Motrin offends Mothers

With the US Presidential election over, painkiller medication Motrin made some waves on twitter this week. I've never heard of Motrin until now.

This is the ad that sparked the controversy from mothers on twitter, friendfeed, blogosphere and Youtube. Eventually it made it into mainstream media. The Mothers who took offense thought the ad was condescending and thought that wearing a sling wasn't a "fashion statement".




Responses to the Ad:




I'm not a mother so I didn't find it offensive but there were some interesting conversations that took place very quickly on twitter. Whether you agree or not, the conversation is taking place online.

Lessons:

Test the waters before you release such a campaign, Motrin says "We Feel Your Pain" You can only feel someone's pain when you really understand their world. Take the time to learn about your audience. Spend time with them. Show them what your campaign team is thinking of doing. You'll be surprised what they'd come up with.

Motrin have now removed the ad and apologised. I believe this is still a fantastic opportunity for Motrin to listen and respond to all if necessary. Plan another campaign, but this time include some of the people who have voiced their opinion. Imagine how that would go. One thing is for sure - we've heard of Motrin now!

Obama addresses the American people each week why can't CEOs of companies do the same?

Obama's first weekly youtube chat clearly marks a new era of 21st century American Presidency from the Whitehouse. He's staying true to what he promised and that is connecting with his people at the grassroot level.





I hear a lot about transparency and authenticity in my social media business travels, but deep down companies are still nervous about putting themselves out there in fear of what people may say about them.

Brands embracing social media have a headstart compared to those that are still deciding or may never join.

I believe transparency is one of the most important competitive advantages a Company can have for attracting customers or employees.

What do you think?

New Zealand Insurance Roadside Assistance

When was the last time you experienced AMAZING service?

First Vlog

I wanted to share with you where I'm going to be the next couple of weeks. We've met some amazing people in Christchurch and great news we're going back next week. Hope you're all well and I look forward to sharing my next post with you next time.

A summary:

• Monday, August 4th, 7:30am - 9:30am, at Lowndes Associates‘ Business Intelligence Workshop, at the Stamford Plaza in Albert Street, Auckland. Subject is “Online Strategies for Non-Online Businesses” Bookings here.
• Thursday, August 7th, 12pm-2pm, at the Marketing Association’s Southern Luncheon at the Hotel Grand Chancellor, 161 Cashel Street, Christchurch. Subject: Making Sense of Social Media. Bookings here.
• Wednesday, August 13th, 2:30-3pm as part of the day-long Digital Future Now summit, at the SkyCity Convention Centre in Auckland. I’ll be on a panel with Paul Reynolds and Nicholas O’Flaherty discussing how social media can help business. Bookings here.
• Monday, September 15th, 4:15-5pm as part of the day-long 6th Annual Media Relations Conference at the Wellington Town Hall. I’m chairing a “champagne roundtable” (hic!) on exploring the potential of social media. Bookings here.
• Tuesday, September 16th, 1:30pm-5pm in a workshop entitled Blogs: Friend or Foe? Also at the Wellington Town Hall. Bookings here.

And if you can’t make it to any of these, we’ll still be producing the weekly Jump In video podcast, and appearing from time to time on Radio NZ National’s Virtual World segment with Jim Mora.

Web 2.O Customers

How do I stay in contact with my customers? How do I provide a platform that's easy for them to communicate with me?

These are some popular questions I come across in my travels when speaking to clients. Why are these important questions? It's because there's so many online communities customers identify with now. There are over 350 social media sites and growing. And they're attracting people because it's appealing to their interests. It may be books, pets, cars, clothes, environment, cultural art, business and the lists goes on.

Regardless of what industry you're in, you need to be asking yourself these questions and I'm sure the answers have changed since you last checked.

My question to you: Does your static website draw customers to your brand?

If the answer is No, then you may need to consider experimenting with some social media tools to leverage your current marketing strategy.

I've included a diagram that we use in our presentation which is one of many ways you can get your message out there and how you can strategically tie it back to your website if you have a web 1.0 website.

Where do you start? You can start by having a blog, which is just what you're reading.