Canadian Direct names Noise as AOY

Media In Canada

News Briefs
by Katie Bailey

Canadian Direct Insurance has named Vancouver and Toronto-based digital agency Noise as its full-service agency of record.

The move, announced yesterday, brings all of Canadian Direct's marketing initiatives together under one provider. Noise will now handle traditional and digital campaign strategies, as well as media buying and planning.

The companies have been working together for six years on digital strategies, and in the past two years, the lines between traditional and digital media campaigns were blurring, so it made sense to go with a single agency for both, Trisha Tyrrell, senior manager, business development, Canadian Direct, tells MiC.

"They've been involved with our traditional campaigns for the past couple years and since they've been involved, I've found that their creative ideas and way of thinking were taking the lead," she explains. "[Going forward] I wasn't interested in working with two different agencies and I felt that Noise could do the job on both sides."

Canadian Direct's digital strategies have been almost too successful in recent years, Tyrrell says. When the insurer started driving people to its website to book their auto insurance online, it quickly consumed 60% of their business, she explains, which was too much for the company to handle. They've since dialed back their marketing creative drive-to-web and that part of the business now sits at a more-manageable 30%, she says.

Online tactics will continue to be a priority for Canadian Direct's media planning, a release on the announcement stated, but TV, print and radio will remain in the mix. The company declined to comment on its average media spend.

Sandhill's Howard Soon in Vancouver

Sandhill's Master Winemaker, Howard Soon, was in Vancouver to celebrate being selected as Winery of the Year in Wine Access magazine's Canadian Wine Awards.

Sandhill is the first winery to win Best White, Best Red, and Winery of the Year in the same year.

Howard visited Lynn and Steve at Global Morning News to talk about the awards.

Then he stopped by Urban Rush to tell Mike and Fiona about what you can tell about wine from the soil it's grown in.

Then, the day was capped off with a celebration of Sandhill & Howard at the Vancouver Aquarium.

CTV launches desktop widget

by Gariné Tcholakian

Noise Digital is bringing the after-show water cooler session to the desktop. CTV show fans who want to rave and rant about last night's eps now have a social community online in which to do it, through the new CTV Primetime Widget.

The desktop app, created by Vancouver-based Noise Digital (the first it's developed for any Canadian broadcaster), is integrated with Facebook extensions and delivers CTV-branded content with customizable features, like format choice for content delivery - text-only, text and image, video, flash or animation - and a dynamic skin that can be changed according to show preference. Once viewers identify their picks, the widget filters content so they only receive relevant info, like new ep reminders, links to previews or full online eps on CTV.ca. To help keep them engaged, show trivia, games, contests and special interviews are also part of the CTV-branded menu. Viewers can also track upcoming eps through the widget's program sched and sign up for reminders or promo and contest news updates.

Through the Facebook app, viewers can connect with friends around CTV content, create fan pages for their favourite shows or participate in quizzes and polls. (And in true Facebook style, they'll also receive updates on their friends' quiz scores and can find out which shows friends are watching.)

"By creating a widget and integrating it into Facebook, we created a platform that pushes real-time information to people where they spend a lot of their time," Noise Digital president and CEO Trevor Carr tells MiC. "The widget creates a richer TV-viewing experience because it bridges the gap between the broadcast and online experience," he adds.