A weekly roundup of media news and talking points, sans effort

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Thought for the Week 

[H]earing it over when you played it was like waterboarding I guess. ” Fox News pundit Steven Emerson, reacting to his own comments that Birmingham, UK, is a city non-Muslims are no longer welcome in, which sparked outrage amongst the reasonably-minded just days before another presenter on the network launched into a seven minute diatribe described by critics as Islamophobic. It’s not clear whether Emerson has ever actually been subjected to waterboarding torture methods, but nevertheless it’s proof that hot-headed public statements never help anyone.

 

Weekly High

Much as we don’t want to appear arrogant, this week we were delighted to see the New York Times ranked our hometown of Manchester at 26 on its list of essential global destination to visit in 2015- placing the city above the likes of Rome and Miami Beach. A great result for Marketing Manchester.
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Weekly Low

Just when you think BlackBerry’s future couldn’t be any more precarious, a headline like this hits. Rule number one when promoting a smartphone brand that isn’t Apple- do not, we repeat, do not get caught tweeting from an iPhone. Massive fail.
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Stories to keep an eye on

Trials are now taking place for Facebook’s new LinkedIn rival, Facebook At Work.
Following a similar move from Facebook, Twitter is expanding its video products in a bid to make it ‘the natural platform’ for moving images.

Just in case you missed it

According to experts, 2015 will see an exponential increase in the number of major brands investing in creating unique mobile games. Here’s our take on why you shouldn’t ignore this trend.

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Rick Guttridge

Rick Guttridge

Founder and CEO

Rick Guttridge is the Founder and CEO of Smoking Gun, the PR, influencer and social media agency built around a clear belief: communications should not just create noise, but prove measurable business impact. With more than 25 years’ experience in PR, Rick has helped major brands improve visibility, likeability and memorability through ingenious communications across sectors including FMCG, pets, homes and interiors, mother & baby, health and wellbeing, and personal finance.