According to a post on Techvibes yesterday, Canadaian telecommnications company TELUS made a slight “boo boo” yesterday. It seems the company made a derogatory statement on their website which was later removed:
We’ve been seeing a lot of companies launch mobile apps over the last few months and now that the Apple iPad is finally made its way to Canada a number of organizations are jumping at the opportunity to launch their own app on the platform. Globe and Mail launched a free app for the iPad and time will tell whether it is a success or not. Apps such as the Globe’s are supported by advertising revenue, but a number of publishers have gone another route – paid apps. While consumers will continue to despise ads in the middle of their favourite content (radio, print, online, TV or movies) it is a here and probably here to stay. Organizations such as Major League Baseball have gone to a paid model for their app and it seems to be working!
Yesterday they announced that 100,000 iPad devices are now using the app and have paid $15 per download and purchase, which brings in over $1 million in revenue after Apple’s 30% cut. According to the MLB 40,000 people use the app on a daily basis which is a pretty low number but might be a good indication of what’s to come with apps, many will download them but few will actually use them once installed.
The Globe and Mail is joining other news organizations who have recognized the importance of giving your readers choice when it comes to delivering the news has announced the launch of their Apple iPad app which is available through iTunes or the Globe and Mail’s site for free.
The app provides readers with breaking news and analysis, a daily photo gallery and the ability to download content for offline reading. The app also includes feature content selected specifically for the iPad which will take advantage of the devices graphic capabilities and leverage the Globe’s daily photo gallery and feature content.
ING DIRECT Canada who has been very quick to leverage mobile apps has given the green light to Toronto-based Dashboard as their new interactive agency of record. Dashboard will provide strategic and creative interactive services to ING DIRECT. Dashboard will work to support the overall business, strategy, marketing and advertising objectives.
“With a proven track record and in-depth knowledge of our industry, Dashboard, is a valuable asset and a welcome addition to our team. Dashboard brings expert resources and strategic thinking to our business,” said Mark Nicholson, Head of Online Experience, ING DIRECT Canada. “We needed a partner who knows digital inside and out and Dashboard’s expertise is evident in our daily interactions with them. We’ve already begun working together on several campaigns and the partnership is certainly meeting our expectations.”
Well Canada has gone from having pretty much no competition in the wireless sector with only three major providers to now a slew of choices. Today marks the official launch of another brand from Rogers called Chatr which we’ve covered over the last few weeks. The launch makes a direct play against other new competitors WIND Mobile and Mobilcity.
Chatr Wireless has launched in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Ottawa, with Montreal to follow, and would offer an unlimited talk plan for $35 and an unlimited talk-and-text plan for $45. Since it is a discount brand, no contracts or handset subsidies will be offered and , and is offering a variety of cheap cellphones, some as low as $60.
Now that Rogers new Chatr Wireless is officially hear WIND Mobile continues to celebrate with a number of promotional activities. Today Anthony Lacavera, Chairman of Globalive and WIND Mobile and Ken Campbell, CEO of WIND Mobile were hand in downtown Toronto at Yonge & Dundas where were selling “fair priced” hot dogs for one dollar (a reference to their TV commercial featuring a hot dog cart) see video below:
So it looks like WIND Mobile is serious about offering Canadians “No Whammies” and is ready to say “Let’s Make A Deal”
While the TTC is looking for a solution to deliver cell service to the train’s underground Transcontinental has announced it will be providing a text messaging service for Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) customers to receive up-to-the-minute arrival times for streetcar routes. Using their cellphone or other wireless device, transit riders text the five-digit stop number specific to their stop to 898882 (TXTTTC) and seconds later, a text message is sent back to them with the arrival times of upcoming streetcars, determined by Global Positioning Systems (GPS.)
This text messaging service to deliver next vehicle arrival predictions to a mobile device was developed by LIPSO (a company Transcontinental acquired earlier this year).
Read the rest of this entry »
Score Media Inc. launched their first Apple iPad app this week, theScore iPad Edition is now available free for download from iTunes or the The Score’s site and offers uses the latest stats, news, scores and standings from every major sports league.
“It took Apple only 80 days to sell 3 million iPads worldwide and with the exception of iPhone 4, that is faster than any other iDevice it’s sold in the past. The iPad is yet another disruptive device that will transform how people consume and share content,” says Jonathan Savage, Vice President, Digital, Score Media Inc. He adds, “We believe theScore iPad Edition is the best sports app for iPad on the market, period. And just like ScoreMobile, our leading mobile property, it’s free, fast and fundamental to sports fans anywhere.”
The good news is last week Cross Media conference finally landed in Toronto, the bad news is it took organizers and fellow Canadians, JumpWire (New Yorker Gavin McGarry excluded ) a few years and several international pit stops to come back home! But I’m not going to go into the state of Canadian tech center here; it was worth the wait for Cross Media T.O.
Jumpwire’s president and the evening’s moderator Gavin kept the evening well paced in pert style, presenting a total of 13 speakers including case studies from Steve Pratt – Director CBC Radio 3, CBC Radio 3 & Siobhan O’Flynn – PhD, Transmedia Consultant, Narrative Now. A debate on the future of Advertising from Colleen DeCourcy – Former Chief Digital Officer for TBWA Worldwide & Richard Bernstein – S.V.P. Managing Director, Arc Worldwide, A Leo Burnett Company . A panel discussion featuring Sabrina Geremia – Head of Agency Relations, Google Canada , Chris Van Noy – Chief Strategist, Akamai , Lisa Charters – SVP Director Digital, Random House of Canada Limited , Michael Schmalz – President, Digital Extremes Ltd. & Pete Watson – Senior Business Development Manager: Consumer Partners, Research In Motion Limited (RIM) / BlackBerry . And a showcase of 3 young cross media startups Douglas Edwards – CEO, ES3, Adrian Carter – Director, Producer and Creative Director, Shark Teeth Films & Jacob Blackstock – CEO, Creative Director and Lead Designer, Bitstrips. Several presenters started their digital companies at MaRs Center, where the conference was held.
There’s a lot of talk these days about what it means to be a cross-media brand or product, and too little in the way of action. Is it having a Face Book page for your business? No. Is it having the most downloadable app? Not really. But imagine pushing the boundaries between where traditional media ends and digital media begins.
Virgin Mobile Canada announced their latest customer offering today, the company has launched Infuse which is a mobile storefront that gives customers the ability to purchase and download DRM-free full-track music, ringtones, wallpapers, games, and applications. Infuse was created in collaboration with LiveWire Mobile and Virgin Mobile Canada and available across compatible mobile devices, Virgin’s customers have access anytime and anywhere to personalize their mobile experience with a wide variety of multimedia content from major label artists and leading games and application producers.
“At Virgin Mobile, we’re constantly looking for ways to offer our members more choice and entertainment that they can enjoy on their mobile phone,” said Robert Blumenthal, President, Virgin Mobile Canada. “LiveWire Mobile’s proven technology platform lets us offer the widest selection of downloads and personalization features to our members – in one integrated and easy-to-use storefront. We’re delighted to be working with Livewire for our new storefront and continuing to bring the latest entertainment offers – from wallpapers to DRM-free full track downloads – to all of our members.”
Latest from PR In Canada Latest from Clean Tech Corner Job Listings:
