadcast from Barrie, Ont. was the longest program ever aired by CTV, clocking in at an unprecedented 18 hours and 23 minutes. It is estimated that 3 billion viewers watched some of the 10 concerts held around the world.

In the U.K., BBC grabbed over 50% of TV viewers for its event from Hyde Park in London, peaking with an audience of 9.6 million. That doesn't account for those watching in pubs and at open-air screenings across the country.

The big news in the U.S. was AOL's live streaming video of all 10 concerts, which drew about 5 million online users during its eight-hour run. ABC's two-hour prime time Live 8 special garnered an average audience of 2.9 million (Nielsen Media Research).

* 298,000 Torontonians (7%) attended the city's Gay Pride Parade in 2004.
* 67% of the Gay Pride Parade attendees are between 18 and 44 years old.
* 43% (1.4 times the Toronto average) are single, 49% are married.
* Gay Pride Parade attendees have an active city life:
* Compared to Toronto's averages, they are: 3.7 times more likely to attend pet shows, three times more likely to attend book shows, and 2.6 times more likely to attend food shows.
* Gay Pride Parade attendees are six times more likely to attend the Toronto Film Festival, 4.7 times more likely to attend to the International Jazz Festival, and 4.3 times more likely to attend Caribana.
* 32% of Gay Pride Parade attendee's are members of a health club (1.8 times the Toronto average).
* 52% own pets with 33% of them owning cats (1.3 times Toronto average).
* The top four media for yesterday exposure for Gay Pride Parade attendees are radio (89%), TV (88%), Internet (62%), and newspaper (60%).
* They tune to radio for weather reports and updates, headline news and community news/local events.
* Their magazine preferences (readership in the past month) are entertainment and music (60%), fashion (54%, 1.5 times Toronto average), food and beverages (48%), and women's publications (47%).
* Gay Pride Parade attendees are also interested on community newspapers (average month). 18% read NOW (four times the Toronto average) and 11% read Eye Weekly (3.5 times the Toronto average).

Source: BBM RTS Canada Fall '03 / Spring '04

The preceding information is from BBM RTS, a syndicated consumer-media survey of over 55,000 Canadians, conducted twice a year by BBM Canada. For more information contact Craig Dorning of BBM Canada: cdorning@bbm.ca. Read More

Live coverage of the 2005 Molson Indy in Toronto will air on Sunday, July 10 on Global. The day before the race sees a one-hour pre-race qualifying special at 7 p.m. hosted by the network's Jim Tatti and Don Martin. On Sunday, July 10, the half-hour Molson Indy Pre-Race show will show opening ceremonies. Live coverage of the race is as follows: B.C. at 9:30 a.m.; Saskatchewan and Alberta at 10:30 a.m.; Manitoba at 11:30 a.m.; Ontario and Quebec at 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. for the Maritimes.

Following the movie presentation of Pokemon: Mewtwo Returns on Saturday, August 27 at 4 p.m., YTV will air a sneak preview of the newest Pokemon series, Pokemon Chronicles, at 5:30 p.m. Chronicles is based on characters from the previous Pokemon series and answers some of the questions raised there like as what happened to Misty at the Cerulean Gym?

The series gets underway for real in the fall. Target aud is 6-11s.

Publicis' six-year veteran and founding partner Andrew Bruce has been promoted to president, Publicis Toronto effective immediately. As president, Bruce will look after the Toronto ops of Publicis, Publicis Dialog, Publicis NetWorks, Publicis Sports Marketing, Publicis Tandem, Publicis Wellcare, Ove Design and Optic Nerve. He will report to COO and president of Publicis Canada Serge Rancourt.

Toronto-based outdoor agency Strategic Media gained a VP of sales in Andrea Dayco. Before joining Strategic Media, Dayco held sales posts at Skye Media, Clear Channel and Cieslok Media. She brings more than 10 years of sales experience in the out-of-home arena.

Frequent vacation travelers; by region