From Morning Filter (April 22, 2014), Marketing‘s daily morning newsletter
Should brands stop apologizing?
When a brand tweets porn by accident, it should probably apologize. But marketers are getting trigger happy on their apologies, saying sorry so many times that their apologies are in danger of either becoming meaningless to consumers or, worse, a proof point that a brand’s too weak to offer quality service.
[Read more via Digiday]
Who runs the world of Canadian TV? Showrunners
Directors usually get the fame and glory in the movie world. But things are changing when it comes to Canada’s TV industry. The spotlight is now being focused on a pivotal role in making a series: the showrunner. The screenwriter/producer hybrids behind successful Canadian shows like Flashpoint are increasingly getting recognition and putting Canada on the map globally with high-quality export shows.
[Read more via the Toronto Star]
Weibo’s IPO sinks
Weibo, a leading Chinese micro-blogging site, raised just $285.6 million in its initial public offering. The social network has over 500 million messages posted daily and had 60 million active users daily as of November 2013, but that wasn’t enough to impress investors. However, Tech Crunch is speculating other upcoming Chinese tech stocks, like e-commerce company Alibaba Group, may fare much better.
[Read more via Tech Crunch]
Brand names and slogans appear in standardized English test
Parents are accusing the New York state education system of product placement advertising after brands such as Barbie, iPod, Life Savers and Nike were included in the tests taken by more than a million students in grades three to eight. A spokesperson for the Education Board has denied the claims. The Nike question was about being a risk taker and included the line, “‘Just Do It’ is a registered trademark of Nike,” according to students who took the test.
[Read more via Times Colonist]
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