This report is a compilation by the media team and is meant to be an overview of what UCG-Canada is doing to preach the gospel. The media team works in conjunction with the national office to coordinate our media efforts. The team members are David Palmer, Dennis Horlick, Edwin van Pelt, Paul Wasilkoff and Anthony Wasilkoff.

During the past year, we have added two new resources for our members and the general public on the UCG-Canada website (www.ucg.ca). The first utility is the revised Bible reading plan. We have tweaked it to include a full listing of the books of the Bible. When the passage is shown, there is a feature for the text to be read via an audio element, which gives people the option of reading and hearing at the same time.

Also added this year were the Bible flash cards. The cards are based on flash cards used at Ambassador College and by local congregations in our church history. Our digital version is similar and is geared to an audience seeking an online version of the tool.

The cards show a passage reference on the front. By clicking a button, the cards can be advanced forward and backward; they can be flipped to reveal the text of the passage on the back. As with the Bible reading schedule, the scripture cards include the audio element.

We actively continue to display ads through Google’s network of search providers. Our primary ad features the booklet The United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy.Based on the increased traffic to our Bible Reading Schedule, we have also created a new ad targeting keywords related to Bible reading schedules.

In the 12-month period Mar. 1, 2011, through Feb. 29, 2012, there were just under 38,000 visitor sessions with a daily average of over 100 visitors to our UCG-Canada website. For the same period one year previous, the total was 33,606 visitor sessions with a daily average of 92 representing an increase of 10 percent.

The website was the subject of many search queries over the same time period. We have recorded over 17,000 searches. Google produces nearly 80 percent of our search engine referred traffic.

Since May of 2011, our websites have processed 1,200 requests. Approximately 10 percent of the requests were bound for countries beyond the continent. A list of countries served from UCG-Canada’s website include: Australia, Belgium, Benin, Bermuda, Brazil, Eritrea, France, Georgia, Ghana, Guyana, India, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Republic of Ireland, Romania, Seychelles, Singapore, South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The balance of the requests is split, almost in half, between Canada and the United States. Each month we process nearly 120 requests.

We are using the UCG-Canada websites in many ways to preach the gospel and prepare a people. It is encouraging to see continued use of existing material and to see use of new utilities online.

We have received nearly 22,000 responses due to the Beyond Todayprogram since it began airing almost six years ago. The first year we were on air, we averaged just under 40 responses per week. Over the past year, we have averaged nearly 129 per week. Programs discussing finances, prophecy, understanding the Bible, death, heaven and hell usually bring in the most responses.

It is interesting to note that when the airtime on Vision TV changed to half an hour later, the audience increased by 30 percent for the next four weeks. The audience has consistently been 15-20 percent higher since that time. In addition, the average number of people requesting literature is about 50 percent higher than the old time. By making the change in time, we were also able to secure a lower rate, which allowed us to stay on Grace TV.

It is reported by Nielsen TV Ratings that our age demographic is getting younger with only 50 percent of our viewers over 50. In the early days of the program, 70 percent of our viewers were over 65. This is due to changes in the program, change in airtime and because we follow a program that attracts a larger and younger audience.
Recently, the home office launched an initiative to increase the circulation of  Bonnes Nouvelles.While the intent was to increase the magazine subscriptions in other French-speaking countries, a significant benefit has been realized in Canada. In the first two months of this year, our subscriber list increased about 140 percent. That increase has continued necessitating the need to request additional magazines to cover the needs.