Bell Media is getting its cameras poised to kick off this year’s Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Part of BCE Inc., the media company is a sponsor of the festival’s opening night party, as well as its opening night film, The Fifth Estate, and its Roy Thomson Hall opening night screening.
Bell Media’s entertainment show ETalk is TIFF’s official red carpet media sponsor at Roy Thomson Hall (the festival’s main gala venue). In addition to sponsoring the Roy Thomson Hall galas, ETalk will produce a live show from the venue – a hub for stars and fans alike – during the several gala films hosted there throughout the festival. The content – which will include actor interviews – will be available online as well as to fans inside Roy Thomson Hall.
Just around the corner at the Princess of Wales Theatre, Bell Media’s television property E! will be the red carpet sponsor, airing daily coverage over the duration of the festival, including interviews with celebrities. (Filmgoers will also be able to stop at an E!-branded candy table on their way into the theatre.)
Bell Media’s sci-fi-themed Space television channel is once again sponsoring TIFF’s horror and action-packed Midnight Madness program.
Matthew Garrow, Bell Media director, news and radio publicity and community investment, outlined some of the other upcoming “peripheral partnerships” ETalk will be involved with related to the festival. They include sponsorship of the 8th annual Canadian Filmmakers Party, which takes place at the members-only Spoke Club on the night before the festival starts, and a Grey Goose-sponsored interview lounge at The Intercontinental Hotel. The lounge also has a nearby gifting suite that was designed with input from Style at Home magazine. “We will feature a ‘gifting build’ story on ETalk and [Style at Home] will feature a similar story in an upcoming edition of their magazine,” said Garrow.
Fans will get freebies, too. ETalk will be giving out free sweet treats in the downtown core from its roving TIFF ice cream truck, which will often be parked across from Roy Thomson Hall. (The truck was an “enormous success” when it made a comeback last year, said Garrow.) Plus, a street fleet will be handing out ETalk swag to celebrate TIFF and the show’s 12th season, which starts on Sept. 3.
“Generally, we feel these sponsorships are a perfect fit for our activated brands, while providing added value to the festival and its patrons,” said Garrow.
In addition to attracting Hollywood stars and heavyweights from the international entertainment industry, the festival captures “the interest, attention and imagination of Canadians nationwide,” he said.
Bell Media’s partnership with the festival “provides a very unique platform to help solidify our position as a leader in Canadian entertainment news, while delivering on the expectation from our viewers and listeners that they can turn to us for the very best and most extensive festival coverage,” said Garrow.
Most of Bell Media’s activations this year that involve E!, Space and etalk are the same as those it rolled out last year, said Garrow. However, Bell Media “inherited” the partnership for the opening night film and party sponsor and Roy Thomson Hall Opening Night Film Gala Screening Sponsor from the former Astral. That was “a longstanding Astral partnership that dates back 26 years,” said Garrow.
Photo: Getty Images
Read more of our ongoing coverage of Toronto International Film Festival sponsorships and activations at MarketingMag.ca’s TIFF Sponsor Spotlight
