NZ Herald owner NZME has dropped the dot at the end of its new corporate name – a decision cheered on by journos all over the country.
“You’ll be pleased to know that NZME has decided to use the dot for the logo only or when referring to different parts of the business as in a proper noun such as ‘NZME. Radio’,” a spokesperson told M+AD. “We’re leaving it out of general text.”
The dot device was flawed because it seemed to signal the end of a sentence. It came into existence last year, when APN and TRB rebranded as New Zealand Media & Entertainment.
The dot certainly achieved the marketers’ objectives, in that it stuck out like a sore thumb. But it was particularly ugly in headlines, and was universally disliked – mostly by the people who worked for NZME.
MA+D always remained faithful to the dot – even though it annoyed some of our subscribers. At least half of M+AD readers are ad & PR people, so our policy is to reproduce brand names as the owner intended – even when they’re obtrusive (as in capitalised brands) or just plain silly (like the dreaded dot).
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