The Toronto company that was first to turn storefront windows into giant, transparent ads is now projecting virtual billboards wherever a client wishes. Optiadmedia is also ready to send messages to nearby Bluetooth-enabled devices and report to clients how many consumers opt to respond. Read More

Invitations to a special event in Toronto, skedded Jan. 31, went into the regular mail yesterday, and will bombard email in-boxes on Monday. Yahoo Canada will now rank search-engine ads using a new formula based on the amount advertisers pay for key words and the relevance of each ad.

The advantage for marketers? The ability to build campaigns with multiple ads linked to multiple key words, and to target by geography. The new search engine has already been unveiled in the US, and beta tests were previously conducted in Scandinavia and the UK.

Toronto-based Wattpad has launched a story-sharing service that enables mobile users to download or upload stuff for reading on the move. The website has already attracted half a million page views since it went live one month ago, and users have downloaded 20,000 stories (everything from James Bond to quote collections for Albert Einstein and Homer Simpson) to mobile devices. Users can upload content by web or mobile, request a specific story or readable item, and download items for free.

The service launched publicly this week, supported by text-ads through Google. Wattpad CEO and founder Ivan Yuen says marketers can currently upload material for reading by mobile users at no charge. Most users access content exclusively by mobile, and Yuen says plans should be complete within two months for a system that allows marketing and sponsorship messages to be delivered via downloads.

www.wattpad.com

Montreal: As Quebec's networks roll out their winter schedules this month, Radio-Canada continues its fight to attract viewers with a host of new programs, while TVA takes few risks. Read More

Baby Squad, the latest British import scheduled to premiere next month in Canada, was born for brand integration in the most literal way. In August 2005, Cineflix UK announced the program was to be UKTV's first ever ad-funded project. Baby food manufacturer Cow and Gate paid for the 10 half-hour shows hosted by Patsy Palmer, star of the British soap Eastenders, and tied its brand in.

The brand marketer didn't just stop with the show. It ran the program's 24-hour care hotline, promoted DVDs through live baby show events, and cross-promoted it online through its own website and extensive PR efforts before and after the Sept. 19, 2006 premiere on UKTV Style. London-based Jackie Cooper Public Relations (an Edelman Worldwide company) reports average monthly calls to Cow & Gate's Careline jumped from 20,000 to 76,000 when Baby Squad was on the air.

Baby Squad premieres on Alliance Atlantis' Discovery Health Channel on Monday, Feb. 5 at 10:30 pm ET/PT.