Gotta keep your wits about you when opening email these days

Described as the largest in Canada, the CTV News set is impressive in person.

Great evening with the whole news crew.

Tom Brown the weather man and Toy Mountain guru let us play with his fancy new Weather Wall – same technology as the infamous CNN Magic Wall.  He shared stories about his personal responses to viewers’ emails – everything from “I hate your tie” to “your standing in front of Day 1 of your 7 Day Forecast.”   When critics leave their phone number, Tom will call them back.  ”Hey it’s Tom Brown from CTV News.”

2 Broke Girls, HIMYM (The twitter-ized How I Met Your Mother) and Modern Family.

This week the first two were re-runs in Canada as U.S. Networks stayed with live coverage of Hurricane Sandy.   As advertisers in these programs, a) would your agency even advise that the expected prime time original airings were pre-empted?  b) would your agency negotiate compensation as viewers tune out of a show they just saw in the last 3-4 weeks?

That’s the value of real-time audit in media purchase.

This graphic certainly fuels the fear for the future of newsprint. First predicted to collapse when the gravy train of classified ad revenue all but evaporated almost 10 years ago, their own association goes the extra mile to show the extent of the challenge by expressing ad spending in dollars adjusted for inflation all the way back to 1950.   There have been some horrid stories from our own Canadian papers about the lengths to which they’ll go to ‘boost’ subscribers.   More on that later this week.

Now on to Bell to cancel all services.  On hold for 29 minutes and counting.  First unpleasant surprise:  There is a required 30 day notice period for cancellation.  Funny that when I called and spoke to a “Retention Agent” I was offered $15.00 off a $300.00 monthly bill – and what a shocker – no mention whatsoever that if I opt to leave – there would be a 30 day notice period imposed.  How convenient they forgot to tell me that as I now have to pay two providers for a month.  Given that I am saving almost $2,000 a year – still on the upside!

Next blog about some significant differences in PVR’ing between the 2 providers.

If this keeps up, the whole neighbourhood will be full of white slack lines running through the air, hanging in the trees.   He goes on to ask for a complete description of the first guy – accusing him of bailing on a difficult job and leaving it for him.  Obviously, I have no idea who he was, nor am I able to provide a physical description that’s the least bit helpful.  I say he was Asian with a brushcut.  Betcha there are thousands just like him.

Rogers wants to come back again, this’ll be the 3rd visit.  No word on who’s going to cut the tree.

Over the last 4 days there have been automated reminder phone messages, the most recent this morning.

It is now 3:50pm and not a soul in sight.  Fun to sit home on a Holiday Monday waiting for the Rogers crew.

The apprehension level grows, the ‘savings’ seem less and less important.