Metroland launches parcel delivery
This week Torstar launched a parcel delivery service under its Metroland banner.
“Torstar companies have delivered newspapers and flyers to most neighbourhoods in Ontario every week for more than 100 years,” the company said in a release. Metroland Parcel Service operates in Ontario and is positioned as a solution for companies looking to fulfil their e-commerce businesses.
This interesting expansion of Metroland’s business doesn’t currently have formal plans to add sponsorship, advertising or media opportunities. But Ian Olivier, EVP at Torstar and president of community brands, says the team has already fielded some enquiries.
The new company’s first deliveries? Toys for Toys R Us.
Bell Media radio station warns listeners they’re “not going to like” its format change
Switching a radio station’s musical oeuvre can grind the gears a bit and shock an unprepared audience.
Bell Media’s 89X FM in Windsor, Ont. — which has been a modern rock broadcaster since 1990 — warned its listeners with a statement, bracing them for the worst: “Soon there will be a very new and very different sound on 88.7FM, and to be honest if you’re a New Rock fan you’re probably not going to like it.”
Starting at noon on Nov. 19, 89X became Pure Country 89 (the 16th station nationwide to bear that brand). On the same day, Windsor’s 93.9 The River also reformatted as the thirteenth Virgin Radio station in Canada.
Twitter Fleets fly!
Twitter users love to talk about Twitter, and this week they all talked about Fleets. The new product launched globally, allowing users to post tweets that vanish in 24 hours.
On its blog, the company said its testing the format in Brazil, Italy, India, and South Korea, and suggested that “Fleets helped people feel more comfortable joining the conversation – we saw people with Fleets talk more on Twitter. Those new to Twitter found Fleets to be an easier way to share what’s on their mind.”
Instagram gives Reels and Shop permanent home screen spots
Instagram recently introduced a revamp of its home screen for the first time in a while. It includes a tab for Reels, a feature that launched a few months ago, designed to make it easier for users to discover videos from other users, and to share their own.
The Shop tab connects users with brands and serves as a discovery vehicle for products. It also links to personalized recommendations, editors’ picks curated by Instagram’s @shop channel, shoppable videos, and new product collections.
Instagram says its focus is on young people and creators because they’re trendsetters, and this redesign reflects the way they use Instagram, their demand for short entertaining videos and the incredible amount of shopping they’re doing online.
