JackRabbit Lodging Search Engine is now represented on 260 city, provincial and state tourism websites in Canada and the US.

BookDirect is a technology platform from a Santa Fe, NM company called JackRabbit, that allows visitors to destination websites to quickly and efficiently search for available accommodations using a convenient search widget. After the listing of relevant lodgings is displayed, the visitor can further refine their search using the amenities list and the map and sort functions. When they have decided on the lodging that best suits their needs, the visitor clicks the “Book Now” button to be linked to the lodging’s own reservation system to complete a direct booking. JackRabbit is the only online booking solution working with DMOs that is 100% dedicated to facilitating direct bookings on lodging reservation systems. 

The platform is becoming increasingly popular with Destination Marketing/Managing Organizations (DMOs) in North America. Currently, JackRabbit is hosted on the tourism websites of 260 cities, states and provinces in the US and Canada. JackRabbit President and CEO Andrew Van Luchene said: “We have about 10 percent of the market now. We estimate about 1 million people use the service each month.” 

Jackrabbit is doing all of the work as a real-time automatic aggregator of lodging vacancies and pricing data in local markets. All bookings that are made by users connect them directly with the lodgings’ own reservation systems. Unlike bookings that originate through Online Travel Agency sites like Travelocity and Expedia or through third party booking engines hosted on DMOs’ sites, bookings facilitated by JackRabbit incur no commissions or fees to the lodgings. The only cost of the JackRabbit service is a modest lease fee to the host DMO. 

Last fall, JackRabbit launched a mobile application, allowing travellers to make an accommodation booking from their smartphone devices. That is what Andrew Van Luchene envisioned: “Travellers can drive down the highway and search for the closest lodging at the best price on their smart phones or tablets. Content is updated in real time, so consumers know the closest properties to them. They just click to call the front desk to book a room, and click again to get directions from wherever they are.” Van Luchene expects the mobile app to have a great success and the first partners are already established. In February 2012, Florida became the first US based user of the JackRabbit mobile app. All existing customers of JackRabbit have an opportunity to upgrade their packages to use the mobile app, so the company expects all 260 partners to upgrade soon. 

Their expectations are supported by Jill Stewart, Marketing Operations Manager for the state-financed Visit Florida tourism promotion agency. She noted that the mobile app helps meet the needs of modern travellers. “More and more people are using mobile devices to search for lodgings,” Stewart said. “This gives them real-time information on rates and availability.” 

Meanwhile, JackRabbit is signing up bigger contracts in more places, Van Luchene said. Most customers are still city-level tourism destinations, but New Brunswick, Florida, Louisiana and Colorado are providing state (province) wide service so that visitors to any destination site within the state or province, enjoy the same fast and efficient search-book functionality provided by the JackRabbit Lodging Search Engine. In addition, JackRabbit signed its first international contract in January with the government of Aruba, and is in final negotiations with two more Caribbean islands. 

If you would like to learn more about JackRabbit Systems, please contact Alex Kinninmont at 

alex.kinninmont@publicitas.com or by phone: 1(416)363-1388 ext. 226

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TV Travel Show Produced in Partnership Between Publicitas Canada and KTLA.

I am really excited to share with you the TV show we produced for Rocky Mountaineer. It aired on KLTA in May and we have the opportunity to take it to other Tribune Stations around the US. Although the production was purchased by RMV it has coop opportunities with Fairmont, Banff Tourism, Tourism Vancouver and many other partners that participate along the trip route.


Enjoy and please call with any questions!

Contact Rosalind Genge, email: rosalind.genge@publicitas.com , phone: +1-778-340-1324

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Q&A on Yahoo!’s Partnership with PointRoll Canada

Have you heard of Yahoo! Smart Ads? 

PointRoll has a strategic partnership in place where Yahoo! passes user data to PointRoll to incorporate in your dynamic campaign. 

What is a dynamic campaign and why would using Yahoo!’s data be important to you?

Essentially, a dynamic campaign is where different creative versions, or creative elements, can be controlled and displayed to users by implementing a rule set. Rules applied can relate to local product inventory, product pricing or promotion, language, or images that may change with geography, weather, time of day, publisher, placement or individual user attributes. This allows you to work with a manageable number of creative assets and combine them in infinite ways using specified variables to tailor the most personalized and relevant ad for each user.

