CNM Short Takes

Divine Design OnlineLifestyle new media at its best, Divine Design Online is a do-it-yourselfer’s resource aimed at a primarily female demographic with ages ranging from 25-54. This online foray into the genre has been facilitated by the immense popularity of Fusion Television’s Divine Design with Candice Olson, seen weekly on the W Network in Canada and HGTV in the US. The format of the site is based upon the TV property. Each new episode of the site goes live immediately following the corresponding TV episode’s network broadcast. One of the features available to fans of the show is interactive plans of the original sketches that led to the episode’s final design. A popular feature of the site is "Where Does Candice Shop", which allows viewers access to an interactive before and after view of the spaces featured in each episode, cross-referenced to an index of every item the design team used to decorate the profiled rooms. The index also contains supplier contact information and model/colour information where applicable, cross-referenced with a list of preferred suppliers. This in turn has built strong sponsorship relationships between the suppliers and the producers. Amongst other resources available to fans of the show are tools that allow viewers to plan their own divine designs using an interactive floor plan builder, lessons in colour and style management, and quick profiles of easy weekend projects that can lift a room in no time. With tens of thousands of visitors per month, Divine Design Online makes good on its offer of something fun for all fans of the show. Come and visit the site at www.divinedesign.tv and www.wnetwork.com/divinedesign. CI@IC to launch national new media survey next weekThe Canadian Interactive Alliance – L’Alliance Interactive Canadienne (CI@IC) announced its 2006 Canadian Interactive Industry Survey will get underway the week of February 20. The project aims to take the pulse of all aspects of Canada’s new media and digital entertainment economy, from gaming to mobile content to e-learning. As an incentive for senior managers at such firms to participate, CI@IC is offering a pass for each of three major new media events coming up later this year – the first-ever iSummit, to be held in Toronto March 29-31, Vidfest in Vancouver June 14-16, and the Montreal International Games Summit November 8-9. Organizers of the project say the end result will help new media firms get a handle on the size and scope of their industry, as well as raise its profile generally. "The main problem we have in attempting to describe the new media industry is that there are no nationally recognized business statistics," says project leader Ian Kelso, president of the New Media Business Alliance, a CI@IC member organization, in a media release announcing the survey’s launch. "Every other major industry regularly gathers recognized statistical data that can be cited to describe their business." Copies of the survey’s results, once compiled, will be available to members of the new media community free of charge. MIPTV launches new media contestInteractive media producers looking to pair up with broadcasters will have a chance to show their stuff at this year’s MIPTV with a new contest called Content360. The event, which is sponsored by the National Film Board of Canada, the British Broadcasting Corp. and the Korean Broadcasting Commission, invites producers to "present original concepts which fully exploit the creative potential of new digital platforms and maximise the interaction between audiences and broadcast TV." Each of the participating broadcasters is sponsoring a prize for a specific category – in the case of the NFB, it’s animated content for mobile platforms – and winning entries stand to win development funding worth as much as 15,000 euros. The deadline for entries for the BBC and KBC categories – there are five between the two broadcasters – is February 20, while the NFB’s nomination process is open until February 28. Finalists will be invited to MIPTV, which runs April 5 and 6 in Cannes, France, to present their pitches to a judging panel. See http://www.miptv.com for more details. Details of new Ontario arts fund announcedThe Ontario Ministry of Culture has unveiled specifics of its new Premier’s Award for Excellence in Arts. Individuals and not-for-profit groups in a wide array of artistic disciplines – including digital media – are eligible for the program if they have a track record in the arts or cultural industries, are professional artists, residents of the province and Canadian citizens or permanent residents. Up for grabs is a first prize of $35,000 cash, an award, and the honour of naming an up-and-coming talent in the same field as the winner; that emerging star will then win $15,000, for a total prize purse of $50,000. Five other entrants who make the short list will each win $2,000 as well as a certificate. The Ontario Arts Council will administer the award on behalf of the province. More details can be found at http://www.culture.gov.on.ca. Canada New Media Fund backs Vancouver’s ShotCallersShotCallers, an online project that allows Canadians to rhyme along with hip-hop beats is going to receive financial support from the Canada New Media Fund. The program, which is produced by Vancouver’s The Nimble Company, allows "anyone with a web camera and microphone go to www.shotcallers.tv, pick from a selection of beats and lay down a rhyme," reads a news release. The recorded performances will be available for viewing, sharing and ranking, and an online competition to crown the national and international "Champion ShotCaller" will be held. "We think ShotCallers is important because it provides a platform for creative expression for Canadian artists and because it is online the rest of the world can take part too," said McLean Mashingaidze-Greaves, ShotCallers creator and president of Nimble. The New Media Fund is administrated by Telefilm Canada and backed by the department of Canadian Heritage. Kaboose graduates to TSXKaboose Inc., the largest independent online media company focused on kids and families, graduated from the TSX Venture Exchange to the Toronto Stock Exchange, effective February 14. The company has only been listed on the Venture Exchange since November 28 of last year, and will now be traded under the symbol KAB. "Our graduation and the speed with which we have achieved this milestone, reflects not only the operational progress we have made over the past several months, but also the growth outlook for the company," said Kaboose chairman and CEO Jason DeZwirek in a news release. INTERNATIONAL BRIEFSPicsel Goes Content and launches mobile platformUK-based Picsel Technologies Ltd. unveiled its Picsel Goes Content campaign along with the launch of its next generation mobile content platform. Based in Glasgow, the company provides solutions enabling interaction with content on small screen devices. Its new platform will allow users to interact with new content services like multi-media magazines, video and email attachments on their mobile handsets. Picsel is also partnering with mobile content providers, including M-Systems, Khazana and TriCast Media. Airtrends will help with direct marketing to mobile phonesAirtrends, the new mobile infrastructure from Airwide Solutions of London, will allow mobile operators and application service providers to target specific groups, increasing the value of using mobile networks for marketing purposes. According to a survey conducted by Vanson Bourne on behalf of Airwide: "By 2008 89% of major brands will use text and multimedia messaging to reach their audience, with nearly one-third planning to spend in excess of 10% of marketing budgets on the medium." In spite of the current desire to conduct mobile marketing, companies aren’t sure how to reach their target audiences. Airtrends provides the solution through a comprehensive overview of messaging traffic, as well as advertising campaign evaluation. New alliance brings rock-star memoirs to PC and VODA new partnership between iWave Interactive Systems – the digital broadcast management service division of Seattle’s NS8 Corp. – Rockamedia LLC and M3 Entertainment will see biographies of famous music artists distributed on the iWave broadband and Video on Demand services in Asia and North America. The series, titled Memoirs, is similar to A&E’s Biography program, and the Rockamedia and M3 library includes 90-minute profiles of artists such as Ray Charles, Elton John, Queen, The Doors and Abba. "We get proposals from many different companies wanting to distribute our products over the Internet all the time," said Rockamedia founder Ed Steinberg in a news release. "None of those proposals had the completeness that iWave offers."

CNM Short Takes

Broadcast | February 17, 2006

Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need.

FREE TRIAL

SUBSCRIBE

Inside The Wire Report

Information

Hill Times Publishing

Get in Touch With Us