Weekly Rewind: Our favorite stories from around the web

hatchanimal

The CSA team is getting ready to spend the holidays with their families! However, we couldn’t get on the plane without posting one last Weekly Rewind for 2016.

All I Want For Christmas Is…

The children were nestled all snug in their beds, while visions of Hatchanimals danced in their heads. Hatchanimals? Yes, you read that right. The hottest toy of the season is a furry creature that comes inside a toy egg, which you must nurture until it hatches and then you can raise the newborn. Parents waited in line for hours to snag a Hatchanimal before they sold out. Some people were even quickly purchasing them only to turn around and post them on eBay for hundreds of dollars above the original price.

How did Hatchanimals become this year’s biggest Christmas sensation? The PR and marketing groups behind the toy say it boils down to its mysterious launch. They worked hard at building up the hype while keeping the contents of the egg a secret until “Hatchanimals Day” where they revealed what was inside. The VP of Zeno Group Canada said, “These Hatchanimals were under lock and key, almost literally. At that time, there was only one photo that was seeded to a new outlet of the egg, but there was nothing revealed about the inside.” So a little mystery DOES go a long way.

Can You Hear Me Now?

A new Facebook feature will be available to everyone next year. Live Audio allows users to broadcast voice recordings by pressing a button on the Facebook app. “Once a recording starts, Facebook creates a post using a Page cover image. The post is then pushed to newsfeeds and people can listen to the audio content as they browse through Facebook.” This feature will be great for telecasting audio clips from live events!

Speaking of Social Media…

As you’re scheduling holiday social posts for the weekend, be sure to slow down and check for grammar mistakes before hitting publish. PR Daily says most people make their writing errors on social media and that email and blog copy are reportedly much cleaner. “People make an average of 39 mistakes per 100 words in social media posts.” The top five mistakes in social posts include:

  • Apostrophe mistakes
  • Too versus To
  • Everyday versus Every Day
  • There versus Their
  • Than versus Then

Other Things to Avoid in 2017

Here’s an interesting and informative article to read over the holiday break! Fast Company breaks down three of this year’s biggest PR fails and the lessons PR pros can take away. For example, it may not be the best idea to capitalize on a high-profile celebrity’s death. You can delete, but screenshots are here to stay.

That’s a wrap — see you next year!