I don’t want to belabor “the post” or the topic. I’m tired!
But my head, twitter stream, email box have been filled these past few days with the major #fail by Toys “R” Us and Lead Dog Marketing with the pitch heard ’round the world (which, should be noted, the microsite related to the pitch is currently “under maintenance.”)
I don’t want to belabor “the post.”
I will, however, take this opportunity to make some additional comments on “The Situation” as it stands now. Also, because Kim’s a yenta and she asked.
- The big question. No. I haven’t heard from any representative of Toys “R” Us or their agency Lead Dog Marketing. I can’t say I’m all that surprised, actually. What did I expect? I assume that they’ve seen the twitter streams. I mean, the infamous microsite is “under maintenance” now. Something’s up. But, I didn’t think hat they’d actually respond to the twitter streams. Clearly, there is a disconnect between client/ agent and really, I wouldn’t want to be involved in those conversations now. I didn’t want or expect any sort of apology or acceptance of wrongdoing over email. I don’t need that. But, I would have liked a response from someone, anyone related to this to at least have sent out some sort of communication to my twitter friends and/or I something like, “we heard you, we understand your concerns, and we’re having internal conversations/ working on it/ doing some shots to think better about it.” Just something simple. But, as of 9 pm on this Thursday night, radio silence.
What I would do if I were running the “I Want to Be a Toys R Us Mom” Campaign right now. Because I do think at the core it’s a great idea. And, the tagline is catchy. First, I’d send out an email to those who’ve been pitched, or, at the very least, those that have been vocal in tweeting about the campaign that those voices have been heard. I’d then spend time culling the contact list of bloggers and web site owners to ensure that the right targets are being targeted (i.e. I delete those who asked to be deleted!) And I would stop calling them/ us “mom promoters.” Because we aren’t at a night club, people. I’d rethink the fundamentals of the campaign. TRU wants community and local outreach? Host company-sponsored events at the local stores but don’t ask bloggers to make “in store” appearances, as if they’re Geoffrey the Giraffe. Invite them as VIPs. Take them on a behind-the-scenes tour of the revamped store. Let them test out merchandise. Do a giveaway but don’t make the bloggers do it. Treat them like you’d treat a reporter who was covering the retail industry. Make them want to write about you, not “promote” you. We all know your main goal is to get people in your stores, but one of the fundamentals of PR is third-party advocacy, and nowadays there’s no better way to get people in your stores than word of mouth. Let it happen organically. TRU wants a banner ad online campaign component to complement the in store events? Pony up the dollars and pay for it. PR can work more organically, but you gotta pay for banner ads.
(Edited to add: It occurred to me in the middle of the night – of course – if TRU/ agency wants a “microsite” so badly, why not host that on the TRU.com site? Then, select an exclusive number of “TRU Moms” to help with the online campaign. TRU moms can contribute to the microsite, review new products/ stores, comment on likes/ disklikes of toys, etc. If Wal-Mart can do it, so can they!)
- I need to apologize. I was talking to my husband this week who rarely makes appearances or mentions on this blog (other than my best one-liner from the last post) about the attention this one post got on my itty-bitty blog. He’s my best critic and biggest fan really, even though he keeps a low profile. (Just ask Cynthia about that.) He thought I could have made the point about the agency’s blogger relations outreach #fail without laying into Emily and Lindsay so much. I do not regret “naming names” because those two were the “face” of the campaign and outreach, but I do regret making their names so central to the point. The point that as a marketer you must understand your audience and what you are asking for and be smart about your plan. I made plenty of mistakes as a junior-level account exec. But there was no blogosphere then to call it out. Taking a step back after a few days, I’m sorry I didn’t generalize it just a little bit more.
- I want to figure out where we all (me included) go from here. I’ve felt this way about blogger/ brand/ agency relations since I started blogging 4 years ago. But this is the first time I’ve been able to articulate it properly and in the right context. I’ve gotten so much support from so many amazing bloggers and friends from this post that it’s very inspiring to do something and make something of that voice I have. So we’ll see about that. But I also want to figure out how to make this better without having the same conversation over and over again. Because as I said in the post, neither sides are all right or all wrong. In five more years of blogging (my husband says “oy”), I don’t want tweets to say, “PR people don’t get it” or “I can’t believe someone asked me to do a sponsorship without payment” or “I hate PR people.” I’m not entirely sure how we’re all going to get there, but it will probably have a lot to do with attending awesome conferences and the kind of grass-roots education my post and others provide. Maybe I’ll even attend one one of these days.
