Comments on: Social Media on Main Street

By: Don’t listen to social media experts?! | Rocketseed

Don’t listen to social media experts?! | Rocketseed — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 11:31:25 +0000

[...] here’s a pickle, it seems it is. Thanks to PR Squared, I’ve now found that (because of the outrage?) there was a Lightspeed research survey done and [...]

By: nicktjohnson (Nick)

nicktjohnson (Nick) — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 20:01:40 +0000

Twitter Comment

RT @BrandsAnatomy: The real numbers behind the Motrin moms. When mob mentality can change an opinion [link to post]

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By: BrandsAnatomy (Nick)

BrandsAnatomy (Nick) — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 19:56:23 +0000

Twitter Comment

The real numbers behind the Motrin moms. When mob mentality can change an opinion [link to post]

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By: Wicked Quick In PR - 4.8.09 - The Wicked Blog

Wicked Quick In PR - 4.8.09 - The Wicked Blog — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 05:36:51 +0000

[...] Todd Defren revisits the Motrin Moms flap after a recent study shows most consumers liked the ad. [PR Squared] [...]

By: Alanna

Alanna — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 19:46:32 +0000

Did it occur to anyone that this backlash from cyber moms was probably a total pr prank orchestrated by Motrin’s pr firm?!! Based on these stats it seems so…

By: Walter Gillis

Walter Gillis — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 16:53:16 +0000

Problem number one with the whole Motrin Mom’s Ad is that the concept itself was poor. Motrin has just accused a significant portion of its target audience of using their baby as a fashion accessory. You just did the advertising equivalent of slapping your target audience in the face! I assume Morin was going for a cynical, worldly take on parenting (aiming for the tech savvy, highly educated set I’d imagine), but here’s the thing: Moms, especially NEW Moms, tend not to be cynical about THEIR babies and THEIR parenting skills.

Now, in marketing, you tend to get handed a whole lot of lemons. So you best learn how to make lemonade. Motrin pissed off its target audience. You got a whole bunch of people in an uproar. Use it!

Motrin just received a lot of free advertising thanks to the controversy. The Lightspeed survey found that the less hardcore crowd liked your ad. Use the controversy’s momentum and the Lightspeed data to start a campaign aimed at the (presumably) larger moderate audience that has a favorable impression to you.

As for the hard-core audience that is NOT happy with you? It’s a great time to gather a bunch of employees and go to EVERY blog and site you can find that reacted negatively to your ad and talk with them. Say you are sorry; tell them what you meant to say. Tell them you admire them and wanted to say, “We understand your pain”. Tell them the truth. Be open, be honest. You’ll sway some. Some will still hate you. But most visitors who read your posts will be impressed that a “big” company is acting human and admire you for doing the right thing.

By: microjb (Jeremy Bergeron)

microjb (Jeremy Bergeron) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 10:38:53 +0000

Twitter Comment

Social Media and Public Relations Consulting PR Squared: PR-Squared, written by Todd Defren a principal of PR Ag.. [link to post]

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By: bergerchris (Chris Berger)

bergerchris (Chris Berger) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 03:21:08 +0000

Twitter Comment

RT @ScottHepburn: Thank you, voice of reason: @tdefren looks at Motrin Moms in a new light (you know, with data) [link to post]

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By: ScottHepburn (Scott Hepburn)

ScottHepburn (Scott Hepburn) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 03:19:43 +0000

Twitter Comment

Thank you, voice of reason: @tdefren looks at Motrin Moms in a new light (you know, with data) [link to post]

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By: Hannah Del Porto

Hannah Del Porto — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 22:33:52 +0000

I think an important point to consider is that we don’t know what would have happened had Motrin NOT made an immediate and decisive retreat.

A stand-off between angry online moms and big bad pharma co might have made an appealing quickie spot on mainstream media. I don’t doubt that many others would have joined the protest had Motrin decided to ignore these concerns.

No one knows if the complaints would have died out or gained steam, but certainly Motrin’s immediate retraction and apology discouraged further momentum.

The motrin ad didn’t damage the company’s reputation, but the motrin moms could have.