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11.21.2008

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3 Lessons from Motrin Social Media Meltdown

Unless you live in a proverbial marketing-free bubble, or were away from your BlackBerry, you’ve undoubtedly heard of the Motrin online marketing fiasco. We believe this case represents something of an archetype of the challenges inherent in marketing social media in a social networking age. How something seemingly straightforward, done with the best of intentions, can crash within a matter of hours.

Here’s a brief sequence of events.

Sometime Saturday morning, Motrin released a video to the internet that mocked the current practice of “baby wearing,” suggesting that it was a fashionable trend that failed to consider the mom’s interests. The condescending tone portrayed moms as “thoughtless” trend-seekers who might ultimately turn to Motrin to address the pain and discomfort related to this “silly” practice. To quote directly from the video:

“Wearing your baby seems to be in fashion. I mean, in theory it’s a great idea. There’s the front baby carrier, sling, schwing, wrap, pouch. And who knows what else they’ve come up with. Wear your baby on your side, your front, go hands free.

“Supposedly, it’s a real bonding experience. They say that babies carried close to the body tend to cry less than others. But what about me? Do moms that wear their babies cry more than those who don’t? I sure do! These things put a ton of strain on your back, your neck, your shoulders. Did I mention your back? I mean, I’ll put up with the pain because it’s a good kind of pain; it’s for my kid.

“Plus it totally makes me look like an official mom. And, so, if I look tired and crazy (cuckoo sound in background), people will understand why.”

• As of Saturday afternoon, things began to really heat up on Twitter, where a group was organized under the heading “#motrinmoms.”
  
  
• The blogosphere was ablaze as word began spread to other blogs and social networking sites such as Facebook, Digg, Delicious and Stumble.
  
  
• As initial word spread outward, tighter communities were formed and boycotts began to be organized.
  
  
• Within less than 8 hours, the advertisement, as well as the entire Motrin website, was taken offline.
  
  
• By Monday morning, mainstream media news publications began running the story.

Doubtless, there are several very happy PR firms heading into emergency overdrive. Suffice it to say that despite the seeming best of intentions, Motrin screwed up about as badly as one could possibly imagine. Yet, there are lessons to be learned. Here are but three:

1. Be really, really careful when messing with moms

You never want to question a mom’s parenting practices. Or, if you must, realize that you are treading into very treacherous waters. Those of us with brothers and sisters internalized this truism long before we could sit upright at the dinner table.

More to the point, if you’re going to be reaching out to mommy bloggers with such a message, you should proceed with far, far greater caution. It’d be one thing if you offended, say, the beer bloggers by suggesting Motrin could alleviate their irresponsible (drinking) behavior. They might cast a glancing aspersion before getting back to their real work — talking and writing about beer. But mommy bloggers, by comparison, are a tightly-knit group whose unifying interests are — by definition — both their child and their role as mom. In essence, this is a highly-motivated group whose penchant for (biological) self-preservation knows no bounds. Rub them even slightly the wrong way and they will respond with (perfectly understandable) vigor and vitriol.

2. The idea that social media is a very powerful medium is very true — but it works both ways

Nearly every client we speak with in our current epoch has expressed an interest to incorporate the power of social media and social networking into their marketing arsenal. The common refrain goes “Let us all channel the power of the internet to drive enhanced brand awareness and leverage our brand.”

While we surely do not disagree with this approach in theory, as we learned in this important case, the mechanics of practice are another story. The processes undergirding social media and social networking are far, far more complex and complicated than many wide-eyed marketers would lead us to believe.

For example, we believe it is often — though not always — desirable to consider careful ethnographic study of any online or socially-networked community before moving forward with a marketing plan that attempts to harness the social power of such communities. To do otherwise would risk your brand becoming vulnerable to the sort of firestorm event described above.

3. When will we tire of trying to solve problems rather than provide opportunities?

This outcome represents the continued limitations inherent in industry’s stubborn refusal to abandon “solutions based” marketing perspectives. As we’ve been suggesting for several years now, consumers truly have very few bona-fide “problems” or “challenges” they are seeking solutions to — at least in the consumer marketplace. Sure we’d all like to work fewer hours, get more sleep or feel less stressed, but the fact is that we really don’t have a growing litany of pain occasions to which we seek innovative solutions.

That’s precisely why Bayer’s low-dosage aspirin campaign was so effective. Rather than trying to conjure yet another “pain problem” that their brand could solve, they took the opposite approach and pursued other opportunities that their brand might engender — in this case heart health.

In the case outlined above, simply reframing the initial insight from a “solution based problem” to an “opportunity” might have gone a long way toward addressing some of the more fundamental challenges with the ad’s cynical tone and language. More to the point, opening the perspective up to the nature of opportunity might have led to even more innovative — and conducive — pathways to reach mommy bloggers.

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