And, with that, I’m going to attend to my other “Situation.” Testing out the best jeggings.
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
More education on both sides, is where we go, but who will work on that? Like you, I’ve been talking about this on twitter for years, sometimes on my blog, and a LOT in back channels. More than once I’ve found myself on a panel in front of a room full of PR people talking about this exact topic and am asked the same.exact.questions.every.time. It’s ok if that’s what it takes, I think I’d just like to see more progress, you know?
Also, why the guy with the abs??? LOL
I agree… maybe I glossed over that future topic too much… Perhaps we need like a web series or a summit just for marketing folks. This summit I went to this week was great that way. I’d like to see the vicious cycle end at some point, however.
To address what you and Arianne said? BlogWorld Expo this year makes so many sessions that center around this topic that I’ve lost count. Yes, we will be addressing it again – you can only fit so many people into a room at one time!
Don’t lose heart you guys — remember that we’re fighting *decades* of ingrained behavior and B-school curriculum. This is the 21st century and we’re still talking about it as “new media”. Just keep sending the message out. Eventually? It will be the exception rather than the rule to hear about poorly-executed campaigns.
And honestly? I love your ideas as presented in this post. Maybe TRU should be talking to you about how much you charge to architect a campaign for them.
It’s too bad you did not get any response from them. I agree with Lucretia! As you know, I’m a strong believer if the value that a “mom’s-eye view” can add to campaigns. Getting such input up front can help avoid gaffs like this.
I’ve been a reader for a while and this is my first comment. I find this whole discussion tiresome. I read you blog because I think you write well and it’s fun and interesting to follow you. But I really don’t care how you make your money or what offers you are getting to promote other capital ventures. I just want you to know that all this belly-aching about the Toys-R-Us thing doesn’t flatter you. If your blog (and Kim/Hormone’s, for that matter) becomes all about blogging, it’s just not going to be interesting to me, a non-blogger, anymore. I’m not sure if any other readers are out there who feel the way I do – but I might represent a good chunk of your readers, who knows? Just my two.
I enjoy the blog but find it bizarre how you can be so self righteous that on the one hand you talk about being “preyed” upon, but then on the other hand indicate that if you were offered money you’d be happy to promote something. I’m not sure that I’d call that “integrity.” I feel compeled to comment because I thought it was insensitive to call out the actual names of the marketing people who are just doing their jobs and seemed to be pretty straight forward about it. I’m not sure about the official protocol in the blog world but I do think that it’s unproductive to fill the blogosphere with such negative energy.
For me, it really just comes down to feeling respected and valued. And I think that’s true for all sides of the pr process — the brand, promoters, and target audience. I’ve found that it is hard to get that balance right for everyone involved — but when it works, partnerships between moms and brand can really be effective.
Well, as someone who was on the receiving end of being burned by the campaign, I would suggest that this agency hire a few mom bloggers for consulting. If they want to step into our world, understand our needs/concerns and make those mesh with their clients needs, they need to get to know us and how we work.
While not everyone will agree with your post on this matter, I applaud you for opening up and being the voice for so many bloggers (like myself) who didn’t have it in them to speak out.
I was contacted my Lindsay and worked with her on this campaign in June as well. I also snorted when I read the initial pitch and couldn’t believe what I was being asked for. It was poorly laid out, vague in some ways and asking for way too much for a simple link on a website in return. So I asked for much more and I got it. I felt I was compensated nicely with a nice gift card, gift bag and a gift bag to be given away, which amounted to two posts, two posts on facebook and 5 tweets. I received all my items in a timely manner and have no complaints. But I was told about Cat’s issues with getting what she was promised in exchange for her work so I knew there were issues. Then I started getting emails checking to make sure I got everything I was supposed to and then again today from Emily to let me know the microsite was down and another “offering” for my participation. In my case I got nothing bad in the exchange except for that initial horrible pitch. I’m sorry to see that isn’t the experience everyone else had and I personally have no hard feelings.
And now there is no more campaign. Sad really because it could have been great!
That’s great, Emilie. I, too, asked for more and just got rebuffed because other bloggers were doing it “for free.” It’s too bad yes, that the campaign ended and that they weren’t more consistent about their approach. I did hear back from the PR dept at Toys R Us who said that the comments here were duly noted. Maybe they will reinstate it under better pretenses next time!