Utilizing Yahoo!’s data will help drive greater audience connection with your brand by delivering personalized content that aligns your brand with consumers interest, leading to higher performance.

Can we optimize?

Yes. PointRoll’s optimization engine will serve and optimize the best performing creative, based on your KPIs (key performance indicators), to the appropriate audience segment at greater frequency.

What are the ad serving and data fees?

Free. When using PointRoll to serve your rich media campaigns on Yahoo! placements there is no ad serving charge to you, the client – providing you meet the media CPM threshold. The data is passed to you for free also. This partnership PointRoll and Yahoo! has in place is to help you dedicate more of your budget to media impressions.

Do you have an example of this type of execution?

Yes. Video Demonstration Link

How do I get started?

Duane Seamans is PointRoll’s Account Executive in Canada. Email him at dseamans@pointroll.com or call 416.363.1388 EXT 230.

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Think Traditional Media Outdated? Think Twice. Myth & Reality Behind Traditional Media Advertising.

It is somewhat of a common opinion nowadays that printed media is slowly going off the market and once big names, some might say, attract fewer advertisers. Well, it was somewhat true for a while, but what we see now is a paradigm change for all of these publishers.

The business on their side used to be very simple – identify and target a group of people based on the group characteristics, write stories that would interest that group and sell advertising next to the stories. This model doesn`t work that well anymore pushing publisher to find better ways to make money. On the advertiser side it opens possibilities that never existed with traditional media. You ask how? Well... we can tell you the story from our, media representatives’ perspective.

One of the best examples of the diversified and modern approach can be found with The New York Times.

Think about a newspaper that had been nicknamed the ‘Old Gray Lady’ because she has published continuously in New York since 1851 and was one of the last newspapers to adopt color photography. Think about how The New York Times Company has transitioned and continues to transition from an enterprise that operated primarily in print (note that the newspaper remains both the largest local metropolitan newspaper in the U.S. as well as the third largest U.S. newspaper overall) to one that is increasingly multi-platform.

The New York Times Readership Base

In response to the fact that readers are changing the way they consume news, the New York Times Company is dedicated to delivering news, information and entertainment wherever and whenever the audience want to access. Whether browsing through the newspaper, checking content on their desktop, laptop, iPad or Smart Phone or any internet accessible device, readers have access 24/7 in the format of their choice.

What does it mean for advertisers? It is an opportunity to reach their target audiences in different ways across the various touch points. Cumulative touch points serve as the foundation of the advertiser relationship with the brand. 

The New York Times Audience (time based)

 

What makes New York Times so appealing to advertisers for cross-platform campaigns? They are leaders in innovation! The New York Times Company is committed to developing innovative new products and delivering high-quality journalism to readers whenever and on whatever device they prefer. Underpinning the digital growth strategy is the NYTimes Research & Development Group, the first in the industry. The R&D Group helps the corporation anticipate consumer preferences and devise ways of satisfying them and the group assists in product development across the Company. Those are the puzzle pieces that once assembled give advertisers a competitive edge in their campaigns over other companies who are lagging behind in innovations. 

As new technology emerges, publishers will continue to be challenged to create effective cross platform opportunities that are conducive to achieving media synergies.

Stay tuned!

You are welcome to leave your questions or comments in this blog, or write me an email: cynthia.jollymore@publicitas.com ; sasha.pyshkov@publicitascanada.com

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Secrets of effective Rich Media Campaigns from PointRoll Canada

While working with PointRoll Canada to help marketers with their rich media ad serving and creative development needs I’ve learned some key tips. I would like to share them with you to help maximize campaign performance.

Even though rich media formats outperform standard formats and can offer a larger playground with enhanced functionality and integrations, some best practices should be taken into consideration to ensure users have pleasant experience with your brand, ultimately leading to producing metrics above the benchmark.

Here are my Top 10 Best Practices to follow:

1. If the goal is interaction, engagement, brand time or clicks – use a large number of panels. Multiple panels are ideal for conveying a large volume of information via a mini-site, and extend the time users spend with the brand. One, action-focused panel is most effective in achieving direct response goals. Whereas multiple panels are ideal for conveying a large volume of information via a mini-site, and extend the time users spend with the brand.

2. Time the banner animation so it runs fast, with a call to action that appears immediately. Keep in mind the initial reason users are on the page is to view the publisher’s content.

3. Ensure the call to action is clear and prominent and relates to the panel activities. Give the user a compelling reason to rollover.

