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.
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