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NewsPORTS TO CELEBRATE THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE HISTORIC RIDEAU CANAL WITH AN ALL-NEW CRUISING GUIDE
(Oakville, Ontario) May 02, 2006 — Formula Media Group of Oakville, Ont., is launching a new addition to its acclaimed PORTS Cruising Guides series with an all-new PORTS Cruising Guide to the Rideau Canal & Lower Ottawa River. The spring 2007 publication of the new volume coincides with the 175th anniversary of the completion of the Rideau Canal. As part of the anniversary celebrations, the historic waterway is expected to receive official designation as a UNESCO World Heritage site. "The all-new PORTS Cruising Guide to the Rideau Canal and Lower Ottawa River will be the most comprehensive travel guide to the Rideau system ever produced," says Formula publisher Scott Robinson. "PORTS researchers, writers and aerial photographers spent much of the summer combing the waterway, interviewing marina operators, surveying on-water and dryland amenities, photographing locks, towns, marinas and anchorages, and compiling the detailed chart data and GPS coordinates that have made PORTS Cruising Guides the recreational boaterÕs standard reference since 1984." Besides providing boaters with detailed reference data, the massive PORTS Guides are illustrated in full color with dozens of original maps and hundreds of new, high-resolution aerial photographs. "No matter where they travel, boaters who cruise with PORTS onboard know exactly where to anchor, where to dock, where to shop and where to source all of their needs," says Robinson. "Unlike DVDs and tourism brochures collected here and there, PORTS goes onboard with the boater and is used day after day, port after port." The new Rideau Canal and lower Ottawa River guide joins three existing volumes in the series Š Lake Ontario & the Thousand Islands; Georgian Bay, the North Channel & Lake Huron; and the Trent-Severn & Lake Simcoe. PORTS promotions appear in Your City Magazines, Boatguide, Carguide, World of Wheels, and Chill magazines, as well as throughout the Metroland network, which publishes 95 community newspapers with 152 editions across Ontario, Gold Book directories across Ontario, and 701.com. Guides are available at Canadian and U.S. marinas and bookstores, at retail ranging from $37.95 to $42.95. "We are also working on expanding our dealer base in the Rideau and Ottawa area," notes Robinson. "We know PORTS draws boat traffic Ń both Canadian and American tourists Ń throughout the Great Lakes and connecting waterways, and we plan on having all elements in place to guide them on their way." For further information contact: Help Celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Boating Business at the 1st Annual Industry Golf TournamentFor More Details, Please: 
Producer of Toronto Boat Show Wins First Ever Awardfor Visible PFD Wear in Advertising, and Formula Wins First Ever Award for Best Media Contribution to Boating Safety(Toronto, Ontario) January 15, 2006 — Boating safety advocates have long encouraged boaters to wear personal flotation devices (PFDs), but a new Canadian Safe Boating Council (CSBC) award recognizes those who promote PFD wear in advertising. NMMA Canada, producer of the Toronto and Vancouver International Boat Shows, as well as the Toronto In-water Boat Show, is the first recipient of the Canadian Safe Boating Award (CASBA) for Visible PFD Wear in Advertising. NMMA was honoured with the award based on its extraordinary effort — in promotions for its three Canadian boat shows, as well as at the shows — to show PFD wear as a natural part of boating. "Consistent messaging on all fronts is the key to making the wearing of PFDs the norm in boating culture," notes Ted Rankine, CASBA co-founder and emcee of the 8th annual awards presentation, held this year at the Sheraton Hotel in Toronto on Sunday night. "Current regulations require that a Canadian Coast Guard or Transport Canada-approved PFD of appropriate size and fit is onboard for each boater, but do not make wearing of PFDs mandatory." It was important that NMMA Canada take a leadership role in the recreational boating industry, says Linda Waddell, show manager of the Toronto International Boat Show now running at the National Trade Centre until Jan. 22. "We're firm believers in the use of PFDs so we lead by example. We have hundreds of prominently placed signs throughout all of our events that show people enjoying the boating lifestyle wearing PFDs. All of our ticket takers, show greeters and information booth staff wear lifejackets." Images of PFD use are also prominently displayed in show guides, advertising and on the website. "We even insist that children use PFDs while visiting The Lake at the