NYC: It's Advertising Week in New York City, and the realization that the consumer is in control - and that no one's business model is geared to dealing with that - is coming up. A lot.

One of the first events of the week-long agenda of conferences, awards and parties, was Forecast 2006, MediaPost's annual confab on The Future of Media, suitably held at the Marriott Marquis, plunk in the middle of Times Square, the ultimate clutter zone. Read More

The themes of responding to the consumer being in control of media, the need for more targeted plans and more elegant metrics kept cropping up during the panels and presenters that took the podium during Forecast 2006, MediaPost's annual conference on The Future of Media. One fascinating research project was presented - the Middletown Media Studies - that seems to hold the key to at least part of that puzzle.

Mike Bloxham, director of testing and assessment and Robert Papper, telecom prof of Ball State University Center for Media Design, unveiled some top-line findings from a deeply forensic media consumption study conducted on 400 Indiana consumers, 18+, over the course of a week. Researchers observed the Muncie and Indianapolis subjects from as early in the morning to as late in the day as permissible, logging their media consumption in 15 second intervals, in context of the person's activities - eating, watching kids, etc. They went shopping with them, they went to work with them, and they logged it all. With over 5,000 hours of observations and 1.2 million data records they believe it to be the largest observational media study of its kind. Read More

For a list of the top 30 TV shows for the week of Sept. 19 to Sept. 25, according to BBM, please click the links below:

National

Ontario

Quebec

Toronto

Vancouver

On Oct. 13, Nickelback is taking 80 fans hostage on a WestJet airplane. Well, not exactly. But thanks to a lofty promo conjured up by the marketing brains at Mississauga, Ont.-based EMI Music, the quirky airline is lending the record label a 737 for a day-long promo centred on the Canadian band's new CD All the Right Reasons.

And according to Richard Bartrem, director of brand and communications at Calgary-based WestJet, the airline had all the right reasons to get involved. "EMI approached us with this idea, and we jumped at it. We offer an exceptional guest experience, so it fits that way, and it also fits in line with us wanting to do something different that traditional airlines wouldn't touch."

On the day in question, 20 media reps from across Canada (plus five international press folk) and 80 lucky winners will fly cross-country with the band, touching down in Halifax, Toronto (where they will visit MuchMusic and a nearby HMV), Calgary (where they will perform a concert in a hangar for winners), and finally Vancouver (where the guys will participate in a photo shoot at the HMV megastore). A photographer has been hired to take shots of the guys in flight and around town. These will be posted to a site accessible to fans.

Paul Shaver, VP marketing at EMI, says there will likely be a special mid-flight acoustic performance, but that not much else is planned as of yet, in an effort to encourage spontaneity. The campaign is being promoted for three weeks on MuchMusic, as well as in various print and radio media sponsors in each market. The deal was done direct. Read More

Houston, Tex.-based mobile interactive company Q-tags has come to Canada. Beginning Oct. 1, the company - through its Canadian partner, In Touch Mediagroup of Mississauga, Ont. - has upped the energy on energy drink Rev's "Revival" promo in the Toronto and Vancouver markets. "We're talking to our demo through q-tags," explains Lisa Jazwinski, group brand manager, low-proof at Brampton-based Bacardi Canada. Q-tags are a call-to-action technology using SMS to drive viewers to respond to an ad. "The creative [in the clubs] will prompt people to text 'Rev' to 78247. A weblink is then sent to their mobile urging them to enter a contest to win a Toshiba Gigabeat."

Jazwinski says this is a way for her to try a new technology and a different way of interacting with Rev's legal drinking age-to-24 demo. Q-tags are trackable and pose no risk to advertisers because they are pay-for-performance with no set-up fees or contracts, says company founder and COO Jeremy Kochko.

http://www.qtags.com

Analytics firm Trendum has acquired BuzzMetrics, a company that conducts word-of-mouth research. Both are based in New York. The new company, which will continue its business under the BuzzMetrics name, has the backing of VNU, the owner of research brand superstars ACNielsen and Nielsen Media Research. VNU is a minority shareholder. BuzzMetrics names Mazda and Hewlett-Packard, among others, as clients.

* 1.2 million Canadians (4%) spent more than $20,000 on home improvements during the last 2 years.
* 57% of those who spent $20,000+ are between the ages of 35 and 59 years old.
* The average personal yearly income of Canadians who spent $20,000+ on home improvements is $59,000 (1.9 times more than the national average).
* They are 4.6 times more likely to have $500,000 or more in savings or investments, compared to the national average.
* The average value of their home is $300,000 (1.4 times more than the national average value of owned homes).
* 40% have lived in their present home no more than five years. 88% have no plans to move during the next two years.
* 68% bought a previously owned home (1.5 times more than the national average).
* The top three improvements done to their homes were: interior painting (72%), landscaping or yard improvements (62%), and windows or door installations (60%) which was 3.2 times more than the national average.
* When analyzing retail shopping categories (of $500+ in the past year), Canadians who spent $20,000+ on home improvements spent 4.7 times more on china/tableware, 4.6 times more on garden supplies, 4.2 times more on home décor and 3.5 times more on household power tools, compared to the national averages.
* TV (89%), radio (88%), daily newspapers (58%) and Internet (55%) are the best media to communicate with Canadians who spent $20,000+ on home improvements (by yesterday's exposure).
* Based on weekly reach, news/talk (22%), adult contemporary (18%), and hot adult contemporary (10%) are their favourite radio formats.
* The three most popular types of TV shows among Canadians who spent $20,000+ on home improvements by weekly viewing are: news/current affairs (68%), movies (63%), and documentaries (50%).


Source: BBM RTS Canada Fall '04 / Spring '04, individuals 12+

The preceding information is from BBM RTS, a syndicated consumer-media survey of over 60,000 Canadians, conducted twice a year by BBM Canada. For more information contact Craig Dorning of BBM Canada: cdorning@bbm.ca. Read More

Rogers OMNI TV in B.C. has launched the province's first spiritual daily prime-time current affairs TV show. The Standard aired its first show last night to viewers in Vancouver, Victoria and the Fraser Valley. The hour-long program, delivered from a Vancouver perspective, will air stories from around the world, sharing people's spiritual sides. News items will also have a decidedly religious bent. The Standard airs daily on OMNI TV BC at 9 p.m. local time. According to producer Jonathan D. Roth, the show targets males 35-54. The show will be supported by an outdoor campaign beginning Oct. 3.

For people with a penchant for murder - solving them, that is - Discovery Channel is set to launch True Crime Scene. The new hour-long forensic science series begins airing weekly on Friday, Oct. 21 at 8 p.m.

November 9

ACA Fall Event

Four Seasons Hotel, Toronto

The Association of Canadian Advertisers' fall event will feature an executive forum themed "Media Creativity: The New Marketing Imperative." Panelists include Doug Checkeris of the Media Company and keynote speaker Charlie Crowe, media affairs writer for The New York Times and founder of C Squared Communications. The ACA Gold Medal award will also be presented to Corus Entertainment president/CEO John Cassaday.

http://www.aca-online.com