What’s Hot?

This week is a real mixture of what’s hot and what’s really not (and confusingly, what’s really hot because it’s so not – Emily in Paris we are looking at you here). We’ve got TV shows and social strategies to avoid, but we also have birthdays to celebrate, shoes to buy and updates to prevent bullying.

Do you want the good news or the bad news first?

The one you probably don’t need to watch: Emily in Paris

They say that we can’t help but watch a car crash because we are hard wired not to look away from tragedy.

That’s how I felt watching Emily in Paris.

Considering how terrible the show is, it’s on one hand shocking how much is being written about it, and on the other hand, not shocking at all. I hated Emily in Paris. I also watched every episode.

Perhaps my hatred runs deeper than most due to Emily’s job: She’s a social media executive. I could write a whole blog on everything that was wrong with the shows portrayal of social media, but I don’t want to waste another minute on this show (aside from the 300+ minutes spent watching it).

But here are some quick-fire annoyances:

• At one point, Emily is invited to an influencer event, and given a small bag of goods for free. She is then ordered to do a minimum of five posts on the products, without any contract or briefing, let alone a discussion of whether there’s a possibility of payment
• A brand marketing director calls social media agencies overpriced and antiquated ?
• It’s claimed that “the best kind of influencer doesn’t realise they have influence over others” (ahem)
• Emily, a micro influencer with 20k followers, is competing against someone with 2 million followers for the same brand opportunity
• She posts an image of her eating a strawberry on Instagram captioned “berry hungry” and is praised for producing ‘smart’ content (again, ahem)

So yeah, Darren Star – if you need a consultant for the next series, please email info@feverpr.com.

Good wardrobe though.

They mistake they didn’t need to make: PureGym

This week, a PureGym branch decided to launch a “12YearsOfSlave” workout in celebration of Black History Month. Just typing it out, it’s hard to fathom how someone could think this theme is in any way okay.

It’s not unusual to see regional branches go rogue on social, though usually in a far less offensive way. One example is in the restaurant industry, where a pub manager or employee may respond directly to negative reviews on Facebook, or rudely respond to comments.

While it’s obviously not possible for these brands to have their social media team cover each and every franchise and post, there is a way to avoid all this happening – through social media guidelines, look and feel toolkits, and community management training. It’s a step many businesses forget to take, that could save them from serious reputational damage in the long run.

The trainers you need to see: Slack x Cole Haan

B2B technology brands can struggle to make an impact and have instant brand recognition. But not Slack. Its latest stunt is launching a set of Slack-coloured trainers with Cole Haan. We’re not entirely sure who would wear these (they have a real Google-campus vibe) but it’s remarkably on-brand. Another highlight from Slack’s marketing team came last year, with the State of Work ad creative. Focusing on the four colours again, Slack demonstrated how it’s a collaboration tool without a single stock image of people in a meeting. Bravo.

The birthday you need to celebrate: Instagram turns 10

Instagram turning 10 probably isn’t the most important news of the week, but we raised a glass/emoji or two to the platform that’s had such a huge influence on how many of us view the world around us.

BBC Newsround did a wonderful birthday round up, including the first ever Instagram post (it’s a dog, obviously), Grumpy Cat joining the gram (RIP), the first person to reach 100 million followers, and the unlikely most liked post, ever.

The update we needed to see: Instagram takes on the bullies

And finally to Instagram again but with a far more important message that getting to double digits. This Bullying Prevention month, Instagram has announced a new feature that hopes to prevent bullying and harassment. The app will automatically hide negative messages, which will be deemed hurtful using a new algorithm. Not only will you have to click ‘see hidden messages’ to see any hurtful comments, but those writing them will also get a warning message, saying “This may go against our guidelines”. It’s a pretty nice update, and we’re hoping that other platforms will follow suit.