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TPL to Start Selling Advertising

2 Mar

From the Torontoist: Toronto Public Library Board Decides to Go Ahead with Advertising Plans by Steve Kupferman

Photo by Corey.Gudgeon, from the Torontoist Flickr Pool.

At its meeting last night, the Toronto Public Library board approved a plan to hire a contractor to sell advertising on the backs of due-date slips. TPL will also hire a consultant to look for other in-library advertising opportunities that, in the words of library staff, will “maximize revenue and minimize impacts to the delivery of core library services.” The only votes against the plan came from the two left-leaning councillors who sit on the board: Sarah Doucette (Ward 13, Parkdale-High Park) and Janet Davis (Ward 31, Beaches-East York). A motion by Davis, which would have delayed a decision on the matter until the public could be consulted, was defeated.

Staff hope to implement the changes at some point before the end of the year. We’ll see what ends up happening. But remember: we told them it wouldn’t work that well.

14 Dec

The 30-foot Christmas tree in Toronto’s Union Station is wrapped in 3,100 LED lights which flashes in green, red, white and blue. These aren’t just your regular Christmas tree lights though, these lights represent Christmas chatter online.

When the holiday is being talked about in the news, the tree’s green lights flash. White represents when Christmas is a topic of conversation on social networks like Facebook and Twitter. When the red lights are on, it means blogs and forums are are flooded with holiday posts, and the blue lights represent Christmas talk on the tree’s very own homepage Christmas Spirit Tree.

Advertising agency, Tribal DDB, are the people behind the Christmas Spirit Tree and created the idea for Canadian Tire. And it sure did work, because the popular store was trending on Twitter earlier in the week.

The tree picks up on words like Santa, merry, holiday, gift, time, and year. When these words are posted online, they help to power the Union Station light show. Sitting on top of a unique server, the tree has the help of another advertising agency, Sysomos, to filter through comments, posts and messages. The coloured lights get brighter, depending on the number of messages being posted in Canada. Underneath the tree is an interactive map which shows where in the country the online messages are originating.

“We wanted to be different. We thought, how could we do it with a social feed?” said Rosie Riolina-Serpa, assistant vice-president of digital & gift card for Canadian Tire. “I think the tree just gives everyone a good feeling.”

The Christmas Spirit Tree will be on display at Union Station in Toronto from now until December 26th from 6am to midnight. If you are unable to visit the tree in person, you can check out a live stream on the tree’s website, or on screen at Dundas Square in Toronto.

-Kiwi Commons

Ads Around the City: Aspirin

14 Dec


Aspirin ads were wrapped on the backs of buses all around the city of Toronto. The ads used brake lights to exaggerate the pain caused by headaches. When the buses braked, the lights lit up to highlight the throbbing pain. As Toronto is one of the worst cities for traffic, the message especially hit home for commuters stuck behind these buses.

Advertising Agency: BBDO, Toronto, Canada

Ads Around the City: Mercedes

21 Nov

To launch the Mercedes-Benz 2012 C-Class Coupe, one was parked in front of a motion blurred wall, sidewalk, and billboard that read: “Looks fast. Even in park. The 450hp 2012 C-Class Coupe.” To complete the motion-blur illusion, real 3D models of a motion blurred fire hydrant, parking sign, and mailbox were created to be part of the street scene.

Advertising Agency: BBDO, Toronto

Astral OOH launches Signature Columns

13 Oct

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Astral OOH recently revealed the latest piece of its street furniture line in Toronto, hosting a group of industry members at Cirque du Soleil Totem in Toronto. Its LED-lit Signature Column will appear in 120 locations around the city, selected for their ability to reach the most of both vehicular and street traffic, Eric Menzies, director of sales, street furniture, Astral OOH, tells MiC.

“The number one difference with this piece is location, which is everything for OOH,” he says. “These don’t need to be at a transit stop, or a transit route. They have been chosen [based on] the best location for street and pedestrian traffic.”

The 4′ x 6′, standard PSA-sized faces feature the Toronto “Info to Go” system and were designed by Kramer Designs to include as little a frame as possible, says Menzies. “Info to Go” features a map of the area around the sign, with landmarks of interest and public transit routes. The Signature Columns will be featured in areas of the financial, fashion and entertainment districts that transit routes can’t reach.

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