PR Fresh Hits: Feb 10, 2021
Hello and welcome to the new series on Marketing News Canada bringing the best PR trends, insights and work in Canada.
Kraft brings the real romantic cheese for Valentine’s Day
Ottawa Public Health punks us all on misinformation with a Super Bowl twist
Ottawa Public Health (OPH) tweeted a major blunder, a drafted message complete with placeholder text and image, to announce the winner of the Super Bowl ILV. Twitter blew up with many making fun of the tweet and interacting with it via comments and retweets. But the table quickly turned when OPH revealed that the tweet was intentional and staged to educate its followers on misinformation.
Talk Shop Media acquires ROI Relations: West Coast Wave
A west coast agency further cements their presence on the east coast. Vancouver-born PR agency Talk Shop Media announced they acquired Toronto-based ROI Relations growing their team and client roster in Toronto. The founders organically met at a conference in a session about mergers and acquisitions at the Public Relations Society of America’s annual conference.
While ROI’s two co-founders will move on to new ventures, Talk Shop will absorb the existing ROI team and clients to bolster their capabilities in the luxury, beauty and wellness space.
Kraft brings the real romantic cheese for Valentine’s Day
Kraft Canada has put a twist on the nostalgic mac and cheese we grew up loving by launching a limited edition Candy KD for Valentine’s Day. Canadians can follow @kraftdinnerca and share their smoothest pick up lines, love confessions or poems to get their hands on noodle-shaped, pink candy.
Lucky recipients will receive a kit in a candy-styled box in the shape of a giant Conversation Heart. The box will include KD Original, a Candy KD Boost Pack, and a fork, so consumers can celebrate Valentine's Day with Candy KD.
Bell Media shuts down three of its all-sports radio stations across Canada
On Tuesday, Bell Media ceased operation of its TSN radio stations in Vancouver, Winnipeg and Hamilton. The Vancouver and Winnipeg stations will transition into a comedy format with the Hamilton station being rebranded to BNN Bloomberg Radio. This announcement comes off the heels of waves of layoffs across the country in the last couple of weeks including long-time on-air personalities.
The closure brings end to the longest-running and highest-rated sports radio stations, signalling the fickle nature of media landscape across the country.
Written by Crystal Kwon, principal at front+centre - a PR firm for challenger brands. If you want your work featured, email hi@frontandcentre.co