Overview

Motrin recently rolled out a campaign addressing the pain caused by carrying babies. A well-intentioned but ill-informed decision, which led to a Twitter revolt, complete with it’s own hash tag, #motrinmom. Motrin’s failure to respond to consumers online led to the story moving offline to the mainstream press.

Response

Motrin waited several days before pulling the ad, and addressing the feedback on their website. However, by this time, the story had already bubbled over and moved to main- stream media.

Outcome

-Motrin neglected to properly research their audience prior to rolling out a campaign that was clearly offensive to a highly influential group of women, newly empowered by social media.

-Johnson & Johnson, parent company to Motrin, had to pull the multi-million dollar ad campaign just days after it launched, losing millions in potential revenue.

-Motrin neglected to monitor the feedback online so customers increased the volume to a point where it was picked up in mainstream media.

-This event actually helped Twitter move into the mainstream, and the jury is still out regarding the lasting effects of this situation for Motrin.

Key Takeaways

-LISTEN FIRST: Monitor the conversations happening on social media every day, as it relates to the brand. We started a monitoring program regarding the Marsh situation and the initial results are included.

-RESEARCH: Understand  how and why your customer is using social media, and how your brand plays a role in their lives. Not just their age cell, purchase habits, zip code, and household income. Knowing how they think and feel, and how they live, is critical to creating messaging that works, and at the very least, doesn’t incite a virtual riot.

-CONSUMER GENERATED CONTENT: Marketers and agencies are not the only ones who can develop and execute messaging effectively with video.

-RESPOND QUICKLY: Don’t let the situation boil over – respond quickly and decisively, and openly. Admit your mistakes.

Research for this article came from Disrpuptology, WebStrategist.com, and jnjbtw.com

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