Marketing in the Age of Google: Your Online Strategy IS Your Business Strategy, Revised and Updated

AVERTING A PUBLIC RELATIONS DISASTER

Up-to-the-minute focus groups via search of social media chatter not only provide long-term insight into future product direction and customer engagement but can alert you to an issue before it becomes a crisis.

When Motrin launched its “baby wearing” campaign, they didn’t need to commission a customer survey to find out how viewers perceived it. They had to look no further than Twitter, a microblogging service that enables anyone to post short thoughts on the Web (Figure 9.8).

Figure 9.8 Motrin Ad: “Baby Wearing”

Source: Motrin

A quick search the day after the campaign launched revealed that many moms were offended by the campaign; in fact, they created the #motrinmom hashtag (a grassroots categorization system that enables users to cluster their posts together under a single topic) to compile their grievances. The negative posts rose quickly (Figure 9.9).5

Figure 9.9 [Motrin] Trends on Twitter

Source: Twitscoop.com

The New York Times noted that within hours of the campaign launch, #motrinmom was the most tweeted subject on Twitter.6 A YouTube video sprung up that showcased the posts (Figure 9.10).7

Figure 9.10 Mom’s Take Their Motrin Anger to YouTube

Source: YouTube

Motrin may have had a misstep with the campaign, but they had instant ...