TORONTO, April 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ - Metro, Canada's most read national daily newspaper, made a splash last week with a newly designed website, new iPhone, iPad and Android apps and a $5-million national ad campaign.

The apps and site launched on April 2, on the same day as Metro's expansion from nine to fifteen cities across Canada. This week, Metro's new app is the #1 free news app in the App Store, and has had more than 27,000 downloads already.  The Android version is the #4 free news app in the Google Play store, and has had more than 3,400 downloads.  The new Metro apps have received positive reviews and are the highest-rated news apps in Canada. The Metro iPhone and iPad app have a 4.5 average rating and the Android app has a 4/5 rating.

Metro worked with Jet Cooper on the new website design and Xtreme Labs on the new apps. Jodi Brown, Vice President, Interactive and Marketing for Metro English Canada, says that as growing numbers of readers seek up-to-the-minute local coverage from Metro on mobile and web it only makes sense to accelerate investment in these areas.  Some of the key features of the new apps are:

• Highly visual high-impact "mosaic" cover screen.
• Big box ad unit incorporated into the mosaic in an attractive and eye-catching way.
• Articles and images seamlessly download in the background for quick loading and offline reading.
• On Android, the ability to schedule your app to automatically download new content at a specific time each day for easy offline reading.
• Flip functionality to open the cover screen for a preview of all app sections.
• 3D horoscopes interface.
• Easy sharing of all content.

"In addition to launching new native apps, the new website uses responsive design to automatically adapt to different display types so that no matter what device our readers are using, they can view our site properly," Brown said. "Metro is the number one news brand for YAMs and we are committed to delivering the best experience possible on all the platforms that our connected readers are using."

A $5-million national advertising campaign will support the new digital products and reinforce Metro's position as the largest sharer of free news in the world.

Rethink was the creative agency behind the campaign, while media planning and buying was handled internally by Metro's marketing team and includes Cineplex pre-show, radio, online and mobile in all Metro English markets.

An innovative HTML5 banner running nationally on the Weather Network's iPhone and iPad apps mimics the "swipe to unlock" homescreen functionality of iPhone and iPad and takes users directly to the Metro app on the App Store to "unlock commuter boredom."

A guerilla stunt using Metro mini-boxes was also deployed nationally to generate awareness in a unique way…  Several die-cast replica mini-boxes have been placed next to full-size Metro boxes, with a boxcard that reads "also available in pocket-sized" and a QR code on the mini-box that takes the user directly to the App Store to download the Metro app.

The campaign includes a station domination in Toronto at the intersection of Yonge and Bloor and interior transit, transit shelter advertising and billboards in Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver, Regina and Saskatoon.

About Metro

Metro is Canada's most-read national daily newspaper. Metro editions are published by Free Daily News Group Inc. in Ottawa, Toronto, London, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver, and by Atlantic Free Daily Newspapers Inc. in Halifax.  Metro is also published in Montreal by Les Publications Métropolitaines Inc.  Metro targets YAMs (youthful, active metropolitans) and reaches more than 1.4 million readers daily and 2.9 million over the course of a week.

Torstar Corporation is the majority owner of Free Daily News Group Inc. with Metro International S.A. holding a small minority interest. Metro International S.A. also holds an interest in Les Publications Métropolitaines Inc and publishes newspapers in more than 100 major cities in 20 countries across Europe, North and South America and Asia. Metro has a unique global reach, attracting a youthful, active, well-educated, metropolitan audience of over 17 million daily readers.

SOURCE Metro Canada

Image with caption: "Screen shot of Metro's position as #1 in the free news category in the App Store, home page on Metro's iPhone App and enhanced sharing tools (CNW Group/Metro Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20120409_C4123_PHOTO_EN_12083.jpg

Image with caption: "Metro's station domination at Yonge and Bloor (CNW Group/Metro Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20120409_C4123_PHOTO_EN_12084.jpg