At the eye network's Carnegie Hall do in NYC yesterday, Helena Shelton, MediaCom's EVP/director of trading, found some good and some dismal among the upcoming fare. Read More

The Canadian Media Directors Council has released a formal response to the resignation from ABC last month of three major Canadian publishers, which opted to have future measurement done by the CCAB. Read More

A Denver-based company called Format Dynamics has introduced an innovation in the display ad market - an advertising solution dubbed "PrinterStitials." Using the company's CleanPrint platform, a web publisher can deliver new ad inventory to consumers who are printing out hard copies of web pages.

The service eliminates items such as navigation bars and dynamic ads, allowing the user to print out a news or magazine article in a way that presents editorial and advertising more like a magazine page. The company reports that the ads can be targeted like any other online ad.

Publishers using CleanPrint can track which pages are being printed out most often - using the PrintTracker analytical tool - and provide that data to potential advertisers. About 80 publishers have signed on for the service, including The Denver Post and The Houston Chronicle.

www.formatdynamics.com

Rob Shields, a principal at Toronto's Pinpoint Consulting, was elected chair of the Canadian Marketing Association's board of directors yesterday at the organization's annual meeting in Toronto.

Some of Canada's other prominent marketing execs were also elected to the board. Nancy Cardinal, VP, marketing & customer insights at the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, was named vice-chair.

Other new board members are Mitch Joel, president, Twist Image; Walter Levitt, CMO, Canwest Broadcasting; Chris Staples, partner/co-CD, Rethink Communications; and Dean Stoneley, VP, marketing, at Ford Motor Company of Canada.

CMT is hitting the road for an audition tour for the second season of the series that gives contestants the chance to sing their hearts out to win $10,000, but the show will now be known as Chevy Karaoke Star. The series was part of CMT's 2006 fall season, and Chevy has signed on as lead sponsor for the next 10 eps. Chevy Karaoke Star premieres Thursday, July 31.

The eight-city audition tour kicks off May 23, and some people will get to jump the line in a text-and-win initiative. Two finalists from each city will be chosen to compete in Toronto - one selected by the judges and one by viewers via online and text voting. And anybody who misses the in-person auditions will be able to upload video auditions at www.cmt.ca from Thursday, July 31 to Thursday, Sept. 18 for a chance to become a "Karaoke Cyber-Star." Two Karaoke Cyber-Stars will be chosen for a chance to compete in Toronto.

www.cmt.ca

Porter Airlines took the #1 spot for the fourth consecutive week. But the big story was Telus Mobility, which soared from #279 to #2. Wal-Mart also upped its radio presence, rising from #58 to #4, and Sears followed suit, climbing from #62 to #7.

Check out which other marketers spent the most on radio, by category and brand, in the Toronto market this week.

Spot Ten Canada Rank 051208
Spot Ten Canada Categories 051208