4. Clearly define rollover hot spots/tabs so they are easy to see. You need to make the hot spots as large as possible. On most sites the rollover max spec equals 33% of banner. Use the full 33%. All panels should be accessible from any other panel. Use horizontal hot spots on horizontal ads (728x90s) and vertical hot spots on vertical ads (skyscrapers). Maximize clickable area/hotspot on panel. Ideally, the entire panel should be hot to click. Additionally, when possible, use a well-defined click button.

5. Maximize clickable area/hotspot on panel. Ideally, the entire panel should be hot to click. Additionally, when possible, use a well-defined click button.

6. Provide your own activity labels to help simplify reporting, when needed. Define key metrics of the ad.

7. For video, include a “loading” message that appears as the video streams in. Users with slower connections will know the video is coming soon.

8. Use video player controls – pause, play, and volume scrubber for optimum usability.

9. Set video to auto play upon user rollover, whenever possible. Requiring users to “click to play” reduces video plays.

10. Include compelling, relevant call to action after video completes – either on the final video frame or with static “art card”.

Following those advices will help you to maximize the effectiveness of your Rich Media advertising and obtain great engagement metrics.

If you would like to know more or have any questions, please contact our Pointroll Canada Account Executive, Duane Seamans. E: dseamans@pointroll.com P: 416.363.1388 EXT 230

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It has been under wraps for months. Finally, the first National Geographic iPad City app has been released...A Taste Of Montreal!

Congratulations to the marketing team at Tourisme Montreal! 

For months National Geographic Traveler and our advertising partners at Tourisme Montreal have been working on a new solution to engage travelers and lovers of Montreal. 

The idea behind this app is to engage users in exploration of the Montreal’s world renowned cuisine with its iconic dishes and diverse flavors. 

As it is mentioned in the press-release, the app is featuring inspiring stories, stunning photography, videos, 360-degree panoramic views and insider tips. From top restaurants to local lunch counters, you'll discover the essence of Montreal. In keeping with National Geographic's reputation for great images, the app also features breathtaking photo galleries that give viewers a peek into Montreal's many hidden gems. 

In parallel with the app Tourism Montreal is running an extremely successful sweepstakes promotion with the total value of USD $4,200. You can learn more about it here.

The free “A Taste of Montreal” app from the editors of National Geographic Traveler magazine is available at (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/a-taste-of-montreal/id526949604).

We invite you to download the new iPad app and start enjoying Montreal!

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Global Leader in Measuring the Digital World Alerts Advertisers – 3 out of 4 Online Ad Campaigns Deliver Ads Adjacent to Brand Inappropriate Content

Original article from March 20th 2012 can be found here: link 
ComScore is a global leading Internet research information provider. The study published on the comScore`s website delivers some shocking news to advertisers. Astounding 72% of marketing efforts online are not delivering the brand-appropriate message.

For the most recent example of the misplaced online advertising you can read the CBC News Canada story about a youth targeted website. The website is widely used by people under 25, and sometimes has explicit imagery and language, bullying and similar content on it. Several large corporations were advertising there without even knowing it. After the story went public advertisers withdrew their ads from the website.


In this situation a traditional form of placing ads through representatives provide accountability, reliability and brand-safety for advertisers. 

That is why Publicitas Canada is working closely with more than 70 trustworthy online publishers. Our portfolio includes major US, Canadian and International daily newspaper, magazines, PointRoll and many others. 

If you would like to know more, please call us on: 1 (416) 363-1388 or e-mail to: sasha.pyshkov@publicitascanada.com

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Unique opportunity to reach avid travelers through AAA Living Michigan September/October issue

As the visitation from USA is steadily recovering (it is up 8.4% based on January-March 2012 CTC data) it proves effective to target Michigan, Canada’s third largest US tourism market in Ontario.

AAA Living Magazine Michigan has a long history of attracting travel savvy readers. In Michigan its membership base includes more than 970,000 members.

AAA Living Michigan will create a map of Ontario (or smaller region within it) and offer 12 Listing opportunities for destinations or local attractions which will be highlighted on the map. Please see the sample design and spec sheet down below.

If you have any questions or would like to secure your listing please contact:

Sasha Pyshkov at e-mail: sasha.pyshkov@publicitascanada.com, phone: 1(416) 363-1388 ext. 232

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