Cultural Grants, Awards & Support Programs

Vancouver Live! Video Screen Advertising Program
Creating the Promotional Spot

Home :: Program Criteria and Priorities :: Making the Request for Airtime :: Creating the Promotional Spot :: Deadlines

Vancouver Live! Video Screen Advertising Program

Timeline to Success

The following information is provided as a guideline ONLY .

16 weeks+ to airing - Research

Organizations should carefully research this opportunity and consider their capacity to produce a campaign before requesting airtime. The program ONLY provides airtime and does not provide financial or other support for the design or production of the actual posters.

12 weeks to airing - Deadline for Requests

Organizations may place a request up to eight calendar months in advance of the desired airtime. It is strongly suggested that organizations submit their request at LEAST four calendar months in advance.

11 weeks to airing – Review of Requests

Using monthly deadlines, OCA reviews requests, schedules and allots airtime.

10 weeks to airing – Notification of Status

Organizations are notified by email, provided with detailed information, and the airtime is booked with CoreVision by OCA.

6 weeks to airing – Provide Content for OCA Review

Organizations provide a QuickTime or WMV file that is compressed to OCA. Organizations should allow up to 7 working days for this process.

4 weeks to airing – Provide Content for Packaging Review

The organization provides CoreVision the approved spot.

2 weeks to airing

CoreVision packages the promotional loop for airing.

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Designing and Producing the Promotional Spot

Organizations are encouraged to get an early start on designing the campaign spot. Begin researching as early as six to eight calendar months in advance of the desired campaign run.

Organizations are encouraged to take full advantage of the colour and motion capabilities of the screens, and are responsible for supplying a silent, 10-second, broadcast quality spot. It is not possible for spots to run with sound.

PLEASE NOTE: the program does NOT provide funding for design or production. Organizations who enjoy the benefits of a television media sponsor may be able to use an edited version of the spot prepared for air.

Making an Effective 10-Second Spot

  • Confirm that the budget allows for all design and production costs.  Designers and production houses can provide general information, design options, help estimate costs, and advise on timing. A starter list of service providers is provided at the end for to help begin the research process.

  • Provide a clear brief to the production company or editor so that your needs are met.

  • Remember: the purpose of outdoor promotion is to create awareness, attract attention, expose the brand/event, provide details and information, and elicit a response.

  • Make it bold!

  • To attract attention in a small window of opportunity, the images must create an impact, text should be clear, and the consumer should be able to understand the content in a few seconds, i.e.: What, Where, When, How.

  • Provide copy which is clear and simple, what it is, where it is, when it is, and how to respond or get further details ( phone no. or web address, or both)

  • Keep font styles bold and simple, do not mix fonts if possible, provide the font if the production company or editor does not have it.

  • Make it bold!

  • This is a visual medium. At the minimum, photography and/or graphics are required for the spot to be effective. Both photographs and Illustrations can be animated to give the spot more life.

  • Organizations can utilize existing poster artwork by animating graphical elements. To do this, provide the designer/production house with art that has been separated into layers. This is an inexpensive technique and helps provide continuity to marketing efforts.

  • Provide clear, bold logos, and large graphics and photo artwork to the designer and/or production house (high res JPEG, TIFF, or EPS - image size 300 dpi at 720 x 480).

  • Make it bold!

  • Remember: All designs must meet industry and Canadian Code of Advertising Standards. For more information see: http://www.adstandards.com

Production Specifications for CoreVision & OCA

The following specifications apply to organizations that are creating their own spots, as well as those who have engaged service providers.

  • Video content should be created at 512 x 384 pixels, 720 x 480 is also accepted.  Minimum size for text should be 26pt, any smaller and your text may not be readable from the ground.

  • Files must be supplied as Quicktime MPG or MOV format, H264 is the preferred compression method, with a bitrate of 4000 kbits/sec. 

  • The first and last 5 frames must be black. There are approx 30 frames per second. Five frames would be approx 1/6 of a second.

  • The OCA review copy must be provided as QuickTime or WMV file that is compressed to a maximum size of 1 MB.

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Recognition Considerations

As content in the Vancouver Live! program is being packaged into a loop of cultural campaigns, specific recognition of the City of Vancouver and Tourism Vancouver within this program is not required.

Recognition of an organization’s sponsors within the promotional spot

Time on the video screens is not to be used by an eligible organizations to promote third party content (including images, graphics, messages and logos) or commercial entities, events, products or services. Organizations may make limited use of third party logos, wordmarks, etc in recognition of significant contribution or support, provided the presence is incidental to the overall design and message.

Organizations wishing to recognize their sponsors within their promotional spot must:

  • limit the sponsor’s airtime presence to a statement or display of the sponsor’s name and/or logo along with the title of the event and/or mention of the entity as a sponsor of the event;
  • ensure that the statement or display of the sponsor’s name does not exceed the text size used for the title of the event and that it uses the same respective text style or font.

In addition, organizations should be aware that consideration will NOT be given to exclusivity agreements entered into by the organization requesting space. Organizations may find the recognition content of their campaign running alongside content which is compatible or incompatible. Accommodations in scheduling or placement within the loop will not be considered by OCA or CoreVision.

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Delivering the Campaign Spot

Once the City of Vancouver has approved the spot for inclusion into the promotional loop, the organization may upload the file to CoreVision.

They will technically review the material to ensure that it can be packaged correctly. It is the responsibility of the organization to resolve any technical issues that arise with the material at this time. Files not meeting the specifications will not be packaged into the promotional loop and may be returned to the organization for correction, or assessed a fee of $100 in order to prepare the material. If technical issues can not be resolved, the spot will not be included in the promotional loop.

IMPORTANT:

  • Campaigns are to be provided to CoreVision NO LATER than four weeks prior to airing. The specific deadline for a campaign’s delivery is provided in the organization’s allocation letter.

  • Organizations are required to submit promotional spots which adhere to the technical specifications outlined in Designing and Producing the Campaign.

  • File names should ensure that the campaign is identified both by promotion name and length. For example:  Organization_EventName_10sec.mov

To upload your file:

  • Open your FTP client software. If you do not have an FTP client already, a web-based FTP client suggested by CoreVision is: http://www.net2ftp.com/
  • Set your client preferences to connect in passive mode (PASV)
  • Use the following information to login:

Once you login, you'll be taken to the main directory of the FTP.  Select the "Upload" button located above the directory list.  This will take you to a page that you will use to browse for/upload the file you are sending.  Once you have found the file, click the green check mark, and you should be all done!

NOTE: If your spot is UNDER 10mb, and the above FTP instructions are not working, you may email your spot to production@corevision.ca. Files larger than 10 mb may not transfer correctly.

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