The reopening yesterday of the Art Gallery of Ontario was the culmination of a three-year, multimillion-dollar expansion and renovation.
The revamped Toronto institution will now have more than 100,000 square feet of exhibition space, including 30 new and 20 renovated galleries.
When the ago started to plan its opening advertising campaign, the major obstacle was a small production and media budget.
To get maximum impact from minimum dollars, advertising was handled in-house with consultation by Design Plus.
The theme of rebirth, rather than reopening, was chosen to convey two main messages: the ago was reopening on Jan. 24, and that visitors would see a different gallery.
The visual approach also stressed a new and different ago.
A digitized image of part of the new front facade was used as the background in the print ads, and copy was kept to a minimum to create mystery.
A new logo has also been unveiled with the campaign, giving equal weight to Art Gallery of Ontario and Musee des beaux-arts de l’Ontario.
Two color combinations, blue/neon-orange and red/lime-green, are being used in the magazine ads, transit shelter posters, pillar ads, street banners and theatre marquee posters.
Newspaper ads and earlugs are in black and white.
Cultures causes a stir
Cultures Fresh Food Restaurants is going after the lunch crowd with a limited-time promotion running until Feb. 20 that includes three lunchtime specials priced under $4, all including Chowder of the Day.
Harrod & Mirlin of Toronto is promoting the $2.99 meal with three 30-second radio spots that suggest the deal is so popular it is causing a spoon shortage.
The four-week radio run is supported with giveaways of ‘Lunch for Six’ gift certificates during radio station phone-in contests, and newspaper ads sporting the headline, ‘One deal that’s causing quite a stir.’
In-store posters carry the headlines: ‘Spoon into our hearty Chowder Combos,’ and, ‘Our prices are causing quite a stir.’
There are 47 restaurants in the Cultures chain, 42 in Ontario.
Winter comes alive in Ottawa
The ottawa Tourism and Convention Authority, the Association Touristique de l’Outaouais, and the National Capital Commission have joined together to boost tourism in the region during winter months, beyond its annual Winterlude carnival.
Running through to March 6, the ‘Where Winter Comes Alive’ promotion targets Canada’s Capital Region, the Toronto/Montreal corridor, and the northeastern u.s.
Print ads have been placed in major dailies in the target areas and in publications of the Canadian Automobile Association and the aaa in the u.s.
To support the effort, an ‘Event Media’ direct mail brochure was distributed to more than 700,000 households, and a winter calendar-of-activities pamphlet was created.
A new toll-free accommodation and reservations phone line has been introduced for the winter promotion, and will become a year-round service, if successful.
The campaign was orchestrated by the Ottawa Tourism and Convention Authority’s agency, Mediaplus of Ottawa.