Toronto Boat Show," adds Waddell. THE FIRST AWARDING OF ANOTHER NEW CASBAPart of the Halton Division of Metroland Printing, Publishing and Distributing Ltd., Formula Media Group of Oakville, Ont., was the first recipient of another new CASBA — this time for Best Media Contribution to Boating Safety. Among its many publications, Formula produces Boatguide, and Boating Business magazines, and has recently acquired PORTS Cruising Guides. Under contract, Formula also produces the Toronto International Boat Show Guide and the Vancouver International Boat Show Guide. "The folks at Formula Media Group have been pretty busy putting back into the boating industry," says Rankine, "and evidence of this is widespread across its many publications, not just boating magazines. Plus,the articles are not canned messages, but topical and interesting presentations geared for each reading audience and the time of year in which the various magazines were published. All of them make for interesting and informative reads." OTHER CASBA WINNERS:
A non-profit association committed to promoting safe and responsible boating throughout Canada, CSBC launched the CASBA program in 1999 to honour the people, programs, organizations and marinas that help make boating in Canada safer and better for all, and to keep the environment clean. Further details can be found at www.csbc.ca. For further information contact: Formula Media Group Acquires PORTS Cruising Guides(Oakville, Ontario) January, 2006 — The magazine arm of Torstar's Metroland Printing Publishing & Distributing Ltd., Halton Division, Formula Media Group of Oakville, Ont., has acquired PORTS Cruising Guides. Available at marine stores and boat shows and by direct order, PORTS guides are published in three editions: Lake Ontario & the Thousand Islands; Georgian Bay, the North Channel & Lake Huron; and The Trent-Severn Waterway & Lake Simcoe. In addition to essential boating and navigation information, labelled aerial photographs, and cruising tips, each includes practical information for tourists — local street maps; essential phone numbers; directions to banks, supermarkets and pharmacies; plus comprehensive listings on eating out, shopping, local attractions, things to do with the kids and special local events. "I never planned to do more than one PORTS book, says founding publisher Steve Manley of Toronto-based Overleaf Design Ltd., "but I figured that if I could do one, and make it break even, I'd get to know about lots of potential places to visit around the lake." Manley was art director at Canadian Business when he conceived the idea for the first Lake Ontario guide, published in 1984. "Just a few years earlier, I had purchased a sailboat on Lake Ontario. I quickly got tired of circumnavigating Toronto Island. When I asked around, most people seemed to have only a couple of favourite harbours they would visit. No one seemed to know much about anywhere else. "As PORTS grew and became more popular, and as advertisers realized it was a very effective way to get in front of their customers — and to effectively target their markets… people don't tend to buy a $35 or $40 cruising guide if they don't own a boat to cruise on, it quickly moved from being a hobby business to a viable entity." Over the past few years, PORTS has grown exponentially, says Manley, and he realized it had reached a plateau. "I could continue to publish PORTS at its current level, but the myriad details of management were preventing what I really wanted to do: expand into new areas, and build up the PORTS brand. "Metroland has the needed infrastructure," he explains. "They also have the access to the strong boating tourism market through their papers and magazines, and with Formula, of course, a long and strong reputation with boaters. In other words — a very good fit for PORTS, and the opportunity for PORTS to grow and expand as it deserves." Established in 1969 and acquired by Metroland in late 2003, Formula's boating division includes consumer book Boatguide (est. 1984) and trade title Boating Business (est. 1976). Under contract it also produces the Toronto International Boat Show Guide and Vancouver International Boat Show Guide. "Our boating division and position in the boating industry have never been stronger," says Formula publisher Scott Robinson. "Our team has long been fans of the PORTS books, and is excited about bringing PORTS on board and building on the remarkable job Steve has done as an independent. "Since 1984, PORTS has been the 'bible' for cruising boaters," adds Robinson, "the one-stop information source — both on and off the water — for boaters who travel." "Every publication has a tipping point," concludes Manley. "It was time for me to let my little kid cross the street by himself." |