Starts and Changes: Metrolinx shops for sponsors, the Globe invests in biz news
Plus, more media moves from Reddit, Blue Ant, Group M and Postmedia during the month of Feb.
By Nick Krewen, Stephanie Marcus, Victoria Ahearn and Patti Summerfield
Changes
Metrolinx seeking sponsors for GO station naming rights
Metrolinx is still considering selling the naming rights to several GO Transit stations in Ontario.
In mid-February, the provincially-owned agency that oversees GO and UP Express issued a request for proposals to gauge private sector interest in station naming rights at four station stops – Clarkson, Exhibition, Oakville and Whitby – and said it will consider proposals for other stations.
When the company first proposed selling the naming rights to stations in 2019, Metrolinx said naming rights would apply for a minimum of five years and a maximum of 10.
For partners, they will receive category exclusivity for select stations, opportunities to provide co-branding opportunities with GO, the right to use GO Transit's branding, logo and imagery in marketing promotions and opportunities for experiential activation such as branded areas within buildings, retail space (permanent or pop-up) and other onsite promotions.
Postmedia adds Brunswick News to its media portfolio
Postmedia is set to acquire Brunswick News – which publishes three daily newspapers and six weeklies in New Brunswick – from J.D. Irving.
The Toronto-based media company said that it reached a deal with J. D. Irving to purchase BNI's news properties and parcel delivery business for $7.5 million in cash and $8.5 million in voting shares of Postmedia.
All of BNI's publications – Telegraph-Journal, Times Globe, Times & Transcript, The Daily Gleaner, Miramichi Leader, Woodstock Bugle-Observer, Bathurst Northern Light, Kings Country Record, The Campbellton Tribune and The Victoria Star – will join the Postmedia network of media properties.
"The addition of BNI brands allows Postmedia to serve audiences and marketers from the Pacific to the Atlantic while we continue to build out a national distribution platform and network for our parcel delivery business," said Andrew MacLeod, president and CEO of Postmedia in a statement.
Reddit partners with Mediabrands to expand ad opportunities
Reddit is partnering with IPG Mediabrands to provide its agencies with early access to data-driven insights.
UM, Initiative, Reprise, Orion, MAGNA, Rapport, IPG Media Lab, and Mediabrands Content Studio are housed under the Mediabrands umbrella.
Through the partnership, Mediabrands agencies will work with Reddit's local sales, marketing sciences and community teams, as well as receive early access to a Trending Insights Dashboard tailored specifically to their needs. Clients will also have access to creative services from Reddit's in-house creative strategy agency KarmaLab.
Reddit says insights gathered from its communities provide an opportunity for brands looking to engage audiences. The Trending Insights Dashboard can algorithmically determine trending content on Reddit based on growth trajectory, engagement, and viral spread.
Reports provided to Mediabrands will unpack how advertisers can leverage trends before they become mainstream. The Reddit team plans to release insight reports for all major industry verticals throughout the partnership.
Starts
GroupM creates its own programmatic platform
GroupM launched GroupM Premium Marketplace.
The platform enables a unified approach to buying connected TV, digital video and display in addition to increasing media buying transparency and efficiency for clients. It is powered by the Magnite sell-side platform in North America and PubMatic in EMEA. It will be introduced in additional markets later this year.
The marketplace gives clients direct access to publisher inventory with new standards for performance measurement, reducing opportunities for fraud and inventory misrepresentation in the media supply chain. Initially, the programmatic buys will be handled by the agency but a self-serve option will be created for clients that may want it in future.
Andrew Meaden, GroupM's global head of investment, says clients will be able to understand where impressions are failing, how much they are paying across the entire purchase, and exactly who is receiving that money.
Blue Ant looks to true crime for latest FAST play
Toronto-based Blue Ant Media is expanding its free, ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel with the launch of TotalCrime.
Now available on The Roku Channel, the TotalCrime FAST channel offers a catalogue of true crime factual series and documentaries.
TotalCrime follows several of Blue Ant Media's FAST channel launches in North America and around the globe, including Love Nature, HauntTV and CrimeTime – TotalCrime's sister channel – which launched on Roku in Canada in March 2021.
FAST has been a major area of focus for Blue Ant recently, adapting its niche interest approach to linear TV to the streaming space. It has also allowed it to bring more advertisers to the streaming space, while also working with providers like Samsung and Roku – who sell the inventory on the FAST channels – to streamline the CTV offerings for brands.
Globe and Mail makes significant investment in finance and business products
The Globe and Mail is making "a sizeable multi-million dollar investment" over the next three years to its finance and business products, according to Andrew Saunders, the company's CRO.
Changes include online enhancements and expanded journalistic manpower, with the Globe now dedicating between 35 to 40 reporters to specific teams covering pertinent topics, ranging from green energy and tech to financial services and the economy.
The Globe's website will also include new customized home page features, a freshly constructed personalized finance platform and article pages that will allow site visitors to create an individualized view of stories, content, data and tools.
Currently, The Globe and Mail newspaper reaches 6.3 million readers every week in print and digital formats, with Report on Business magazine reaching 2.2 million readers in both formats.
Saunders told CARD sister publication MiC that the new changes offer plenty of opportunities for marketers and advertisers. "With our content, we are creating additional increment with unique sponsorship packages," he says. "There are new print opportunities. There are what we're classifying as flagship sponsorship opportunities in digital and in and around our new enhanced tool sets."
Saunders added that the Globe has "a number of sponsorships that really leverage our full ecosystem, providing a distinctive platform that a marketer can exclusively own and be associated with" and that they're creating a personal finance masterclass designed to address topics of interest such as taxation, investment strategies and retirement.
Featured main image by Chris Lawton on Unsplash
TAGS: GroupM, Mediabrands, Postmedia, Globe and Mail, Blue Ant, Metrolinx, Reddit, CARD