(First published Oct. 6/97)

As President and senior partner of National Public Relations Inc., Daniel Lamarre was one of Canada's best known and influential public relations executives. Why then would he want to take on a whole new career in the challenging but sometimes controversial role as president and CEO of Télé-Métropole and responsibility for TVA, Quebec's number-one French-language television network?

"This is almost a comeback," says Lamarre. "My whole early career was as a journalist for both print and broadcast, and when I moved into public relations, I was working with COGECO in its dealings with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. Then at Cockfield-Brown, I negotiated Molson Breweries' television rights for its hockey and motorsports properties."

The same situation continued as Lamarre became vice-president general manager of Burson-Marsteller, and at then at National as executive v-p and senior partner and later president, where such clients as Molson, McDonald's Restaurants and the National Bank were all heavily into TV sponsorship.

"I've always been passionate about TV," he says. "I was always looking for a pretext to have clients do TV."

Early in 1997, Lamarre was involved in negotiations for TV contracts for Olympic medal winner Annie Pelletier (TVA's La vie est un sport dangereux) and actress Julie Snyder ( Le Point J). An offhand comment during a dinner conversation with Snyder had led Lamarre to say that the only job that would induce him to leave National would be the presidency of TVA.

Lamarre was in the right place at the right time. Former Télé-Métropole president Jean Gariépy had already left. Lamarre had already met Guy Crevier, then president of Vidéotron (owner of TVA), because of interest in opening a TV production department for National. Lamarre' s comment found its way to Claude Chagnon, now president and COO of Vidéotron, and in only three weeks, Lamarre was ensconced in the presidential office at Télé-Métropole.

Those three weeks, though, were, says Lamarre, "un coup de coeur". It was difficult to leave long time friend Luc Beauregard, National chairman, to sell his shares in National, and move. Yet Lamarre took what he calls "the most irrational decision ever taken in my life."

There were still challenges at National. But his one concern was not to be outdated, and he had already learned what he had to know at the PR firm. Here was a new chance to learn.

The Goal: To Build Internationally

"I only thought I knew a lot about TV," he says. "I'm learning every day. I'm reading more than ever. There's more pressure. And I'm excited. I wouldn't have made the move if I'd had a mandate to make major cuts in staff and production. But I saw the potential of TVA, and was given the mandate for business development: to make the company known and a player on the international market. It's an ambitious goal, given the size of some of the players that are already there. But with Vidéotron as our main shareholder, we have the chance to develop with all the new technologies. The potential here is mind-boggling."

Télé-Métropole already owns 34.6% market share in Montreal extended market (francophone) of viewers 2-plus and TVA member stations hold 38.4% share of Quebec province, 2-plus francophone (BBM Spring 97). In Sept., TVA launched Canal Nouvelles, a specialty news channel, and it also has in interest in Canal Indigo. But growth of Télé-Métropole itself is near saturation point locally. New sources of revenue now lie more in the growth with new technologies, specialty channels and foreign markets, says Lamarre.

If the station had to start a company from scratch to produce and distribute programming for foreign markets, costs would be astronomical. But Télé-Métropole is already established so, with less money plus synergy drawn from all departments and partners, it is already in the business. A telefilm, starring Alan Thicke and being shot in English, with French adaptation to come, has already been sold in Europe, with the U.S. market a possibility. Another two telefilms should be produced by the end of 1997 for foreign markets. Heading this division is François St-Laurent whose acclaimed Omni Sciencesold in well over 100 countries worldwide.

"If we were just an independent producer, we'd just be a seller," says Lamarre. "But TVA is a buyer as well as seller, so we're trying to develop partnerships."

Lamarre had such an intuition about the success with foreign development that, after only three weeks on the job, he felt he had to test it . He went to Paris where he held nine meetings in three days and came away convinced of its viability. TVA also signed agreements with three French partners: Canal +, Home Shopping Service and TLTV SA, (see news story, Oct. 6) during the recent Quebec economic mission to France.

"These agreements fit perfectly with our efforts to position TVA internationally," says Lamarre. "We're now looking at implementing a development plan that will assist expansion in our particular area of expertise: production and broadcasting of quality French-language content."

Fitting into a Changing World

Lamarre is also aligning TVA in the world of new technology.

"The main challenge for TV today is to position itself in the new technology environment," says Lamarre. "For ages (Microsoft founder) Bill Gates told us the new technology would come from the computer. But now we have web TV, and noone knows how it will act out. And UBI (a consortium of companies, including Vidéotron, installing new technology services in Chicoutimi-Jonquière) has been a real laboratory for Vidéotron and TVA.

"No one is sure which technologies will become the standard. We have to see where our own media will fit, and follow-up on them." Under the new agreement with Canal+ of France, the two companies will also join forces to encourage the merging of TV and multimedia.

Lamarre is also well aware of the role specialty channels are playing in terms of both viewers, their share of advertising dollars, and the need for major TV networks to be involved to preserve market share. For the recent Sept. 30 deadline for specialty channel applications, TVA submitted five different scenarios: Télé Classique; Télé Ha! Ha!; Vox; Savoir-Faire; La Canal Affaires. (See news story, Oct. 6)

Current Accomplishments

While these are all in the future, Lamarre has been making immediate changes. One of these is in production.

"Noone ever really knew the true costs of production because various business sectors were involved," says Lamarre. All production is now grouped under JPL Productions. "By imposing discipline in terms of cost and profitability, it will help control costs and get more productions done."

There have also been changes in terms of new shows; extension of prime time to 11:30 p.m. "with almost the same ratings as earlier," says Lamarre; enhanced newscasts that now have close to 1 million viewers for the 6 p.m. news and "almost two-to-one over the competition with news at 10 p.m."

TVA's audience has been changing. "Viewers used to be mainly in the 40-60 age range, but now we have from 18-to-50, partly due to younger people on the programs., And I wouldn't have believed it, but we've discovered that close to 10% of our viewers are loyal to TVA. They start and end their day with us.

"We may not be able to increase our audience numbers by much, with the addition of all the specialty channels, but we do hope to enhance the quality by targeting differently."

Building Loyalty

Lamarre beieves that, in his first six months at Télé-Métropole, his main accomplishment has been in giving the network more focus and bringing back more fun into the business.

"People lived for the past two years with the stress of what was going to happen with TVA and Télévison Quatre Saisons (ie. whether both would have the same owners following the purchase of CFCF, owner of TQS, by Vidéotron). I've tried to bring back the fun. You have to love what you're doing.

"I've met with the union leaders (TVA has been beset by strikes in its past) and told them that management will be transparent. I want to be open and candid with them, and if it works both ways, we should be able to have a peaceful relationship. People realize that we're in an ever-increasing competitive environment, so it's not the time for problems. My aim is to spend a lot of time on employee relationships and to build loyalty and trust among ourselves."

How long is Lamarre's contract for the job that's been filled by five presidents over the past 10 years?

"As long as it works - and as long as I'm having fun, too!"