TORONTO — Fans of rock star, poet and Canadian troubadour Gord Downie began flooding social media with heartfelt tributes as soon as word emerged that the singer had died. And among their tweets were some that appeared less than heartfelt — messages from corporate brands including Hudson’s Bay and Chevrolet Canada. The tweet did not mention Downie by name or show a car, and Palmer said that was intentional. RIP, @Prince.”Similar social media gimmicks emerged in the wake of David Bowie’s death last year. “More often than not these companies don’t test, don’t do the proper market research for their social media campaigns prior to launch, and so they just release statements and tweets and photos on various social media platforms and hope for the best.”

Source: National Post October 19, 2017 19:41 UTC