Marketing News Roundup: July 22, 2022
Today we feature a round-up of some big events and recent industry happenings.
Rock-it Promotions Wins Acclaimed FRIENDS™ Experience Exhibit
Ready, Set, Shop on YouTube with new Shopify Partnership
Winnipeg's #1 Rock Station Adds New Power to its Line Up
Instagram Adds New ‘Boost’ Promotion for Reels
Read more below!
Rock-it Promotions Wins Acclaimed FRIENDS™ Experience Exhibit
After successful runs in New York City, Boston Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, Phoenix and Washington D.C., the wildly popular FRIENDS™ Experience have selected rock-it promotions as their PR agency partner in Canada. rock-it will support the international debut of the exhibit in Toronto located at Yorkdale Shopping Centre.
Created by Superfly X, Warner Bros. Themed Entertainment and Warner Bros. Television Group, fans can celebrate their favourite friend and revisit some of the series’ most iconic moments with this interactive experience. Voted a 10Best New Attraction by USA Today and included in CNN’s 12 Best Immersive Experiences around the world, The FRIENDS Experience features 12 nostalgia-packed rooms and activations including Monica’s kitchen and the iconic FRIENDS fountain. The interactive space provides opportunities to explore the show’s history and re-create your favourite moments including peeking around Rachel and Monica’s purple door, relaxing in Chandler and Joey’s recliner, or helping Ross with the infamous sofa pivot. And of course, the space will feature a re-created Central Perk with the legendary orange couch. An onsite FRIENDS retail store featuring exclusive products will also be open to both ticketed and non-ticketed guests. The exhibit opened Thursday, July 14 and will run through to January 2023.
The FRIENDS™ Experience joins rock-it promotions’ impressive roster of clients including Peloton, Knix, RBC, Dr. Martens, Chotto Matte, The JUNO Awards and more.
Ready, Set, Shop on YouTube with the New Shopify Partnership
YouTube’s has announced a new integration of eCommerce tools through the company’s latest partnership with Shopify. This partnership which will enable Shopify merchants to feature their products across their YouTube channels and content.
YouTube Shopping lets eligible Creators easily promote products from their own stores across YouTube, while earning money (source). Through YouTube Shopping, creators can connect a store and feature products, like merch, through videos and live streams.
Creators who link their stores can display their products across their channels and benefit from Shopify’s real-time inventory syncing so that viewers are never disappointed to find a product out of stock (source).
“Shopify is the commerce infrastructure of the internet, powering millions of independent businesses all over the world. We believe creators are the next generation of merchants, and YouTube has been a long-time leader in powering this new cohort of entrepreneurs. We’re excited to partner with YouTube, and help scale the creator economy into its next phase of growth.” - Kaz Nejatian, VP of Product at Shopify
Winnipeg's #1 Rock Station Adds New Power to its Line Up
On July 19, POWER 97, Winnipeg’s #1 rock station, is stoked to launch a new line up of shows that will give Winnipeggers more reasons to rock!
Starting at 6 AM, Monday through Friday, Jay, Nic & Vic are the city’s newest morning team. This band of industry veterans are excited to get listeners moving and laughing each morning. Also joining POWER 97 weekday Afternoons from 2 to 6 PM is Ed Garcia. Ed has spent the past few years at Vancouver’s The World Famous CFOX and is looking forward to experiencing his first prairie winter.
POWER 97’S REFRESHED WEEKDAY LINE-UP:
6am-10am – Jay, Nic & Vic
10am-2pm – Dan Chen
2pm-6pm – Ed Garcia
6pm-10pm – Fearless Fred
More about the new team members:
Jay Richardson is a lifelong Manitoban and Winnipeg radio veteran. He started his career in the Production Department before quickly moving into an on-air role and making his way to POWER 97 as a young pup. After making his rounds at other Winnipeg stations such as Curve 94.3, 99.9 BOB FM, BIG 97.5, and Sports Talk station TSN 1290, Jay returned to where it all began as the POWER 97 Afternoon host. Jay is also the Public Address Announcer at every Winnipeg Jets home game.
Nicole Welsh was born in Toronto and raised in Calgary, but she’ll inevitably admit that Winnipeg is her favourite city. Prior to landing the Morning job at POWER 97, her radio journey took her to CHAT 94.5 and MY96 in Medicine Hat, AB in numerous on-air roles before moving to 98.3 CIFM in Kamloops as an Afternoon host. Nic is married to one human and one cat.
Vicki Shae was born and raised in Winnipeg. Vic began her career at QX104 in 2011 before quickly moving into a Morning Show role with POWER 97 in 2013. After crossing the hall as the main Morning host at 99.1 Fresh Radio she landed with Pattison Media as co-host of Classic Rock Station, 94.3 The Drive before finally coming home to POWER 97. Vicki only likes 4 people…luckily two of them are Jay and Nic.
Ed Garcia was born in the Philippines but has called Vancouver home since the age of two. He’s always been interested in radio and fully expected to move to the smallest town in Canada to begin his career but to his surprise, the small town turned out to be Vancouver. Has Ed ever visited Winnipeg? No. Has he ever experienced winter on the prairies? No. Does he know what he’s getting himself into as the new Afternoon host on POWER 97? Yes! He’s excited, his apartment lease is signed and he’s already begun his search for a winter coat.
Instagram Adds New ‘Boost’ Promotion for Reels
Instagram has announced that businesses can now boost their reels within the Instagram app to turn them into ads for the opportunity to reach new audiences and drive more engagement. Boosted Reels, will appear in feed, Stories, the Reels tab and the explore page to help new customers find your brand.
To be eligible for boosting within the Instagram app, reels must be less than 60 seconds and have a 9:16 aspect ratio, which means they’re filmed vertically and have a full-screen format. At this time, reels that use third party IP—such as copyrighted music, GIFs, interactive stickers or camera filters in a reel—are ineligible for boosting, as well as reels shared to Facebook.
Reels is the fastest-growing format and an important part of Instagram, as more people watch Reels to be entertained, go deeper with their interests, and discover new businesses.
Compiled by Emma Whiten, Editor of Marketing News Canada