Lego made headlines after a couple of Canadian teen tech whizzes sent a Lego man to space and created a viral video that captured the world's imagination. But it's not all awe-inspiring for the brand in Canada.

Lego's main competitor, Mega Brands of Canada, would like Lego to share some of the market space and thinks the company has pulled a few fast ones along the way to make sure that it doesn’t have to.

This kind of anticompetitive accusation typically leads to litigation, so no surprise that Mega has filed a federal antitrust complaint against Lego.Continue reading...

"What’s an ounce? When did Tim go American in Canada? FYI its milliliters."

That's the first comment on Toronto Life's web piece noting that Canada's homebrewed Tim Hortons chain of coffee shops will introduce a 24-ounce extra large coffee on Monday, January 23rd. The new mega-size bests the Starbucks Venti by a full 4 ounces. In addition, Tim Hortons is sliding all of its size names to accommodate its new extra large. The gloves are off. Continue reading...

Pepsi's new year's resolutions include bringing the Pepsi Refresh Project to Canada with a commitment to supporting social innovation and community projects with "over $1 million" in grants to non-profits, businesses and individuals seeking funding for positive ideas that will have an impact on their communities.

The latest expansion of PepsiCo's crowdsourced social good platform, which launched in 2010 by redirecting its $20 million annual Super Bowl budget and subsequently faced allegations of cheating before expanding in Europe, Asia and Latin America last year and becoming a marketing case study at Harvard, follows a company-backed survey that found "92 per cent of Canadians would like to do something to improve the world around them, but many lack the money and the know-how to put their ideas into action."Continue reading...

In Canada, the name of doughnut-and-coffee shop Tim Hortons is synonymous with NHL hockey. After all, its namesake founder played for 24 seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Buffalo Sabres.

The chain of 2,500 stores across Canada — and a growing footprint of more than 600 locations across the U.S. — has sponsorship partnerships with all seven NHL teams in Canada. Last season, it sponsored the Heritage Classic, the annual outdoor game the NHL has held in recent seasons.

It's also beloved in its homeland for sponsoring free ice rinks to bring skating to the masses, and for being the only coffee chain open early enough to warm up aspiring NHL stars' early morning hockey practices (hot chocolate for the kids, hot coffee for the drivers).

Now Horton’s is looking to keep that relationship growing by sponsoring the 2012 NHL All-Star Game. For its money, it gets title sponsorship of the game, in-arena signage, and a company logo right at center ice.

“From both sides of the border, it makes sense,” York University sports marketing professor Vijay Setlur commented to the Toronto Star. “They know how much the NHL has grown in popularity over the last couple of years and they want to be part of that positive momentum. It doesn’t hurt to have extra (U.S. exposure).”

Setlur noted that the game gives Hortons a chance to “raise its profile in states like New York and Massachusetts, where hockey is popular” and where it would like to grab market share from competitor Dunkin’ Donuts. It's also a chance for Hortons to win some home ice advantage over the biggest rival of its existence: McDonald's.Continue reading...

A new study from loyalty marketing company LoyaltyOne's Colloquy arm, sponsored by Epsilon, sheds light on current consumer attitudes toward brand loyalty in the context of current global economic challenges. The study looks at consumer attitudes in two sectors: emerging economies (Brazil, China and India) and developed economies (Australia, Canada and the U.S.). 

The study reveals how consumers in emerging markets respond differently to new brands and product opportunities than do their counterparts in developed nations. In emerging economies, 35 percent of shoppers welcome foreign brands, while only about 7 percent of consumers in developed countries felt that foreign competition was positive. In fact, 90 percent of Chinese consumers trust foreign brands over their own brands.

Consumers in Brazil and India were happier with their own domestic brands than the Chinese, but not nearly as much as consumers in developed economies. In Australia, Canada and the U.S., consumers are over twice as likely to trust their own brands versus ones from other countries.

Obviously, this presents an opportunity for well-established brands from developed nations to make significant inroads with consumers in emerging countries. This could explain why so many American brands, for example, have pursued an expansion strategy in such countries as Brazil, China and India, even as the same brands pull back and regroup in other sectors.Continue reading...

This holiday season, Coca-Cola is changing the color of its iconic red can for a cause in honor of the polar bear, the brand's longstanding favorite animal at the holidays, in a partnership between Coca-Cola and the World Wildlife Fund.

The "Arctic Home" campaign will help raise awareness and funds to support WWF efforts to protect the polar bear's habitat. More details, and a closer look at the limited-edition white Coke can coming to the US and Canada, are below.Continue reading...

When Canadian-born actor/comedian Dan Aykroyd decided to start selling his own alcoholic beverages four years ago, starting with launching a wine brand, he likely never imagined that he wouldn’t be able to drink one of his own products in his own hometown.

Then along came Crystal Head vodka, which he started selling in the U.S. in 2009 for $50 a pop and packaged it in a skull-shaped bottle. Brilliant marketing, right? Well, yes, except that it meant that Aykroyd couldn’t sell the stuff in his own home province due to a ruling by the Liquor Control Board of Ontario that it was in violation of the board’s social-responsibility rules, according to thedrinksbusiness.com blog.

“The image of the human skull is the thing that’s really problematic for us,” LCBO spokesman Chris Layton said at the time of the ban, according to the website. “It’s an image that’s commonly associated with death, which is especially problematic at a time when there are concerns around binge drinking by younger adults.”Continue reading...

To launch their My Starbucks Rewards program in Canada, Starbucks has installed four new interactive storefronts in Toronto and Vancouver. A joint effort by BBDO's Toronto office, Blast Radius and The Media Merchants, the window displays allow users to reveal rewards by touching gold stars in an animated interface.

More details from the press release:Continue reading...