The future success of the Academy will depend on its ability to build an awareness of the Canadian film and television industry among the general public as well as within the industry itself,’ says Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television executive director Maria Topalovich.

The strategy? Marketing and promotion.

‘Marketing and promotion are fundamental because the Academy is selling the notion that Canada produces world-class film and television,’ maintains Topalovich.

Topalovich’s plan for the future will focus on using the Academy’s three awards ceremonies to build audiences, with an emphasis on pre-promoting, producing and exporting the awards shows to the max.

One idea Topalovich is reconsidering is the addition of a new ‘most popular’ element to the television awards, believing a corporate partnership with potential product or affinity pre-promotion would offer audiences a stake and voice in the awards.

The Academy would also like to collaborate with film exhibitors to create a ‘people’s choice’ award, where moviegoers could vote for their favorite film, and would like to team up with video distributors to find new ways of packaging and promoting Genie Award-winning directors, actors or films.

Once you build the audiences, you have to deliver the goods to keep them hooked, says Topalovich.

‘That’s why it’s important to produce as good a television show as possible,’ she says. ‘Despite the restraints of an awards show format, our objective is simple – make it entertaining, informative, well produced, and see how far we can go creatively within that format.’

Instead of importing big names to host the awards shows, Topalovich will continue to include as much talent from Canadian film and television as possible. Presenting talent outside their regular milieu, she says, will give them an added dimension as well as elevating their star value.

‘The lack of a star system is definitely a burden to this industry and something the Academy strives to address,’ says Topalovich. ‘I don’t think it has anything to do with the old cliche that Canadians are naturally reticent or that the product is any less viable. We just don’t have the tools – we don’t have People magazines, fan magazines or the talk show television circuit they have in the United States.’

New TV showcase

The Academy is developing a new television showcase for Canadian talent over and above the three Gs. This ‘hall of fame’ ceremony would honor specific individuals and their achievements in the Canadian film industry. Topalovich is looking into making this program an annual event and hopes to have it up and running within the next year.

‘Then,’ she says, ‘the next step will be exporting the awards shows to other countries for the sole purpose of marketing Canadian talent on an international level.’

Topalovich has been contacted by several networks and cable stations in the u.s. which are interested in creating a second window for the Geminis. They have a vested interest in Canadian tv as more and more Canadian productions (Kids in the Hall, e.n.g.) are being seen in the u.s.

‘Within the next couple of years, I’d like to do something with the Genies, but we’re looking more toward the European market for that,’ says Topalovich.

The Academy’s exploration of international markets is in the early stages right now, but it is something that must be addressed in the next year, she maintains.

The time has come, she says, to raise the Academy’s profile.

‘In the past, the Academy has downplayed its corporate image in lieu of building awareness of our three awards. It’s now time to shift that focus.’

Toronto-based 2 Dimensions Advertising By Design (which worked with the Academy on the 1993 Gemini Awards) is at work creating a corporate ‘face’ for the acct (now in the early planning stages). The corporate campaign will target five main audiences: the general public, corporate sponsors, members, prospective members, and the media.

Pre-promotion, aimed at getting editorial coverage for the Genies and building audiences by creating curiosity about a new event planned, is set to begin within the next couple of months.

And what about the future of Canadian film and television with the advent of multimedia and a 500-channel universe looming ahead?

Topalovich has set in motion a strategic planning committee to create a five-year plan for the Academy. The committee will observe new trends within the industry and keep up with the specialty channels in order to scope out the paths the Academy should explore. ‘After 15 years we’re at the point where we can say, ` This is what we do and we do it well.’ The next step is to expand, cautiously, co-operate with other organizations and complement what is going on.’

What is the bottom line for the Academy’s future?

There’s a lot of exploring to be done.