The instructions for this post-graduate marketing assignment were to choose a relevant real-life company that would benefit from a new marketing plan, using both traditional and digital channels. The required components were an 8-page report, a 5-slide deck, and a 3-minute filmed presentation.
Marketing Plan: TVO (fragment)
Ed Falcon
Conestoga College
Marketing in a Digital World
April 4, 2025
Conestoga College
Marketing in a Digital World
April 4, 2025
TVO Media Education Group is an agency of the Ontario Ministry of Education, a not-for-profit corporation and social impact charity, formerly known as TVOntario (TVO, 2025A). TVO produces a diverse range of original broadcast shows, including current affairs, documentaries, educational programs, and news. The signal is available on cable and over the air, while many shows are available on streaming platforms (TVO, 2025B).
The competitive landscape for TVO is populated with Canadian broadcasters (CBC, CTV, Global TV), foreign channels (HBO, ABC, NBC, CBS, etc.), and streamers (Netflix, Disney, Hulu, Crave, etc.) (Parrot Analytics, 2024). According to its Multi-Year Business Plan, TVO seeks a meaningful impact on underrepresented audiences and communities, prioritizing students aged 2-18 and pursuing market growth among the 25–45-year-old cohort (2022, p.5).
TVO’s 2023-2024 Annual Report points out that the past year saw a considerable growth in student enrolments in TVO ILC (online high school) with international sales to 80 countries of courses from Ontario’s education system, as well as one million podcast downloads and over 400,000 subscriptions to the TVO Today YouTube channel (2024A, p. 5).
Regarding marketing media, Lara Barlow, TVO’s VP of Impact, has said that TVO intends to leverage online video, connected TV, social media, digital ads, and linear TV to maximize reach and ensure that TVO’s content is visible and engaging (Hernandez, 2024). The main component of this strategy is the optimization of TVO’s digital presence on TVO.org, TVO.me, smart apps, podcast platforms and YouTube (TVO, 2024A, p. 18). This includes the simultaneous launch of all TVO’s programming on its YouTube channels (TVO, 2024A, p. 9).
Strengths of TVO
• Backed by the Ontario government.
• $74M in assets.
• $65M in revenues - 2024.
• Prioritizes digital channels.
• High relevance in public education.
• Strong YouTube presence.
• $74M in assets.
• $65M in revenues - 2024.
• Prioritizes digital channels.
• High relevance in public education.
• Strong YouTube presence.
Weaknesses of TVO
• Low share in a highly populated market.
• $43M in liabilities.
• $69M in expenses ($4M deficit) - 2024.
• Not a contender in open TV and cable.
• Less budget than private competitors.
• Meta pages blocked in Canada.
• $43M in liabilities.
• $69M in expenses ($4M deficit) - 2024.
• Not a contender in open TV and cable.
• Less budget than private competitors.
• Meta pages blocked in Canada.
Opportunities for TVO
• Growth in the 25-45 market in Ontario.
• Continuing international sales.
• Expanding reach to other provinces.
• Expanding streaming offering.
• Strengthening of interactive apps.
• Alliances and partnerships with other cultural production entities.
• Continuing international sales.
• Expanding reach to other provinces.
• Expanding streaming offering.
• Strengthening of interactive apps.
• Alliances and partnerships with other cultural production entities.
Threats against TVO
• Education policy in other markets.
• Change of education and cultural direction from the Ontario government.
• Further limitations to news providers.
• Reduction of school-aged population.
• Uncertainty of streaming platforms’ objectives, priorities and budgets.
• Change of education and cultural direction from the Ontario government.
• Further limitations to news providers.
• Reduction of school-aged population.
• Uncertainty of streaming platforms’ objectives, priorities and budgets.
Data source: Financial Statements (TVO, 2024B, p. 5).
Communities to Engage
One community to engage is socially conscious, educated, Canadian urban adults. This community is made up of young and middle-aged professionals who grew up in Canada and have university degrees. They can be of any race or ethnicity, but they are all interested in diversity and inclusion. They frequent cultural events and live or work in the downtown areas of urban centres in Southern Ontario, including Toronto, Hamilton, and Kitchener-Waterloo. They can be found at cultural events (theatre, jazz or classical concerts, film festivals, special screenings, lectures, book presentations, etc.) or visiting museums, galleries, libraries and bookstores. This community can be called “Urban Cultured Canadians”.
Another community to engage is skilled immigrants from diverse backgrounds who have settled in Canada over the last few years. They have similar values, attitudes and habits to the Canadian community, but they were born and raised in other countries and attended universities in Canada or other countries. They might not currently work in their preferred career, and their financial situation might be tighter than their Canadian counterparts. However, they would greatly benefit and appreciate free means to further their cultural, social and political knowledge of Ontario and Canada by taking advantage of TVO’s programming. They can be called “Educated Recent Immigrants”.
Digital and Social Media Strategies
TVO is all about digital communications and accessibility, so its marketing priority needs to be in the digital realm, even if traditional marketing tools complement these efforts.
The struggle between Meta and the Digital News Act currently blocks TVO’s primary channels on Facebook and Instagram, losing access to thousands of existing followers (although some of them might follow secondary channels). Considering the previously stated SMART objectives, first, this communication should be restored by linking the TVO websites with a new Meta channel to be named “TVO Communities”.
Secondly, surveys, newsletters and email campaigns need to be launched to expand the awareness and capture leads among the recent immigrant community of educated adults and families. Landing pages need to be created, but some of the initiatives should link directly to TVO’s YouTube channels and podcast pages with cultural and educational programming.
Thirdly, those YouTube channels need further development, not in the number of postings, which is already appropriate, but in the quality of engagement. The thumbnails need to be much more appealing. Currently, they consist of freeze frames from the content, usually showing awkward facial expressions and a caption of their dialogue with no context. The thumbnails should show more appealing captured moments of the subjects, as well as branding and a brief descriptive text of the whole video, instead of a caption from the dialogue.
Additionally, TVO should open comments for both videos and shorts, interact with the audience, and manage the community.
References
Hernandez, Andrea. (2024, July 18). TVO seeks to be a reliable source of information for young people. Strategy Online. https://strategyonline.ca/2024/07/18/tvo-seeks-to-be-a-reliable-source-of-information-for-young-people/
Parrot Analytics. (2024, April 4). Landscape: Key Audience Trends and Consumer Insights for
Major Platforms. Parrot Analytics. https://www.parrotanalytics.com/insights/canada/
Major Platforms. Parrot Analytics. https://www.parrotanalytics.com/insights/canada/
TVO. (2022). TVO Multi-Year Business Plan 2022/23 – 2024/25 [PDF]. TVO. https://tvo.me/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/TVO-BUSINESS-PLAN-2022-23-TO-2024-25-ENG-1.pdf
TVO. (2024A, June 27). Ontario Educational Communications Authority | Annual Report 2023-24 [PDF]. TVO. https://tvo.me/wp content/uploads/2024/10/2023_24_Annual_Report_ENG.pdf
TVO. (2024B, July 26). Financial Statements for the year ended March 31, 2024 [PDF]. TVO.
https://tvo.me/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/TVO-Financial-Statements-March-31-2024-ENG.pdf
https://tvo.me/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/TVO-Financial-Statements-March-31-2024-ENG.pdf
TVO. (2025A). Who We Are | TVO Media Education Group. TVO. https://tvo.me/who-we-are/
TVO. (2025B). TVO Today | Current Affairs Journalism, Documentaries and Podcasts. TVO.
https://www.tvo.org
https://www.tvo.org
Image source: Adobe Stock