Rogers Media, operator of Canada’s premier category-leading media properties, and BzzAgent, the advertising industry’s only international word-of-mouth (WOM) media network, today announced a landmark partnership in which Rogers Media will license the BzzAgent brand exclusively in Canada.
According to the agreement, Rogers Media will assume exclusive rights to sell access to BzzAgent’s WOM network in Canada and develop campaigns for that consumer channel, under the name BzzAgent Canada. The Canadian company will add WOM marketing services to its existing print, digital, broadcast and other marketing solutions. The partnership makes Rogers Media the first and only major Canadian media company to incorporate WOM into its advertising suite, cementing Rogers Media’s ability to offer 360-degree marketing solutions.
“We have always believed word of mouth to be the purest medium, and today’s announcement is proof positive,” said Dave Balter, founder and CEO of BzzAgent. “One of the world’s most recognized media companies has just made an unprecedented commitment to word of mouth in 2008. Canada has become the focal point for the future of the industry.”
The practice of activating and measuring WOM has become pervasive in the US and is quickly gaining momentum in Canada. The BzzAgent network consists of more than 360,000 unpaid consumers, nearly 10 percent of whom live in Canada. These consumers, called Agents, volunteer to experience and discuss products and services with members of their social circles. Since 2002, the company’s Agents have triggered more than 100 million honest, unscripted conversations – online and offline.
“Working with BzzAgent reflects what we call the Rogers' Advantage—our focus on being Canada's innovative one-stop marketing partner,” said Brian Segal, President and CEO, Publishing, Rogers Media. “We can now provide clients with exclusive access to the leading provider of WOM marketing and media services for the world’s most esteemed brands.”
This alliance will allow Canadian marketers to reap the benefits of WOM marketing in an organized and measurable way. A BzzAgent WOM marketing campaign will provide Rogers’ clients with an opportunity to harness the power of honest, authentic WOM through a targeted and measurable media network. BzzAgent will help to bring the right brands together with the right consumers to amplify traditional Rogers Media buys.
About Rogers Media Inc.
Rogers Media Inc., a division of Rogers Communications Inc. (TSX: RCI; NYSE: RCI), operates Rogers Broadcasting and Rogers Publishing. Rogers Broadcasting has 51 AM and FM radio stations across Canada. Television properties include 5 Citytv stations as well as the OMNI multicultural television stations. Rogers Sportsnet, Canada's live event leader, offers viewers five channels and Sportsnet HD and the Shopping Channel is a televised and Internet shopping service. Rogers Publishing produces many well-known consumer magazines such as Maclean's, Chatelaine, Flare, L'actualité and Canadian Business, and is the leading publisher of a number of industry, medical and financial publications. All media properties are integrated with their own popular web sites. Rogers Media also owns The Toronto Blue Jays Baseball Club and Rogers Centre, a year-round sports and entertainment facility.
About BzzAgent
BzzAgent, Inc. is an international word-of-mouth media network that helps companies to accelerate and measure honest, real-world conversations among everyday consumers. BzzAgent’s innovative process, platform and programs enable the acceleration and measurement of word of mouth as a marketing medium. BzzAgent’s clients generate awareness and shape perception about their products and services via the company’s growing community of 360,000 trained consumer volunteers. Since 2006, BzzAgent participants have spread honest word of mouth to more than 60 million friends and family members. For more information on the company visit www.bzzagent.com.