TORONTO – CanWest MediaWorks will stop producing a hard copy of Dose after just over a year in operation.
However, the brand will remain alive online and in the mobile world, the company said.
Dose was one of several free daily commuter papers (CanWest called it a magazine, and it was a quirky addition to the newspaper wars) competing with Metro and 24 Hours in several major Canadian cities and struggled to earn its keep.
Launched in April 2005, Dose was created to capture the underserved 18-34 year old demographic through a multi-platform offering which included a free daily, an online service (dose.ca) and wireless content. Dose will now fall under the company’s interactive division to become the youth channel for CanWest’s canada.com.
"Dose is a unique and innovative brand that resonates with its target demographic of 18-34 year olds," said Peter Viner, president and CEO of CanWest MediaWorks. "In this very competitive newspaper market, we feel the printed publication will not produce the financial results we expect over the long term, however, we see a growing product in the Dose online and mobile offering which we will continue to develop."
Since the launch of dose.ca one year ago, the site has seen its monthly unique visitors climb to more than 160,000, says the release.
"Going forward, we plan to keep the best elements of Dose and weave these into our web, mobile and general content strategies," said Viner. "The Internet is clearly a key medium in reaching the 18-34 year old demo and dose.ca has developed very strong brand awareness with this group which will be beneficial for advertisers and for the overall network. And by leveraging our other key media assets throughout the country, we will be able to continue to provide our advertising clients with creative, integrated solutions."
Fifty people will lose their jobs. The company will be retaining approximately 10 Dose staffers in various positions.
"The Dose team is a very dedicated and talented group and we regret the impact on the staff which has invested a great deal in the project over the past year." added Viner. "However, we must continue to manage our business to ensure we demonstrate a strong value proposition to our customers, advertisers and investors."
