Nielsen Media Research has thrown its hat into the Internet measurement ring. The Markham, Ont.-based media measurement company expects to have its Nielsen/NetRatings service up and running with a panel of 5,000 Canadian households by the end of the second quarter of this year.

Mike Leahy, Nielsen Media’s group vice-president sales and marketing, says the size of the household panel will double to 10,000 by the end of the year and that plans are already underway to add a workplace panel to the service.

‘We know a work panel is important not just to measure Internet traffic but more importantly for e-commerce activity, which is quite high during the daytime,’ he says.

Meanwhile, Nielsen Media’s competitor on the broadcast measurement side of the business, BBM Bureau of Measurement, launched its own Internet measurement system in Canada last November through its Comquest Research division. That system – Media Metrix – last week released its first-ever Internet audience measurement data, as collected from its English-speaking panel of Internet users.

During the month of December, U.S.-based search engine Yahoo! was the most frequently visited global domain among Canadians, with more than four million unique visitors. The top Canadian site was Sympatico.ca with 2.4 million unique visitors.

The results also paint a clearer picture of the demographic makeup of Canadian Internet users: 41.5% are men, 18 and up; women comprise 36.8%; while kids and teens make up the balance at 21.7%.

Strategy is on the ground in Cannes, bringing you the latest news, wins and conference highlights all week long. Catch all the coverage here.

Thursday’s batch of Silver and Bronze winners included the Creative Business Transformation, Creative Effectiveness, Creative Strategy, Luxury Lions, Brand Experience & Activation, Innovation and Creative Commerce Lions categories. Canadians were recognized with three Lions today: a Silver in Brand Experience & Activation, a Bronze in Creative Commerce and a Bronze in Creative Effectiveness. Rethink was awarded twice on Day 4, while Weber Shandwick rounded out the Canadian agency wins with one Lion. Below is a look at the work. Catch the Gold winners later this afternoon when they’re revealed at the gala in Cannes.

Creative Commerce (1 Silver)

1 SILVER: “U Up?” by Rethink for IKEA

IKEA’s “U Up?” campaign has legs, it turns out. The campaign is getting major love at Cannes. The IKEA work, created in collaboration with Rethink Toronto, added to its Cannes Lions tally with a Silver medal in Creative Commerce. That now makes five total Lions for the work, including two Golds on Wednesday night, for Direct and Socal & Creator. The campaign has been lauded by jurors for its dexterity, contextual timing and humour.

Creative Effectiveness (1 Bronze)

1 BRONZE: “Heinz Ketchup & Seemingly Ranch” by Rethink for Kraft Heinz 

Both Rethink and Kraft Heinz picked up another Lion, this one a Bronze in Creative Effectiveness for their collaboration on “Heinz Ketchup & Seemingly Ranch.” Not only did the work capture a culture moment spurred by Taylor Swift, but it also created a new product, “in under 24 hours,” to match. The latest two Lions makes 10 total wins for Rethink. Kraft Heinz and Rethink also picked up a rare Gold Lion for Media a day earlier.

Brand Experience & Activation (1 Bronze)

1 BRONZE: “Airbnb Icons” by Weber Shandwick for Airbnb

The Weber Shandwick work, “Airbnb Icons,” won Bronze on Thursday in Brand Experience & Activation after claiming a Bronze in Media Wednesday. Airbnb turned media brands into a destination, partnering with the likes of Marvel and Disney to offer travellers experiences like drifting off in the Up house or crashing at an X-Men mansion. The first 11 experiences rolled out mid-2024, and most of the experiences were free or under $100, with over 4,000 tickets sold by the end of the season.