The lead time was impossibly tight. The availability of media was not what it could have been. And the market itself is a fiercely competitive one.

In short, developing a campaign for the April 1997 launch of bc tel's new Affinity plan was no easy task. All of which makes the work of Vancouver's McKim Media Group West on this effort doubly impressive. Impressive enough, in fact, to earn McKim top honors in Strategy's second annual Best Media Plan competition.

When the scores from our 11-member panel of judges were tallied, the bc tel initiative owned the highest average score, beating out Leo Burnett Media's effort on behalf of Cadbury Chocolate Canada for the title of Best Plan Overall.

The bc tel plan also claimed Best Plan for a Budget of More Than $1 million. The Cadbury plan, meanwhile, earned Best Plan for a Budget of Less Than $1 million and Best Use of Magazine, as well as honorable mention in the Best Use of Direct Response category.

Both plans are showcased in this report, along with those others that received outstanding marks from the judges.

Strategy launched this competition in 1997 with the goal of giving greater recognition to the high quality of thinking that goes into the development of Canada's best media plans - and encouraging greater respect, particularly in the client community, for the creativity and skills of media professionals.

While media is no longer perceived as a dreary, back-office function, it remains, to many marketers, something of a mystery. Anyone, after all, can see where advertising is placed. But an understanding of exactly how plans are conceived is much rarer outside of the media community itself. Through this competition, we hope to help change that.

Strategy asked agency media departments and independent media companies across Canada to review all of their plans that appeared in the market during the 12-month period ending Oct. 31, 1997, and to submit the best of those for consideration.

We instructed them to prepare a summary for each, describing the plan in detail and outlining the results. We were not looking for reams of numbers, or charts and graphs, we explained, but rather trying to get at the quality of the thinking behind the plans: What were the objectives and challenges, as presented by the client, and how were these addressed strategically and creatively?

The judges - all of them media directors or senior planners and buyers - were asked to assign each submission a score from 0 to 10. (Judges were not given media plan submissions for clients with which they compete directly.) Their judgments were made on the basis of: the quality and originality of the strategy and the communications insight on which it was based; the creativity and originality of the media solution; and the plan's effectiveness as evidenced by sales results or tracking studies.

The winning plans are featured on pages B1-B21. A full list of the winners in all categories can be found on page B3.

Best Plan for a Budget of Less Than $1 million - Second Runner-up

Agency/Media Company: McKim Media Group, Toronto
Client: Sony of Canada
Team: Michael Haffner, Media Manager; David Brooks, Media Planner
Timing: Sept. 23 to Dec. 30, 1996

The Background

The campaign objectives were: to revitalize the saliency and cutting-edge image of Sony's Walkman and Discman brands among the key target groups (teens for Walkman, young adults for Discman); to generate sales in the high-volume pre-Christmas season; and to get consumers talking about the product again.

Two factors made the task particularly challenging: dual media targets, and a budget of less than $500,000 for national major-market support.

The Plan

The strategy involved seeking out highly targeted media opportunities that would establish Sony as a hip, cutting-edge, street-smart brand among key youth influencers. "The medium is the message" was the focus of the strategy.

Specialty Television: A 13-week presence prior to the key Christmas sales period was purchased on ytv and MuchMusic/MusiquePlus. This gave the brand a national presence in a relevant environment that appealed to both targets. In addition to hand-selected programming, relevant music sponsorships and specials (YTV Hit List, MuchMusic Comedy Day) were negotiated on each channel.

Internet: A strong presence on the MuchMusic Web site was negotiated to leverage the popularity of this new medium with early adopters and key youth influencers. Included was a banner on the home page, a contest for the sponsored Comedy Day and an interactive Sony contest that initiated a dialogue with consumers by asking: "What Do You Tune Out?"

Along with its broadcast counterpart, the Much site represents leading-edge pop culture, and thus lent credibility to the brand's efforts to be seen as cutting-edge and cool.

Interior Transit Door Cards: Given the considerable use of rapid transit by the target in Sony's key urban markets, interior transit represented an ideal way to reach consumers in an environment where they are highly predisposed to use Walkman and Discman products. Interior door cards were purchased in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.

Wild Postings: For eight weeks, the downtown cores of Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver were blanketed with posters bearing the campaign's "Tune 'Em Out" tag line. In order to generate intrigue and create synergy with the other advertising activity, no Sony branding or product was featured. These postings provided high reach against the key target and influencers, and brought street credibility to the brand in an underground manner.

The Results

Consumer awareness and sales showed an immediate response to the campaign, with the result that the client met sales quotas for the quarter. More important, brand image scores rose sharply as well.

By using only highly targeted media, the campaign delivered an impactful, credible message against consumers with minimal wastage.

Also in this report:

- BC TEL creates excitement p.B1

- The winners p.B3

- Cadbury hops down mythical trail p.B3

- Dairy Farmers of Ontario milk Watch & Win competition p.B4

- Toyota drives dynamic plan p.B5

- DFO pitches "Milk Energy" message p.B6

- United Distillers shows there's more to explore: Multimedia cmapaign for Johnnie Walker Black Label leveraged longstanding partnership with performing arts p.B8

- Rothman's adopts guerrilla media tactics: Dunhill brand targets alternative audience through use of teasers and "new" media p.B14

- PlayStation targets kids in their own backyard p.B19

- Seagram plan brings a twist to the traditional: Unusual buy for Crown Royal brand demanded no split postings and no location rotations p.B20

- The judges p.B22