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[...] How Motrin Should Respond To The Groundswell. Source: Jeremiah Owyang [...]

[...] How Motrin Should Respond To The Groundswell. Source: Jeremiah Owyang [...]

[...] you’re not familiar with how these two brands are related, read the Motrin Moms backstory (they have recently removed the apology from the corporate homepage), and the Kmart sponsored post [...]

[...] against the “Motrin Moms” ad and created something positive both to customer and company (as Jeremiah Owyang points out in his blog).  However, they chose to protect themselves, go on the defensive, and issue an apology letter.  [...]

[...] How Motrin Should Respond To The Groundswell – 4 things Motrin should do. I agree with all, but most especially with the 2nd point. [...]

Since, Jessica Gottlieb, who started the uproar on Twitter is a friend of mine, we have been discussing this quite a bit. One thing that Motrin didn’t do was reach out to her (beyond the apology – which admittedly was prompt and to the point). Most bloggers, Tweople and other social media users are quite approachable.

Large companies need to know that picking up the phone (or Blackberry) and developing a dialogue with consumers is not only prudent, it is forward thinking.

One other point is that Motrin should keep an eye on social media. My clients are often marketing to mothers. I KNOW who the top bloggers, Tweople and Facebook users are in that market.

They should too!

That is the way it should always be and if you consider your target audience first, it will be.
But I do believe that is where the real problem lies with Motrin. They forgot who their target audience was and allowed an ad agency to talk them into something completely off base.

So, my only concern with all that you have suggested (great points by the way) is that it would need to be executed by an ad agency and to try and optimize this opportunity with their existing agency, could very easily place them in a much more damaging situation. If they did not know that those ads were potentially offensive before they launched, there is little hope they would “get it” in time to capitalize on this opportunity.

The thoughts we had were very similar to what you expressed in Step #3 – use this as an opportunity to listen, reach out, and then empower members of the community to become Brand Champions for Motrin (they are obviously very passionate).
We appreciated the (relatively) quick apology that Motrin issued, but thought it fell flat since it was placed on their homepage and wasn’t broadcast in any of the channels that were creating the Groundswell to begin with.

The key factor that Motrin seemed to miss out on was the opportunity for engagement.

The marketing VP could at a minimum offer her personal email contact (even better, her direct phone line) and sincerely be open to feedback. She could ask: “What would you moms like to hear from us?” “How can we help now that we know we missed the mark?” “The moms on the Motrin team have been mobilized! We’re listening…”

Even major brands shouldn’t require a 6-week corporate-strategy-decision-making process to be open to consumer feedback. And let’s hurry up and recruit the moms from ANY department at McNeil Consumer Healthcare to begin to move the ball forward. Ask their consumer support folks for ideas on what’s next. Ask anyone at McNeil that interacts with their customers.

Less marketing. More connecting with moms.

I’m piling on to recommend they take down the apology too!

[...] Another fellow blogger put an intriguing blog post on How Motrin Should Respond To The GroundswellHere’s a quick excerptEmail Marketing Strategy » Blog Archive » How Motrin Should Respond To The Groundswell December 4th, 2008 10:07 am. […] Another fellow blogger added an interesting post on How Motrin Should Respond To The GroundswellHere’s a small … [...]

[...] Another fellow blogger added an interesting post on How Motrin Should Respond To The GroundswellHere’s a small excerptAbout · Contact · Web Strategy Vault · Web Strategy by Jeremiah Owyang | Social Media, Web Marketing. Jeremiah Owyang discusses how web tools and social media enable companies to connect with customers … [...]

In other words, they DO know that product-oriented press releases, advertisements, et cetera must be vetted carefully to avoid (real) liability threats. But this creates a default position of high caution & very deliberate (read: “slow”) reaction times for *any* outward-facing communication, even ones that pose no real liability and for which speed of response is of the essence.

It’s not that I have any special knowledge of the innards of J&J, but that I’ve seen this type of confusion in one organization after another.

It’s hard to tell if this changed mainstream perception of the brand, or impacted sales.

There’s no doubt it does hurt the marketing, SEO, and caused brand damage.

Do a search for Motrin on Google, and you’ll see TWO results on the front page be of the negative backlash.

Mainstream media picked up on this story –causing further damage.

Summary: It’s not as big as some may say, but it shouldn’t be as diminished as you may suggest.

No, but really, find out really why mother’s take Motrin (in general and specifically why Motrin). Keep your current target, revise the message, show you are learning.

pretty much has been said.

My guess is they are just letting it pass. It’s such a minor and unimportant issue that they know people will forget about it. Add that to the fact that if you’ve ever played sports or had a minor injury, doctors still to this day prescribe you with Ibuprofen (Motrin) because it helps reduce swelling.

I think they are doing exactly what they should be doing… ignore it. People who buy (Motrin or Advil) know they are buying Ibuprofen, which is sold in generic form, and they know what it’s purpose is.