Toronto – Meeting the needs of advertisers who want to make the most of their budgets, Metroland Media Group launches the ‘Shopping with Smarts’ program, an integrated branding and direct response solution incorporating TV, print, online, contests, social media and PR. Through a single point of execution, businesses will now have access to a multifaceted and comprehensive marketing program which provides a platform to target the shopping-centric consumer across all mediums. 

“With the potential to reach 8.5 million visitors, viewers and readers, Metroland is uniquely positioned to offer a first-of-its-kind, comprehensive program for advertisers that delivers measurable return on investment,” says Rose Scapin, manager, Integrated Branding & Direct Response Solutions at Metroland. “In the post-recession economy, companies are making smarter decisions about their marketing spend. With Shopping with Smarts, advertisers no longer need to decide whether they should invest in T.V. or print or online initiatives because the program uses all platforms to communicate with consumers – at a tremendous value.”

Shopping with Smarts is designed to be customizable to any vertical sector, allowing advertisers to tap into consumers in the health, cooking, travel, careers, home and living, home improvement and active living markets.

Leveraging Metroland’s many platforms to promote a product or service, the program offers:

• advertising within Metroland’s 104 newspapers, 154 editions, 4.7 million newspaper copies weekly, reaching 6.7 million readers weekly.
• visibility on Flyerland.ca, Canada’s premier coupon and online flyer site which attracts over 1 million unique visitors monthly, and participation in an exclusive enewsletter.
• participation in a brand response television show on ShopTV Canada’s specialized 24/7 DRTV station, allowing quick brand building broadcast to 1.7 million homes
• creation of online video content that can be leveraged through social media.
• access to Flyerland’s membership to run contests and opt-in email campaigns.

“In June 2010, the ‘With Smarts’ series of programs launched with ‘Health with Smarts’, featuring Immunity- FX from the makers of Cold-FX,” says Traci Folkins, Director of Sales & Business Development at ShopTV Canada/Torstar Media Group Television. “A truly integrated initiative, the program included a television interview produced and broadcast by ShopTV Canada; an online coupon offered on flyerland.ca; a print campaign with Metroland Daily & Community Newspapers, and an exclusive enewsletters. This gave the Immunity-FX a reach that far exceeds any one strategy offering.”

Other campaigns recently launched include Humber College’s School of Continuing Education ‘Careers with Smarts’, BIY Learning Centres “Build It Yourself With Smarts” and Genacol Plus, a product that helps maintain joint health, featured in the ‘Shopping with Smarts’ category.