tell3000

Motrin Moms Tell Way More than 3000!

A fascinating case study is unfolding online regarding a Motrin video and TV commercial triggered a viral backlash among the segment I refer to in Satisfied Customers Tell Three Friends, Angry Customers Tell 3000, as "Power Moms."  Recall:

"Power Moms, who often balance their careers with parenting, have little free time and therefore have no choice but to connect and communication in the most efficient way possible. Bound by a sense of community and responsibility, Power Moms will go out of their way to tell fellow parents and other consumers about their opinions on or experiences with products or companies -- particularly those, like cold medicines or diapers or minivans, that have to do with the health and safety of their families."

In this case, the platform of choice for the Power Moms is Twitter, and this puts the controversy on hyper-drive.  Like it or not, Twitter has dramatically accelerated the delivery time of "feedback moments." This particular issue moved so fast that a nine-minute Twitter-montage has already been posted to the YouTube documenting negative reactions to the ad campaign. According to the Crunchy Domestic Goddess blog, the brand has formally responded and retracted the ad. Marketing bloggers are having a field day with the topic -- in fact, they are driving a good percentage of the overall conversation --  and David Armano's thoughtful analysis is one of the best so far.  (My response to his post here.)  Kevin Dugan also weighs in, while Steve Hall at Ad-Rants thinks we're all going a bit overboard on the issue.  Oh, and there's even a counter-video to that effect (thanks, Kevin Dugan, for heads-up).  My wife and I are huge fans of the baby-slings and carriers so I'll conduct perhaps the most important "focus group" on the spot tomorrow morning. 

 

Tell 3000 Notebook: Lessons from the Complaint-Laden Apple iPhone3G Launch

In today's "consumer controlled surveillance culture," it's hard to get away with anything, even if you are a prized and value brand. Today, Apple officially started selling it's new lower-priced iPhone3G, and within hours of the phones hitting the stores, complaints started to surface about service glitches.  Interesting, even members of the media -- including Philip Elmer-DeWitt, who live blogged the event -- used the power of social media to record problems almost instantly. 

• Key Learning #1: The brand buffer between "experience" and "exposure" is disappearing.
• Key Learning #2: Pre-work everything that could go wrong before the launch
• Key Learning #3: If folks are practically camping out the night before, assume they'll want activation immediately so they can tell others.  Inevitably, this will tax the servers (a big part of the problem)
• Key Learning #4: Perhaps Apple and AT&T should have released the software ahead of time...even a day or two. This might have relaxed the stress on the servers.