Last night I gave a talk at Third Tuesday about building you personal brand, which was actually more of a “how to get started, find and audience, keep an audience, and grow from there”. I’d like to thank everyone who came out to the Granville Room (even though it may not have been an ideal spot), and also for the support and for asking some great questions. Apparently there were about 85 people last night, which is pretty amazing – now I just wish I would have had a microphone.
You can find Raul’s notes of my talk on his site, Tris did a live blog, Dale took a video of the entire talk (that I believe will be up on his Blip.TV account) and John Chow took a video that he promised would have embarrassing bloopers.
If you have any photos, posts, or video of the event please feel free to share in the comments.
A few days ago the makers of pain-reliever Motrin (Johnson & Johnson) launched a commercial campaign that annoyed and outraged mothers around the world.
“That couldn’t have been written by a mother,” noted my sister, Jennifer. “The speak about how carrying your baby around is in fashion, but it’s certainly not a passing fad nor a fashion statement – you need to carry your child… and the car seat… and the stroller.”
Complaints about the ad were flooding through social networks like Twitter this weekend. Jennifer added, “some of the comments I read online said that ‘mommy bloggers’ were taking things too seriously. But, um, aren’t ‘mommies’ the target audience for this ad?”
In a demonstration of the growing power of social media, on Monday the company issued an apology and withdrew an ad that was meant to be a light-hearted look at ‘baby wearing.’ …Instead, the online video offended a large majority of moms. They not only weren’t laughing, they were making their views known in an online storm that blasted through the blogosphere and the micro-blogging website Twitter, spiking traffic and spreading bad news about the brand. [Vancouver Sun]
I was asked by the Sun for my thoughts on Motrin’s use of social media for this campaign.
“The first mistake was the content of the Motrin ad. And then they didn’t follow up and see the online reaction. It is the second biggest topic on Twitter after Christmas.” The conversations varied from vitriolic to very funny. [Vancouver Sun]
The NY Times noted that within 48 hours people were taking matters into their own hands.
By Sunday afternoon a few bloggers and tweeters had gotten the ad agency that created the ad on the phone, to find they didn’t know a lot about Twitter and didn’t seem to have a clue that there was so much anger piling up online. [NY Times]
However, Sean Moffitt with Buzz Canuck reminds us all that this was just an ad, which has actually since been retracted with an apology:
“Unlike previous social media infernos, Motrin neither lied (Sony), deceived about their identity (Wal-Mart), endangered/inconvenienced a city (Aqua Teen Hunger Force) or provided dubious insider tips (Whole Foods). It was simply an ad. As ads go, it was more intriguing than most…perhaps with the same ad executed poorly, we might have never noticed it.”
True, a lot more harm could have been done, and because of this outcry (because apparently mothers cry all the time) the ad was pulled. Case closed… or is it?
It’s an example of how quickly word travels. The ad can be launched, up on YouTube, and around the world 10 times before you take another sip of your coffee or in this case, before the end of the weekend.
Now all but the bravest marketers are going to worry about this kind of outcry and yet another layer of political correctness will creep in. [Buzz Canuck]
I don’t think this should scare people off, I just think there’s a bigger conversation out there that companies need to be a part of.
“One bright spot is that we have learned through this process – in particular, the importance of paying close attention to the conversations that are taking place online. It has also brought home the importance of taking a broader look at what we say and how it may be interpreted.” [Johnson & Johnson Blog]
Ways to fix this? Get some of those ‘mommy bloggers’ to submit ideas for an ad, or send them some Motrin and have them create their own YouTube videos about how it effectively helped them.
The simplest way for now is to sign up for a Twitter account and check things out for yourself or at least become familiar with the social media tools you are using (you don’t even need an account to check out trending topics either). Being social and having discussions is what social media is all about, as the parody video (above) suggests.
It’s the time of year that makes me excited for brisk walks where you need to cover your nose with your scarf to help it thaw and cozying up with hot chocolate and a blanket on the couch while watching Peter Billingsley shoot his eye out. In local malls, castles with thrones and digital cameras on tripods are being setup and trees are trimmed with lights aglow. Ah, November.
I admit I am getting slightly excited after seeing an ad for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. It’s what I equate to being the start of the holiday season, and that’s probably thanks to Miracle on 34th Street. Here in Vancouver we don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in November, nor do we have a Macy’s but we do have other special events that just might get us in the holiday spirit soon enough.
The parade starts at 4:00 pm SHARP & travels along Columbia St. between 4th & 8th St., ending up at Hyack Square (Beside the Keg).
When I was little my family would attend the Hyack Parade each spring. I knew to watch for the clowns with shovels following the RCMP horses, when the Shriners would come by on their mini motorcycles, and when the May Queen would cruise by. I’m not sure what the Christmas parade entails but I’m certain it will be as much fun.
In Vancouver, and on the same weekend, there’s the fifth annual Rogers Santa Claus Parade Sunday, December 7th at 1:00pm.
With a longer parade route, there will be great viewing all along the route but especially: On both sides of Georgia Street on the slope between Bute and Broughton, at the Vancouver Art Gallery, or at Robson Square on Howe Street
The new route goes from Broughton at Georgia, then right on Howe until Davie. Parades are always a good time (except for the part when the clowns come out) but make sure to dress appropriately for the weather… and save me a candy cane. More events and holiday fun times will be posted in the coming weeks.
Aside from watching the hockey game tonight, I’ll also be keeping an eye on the civic election results for all cities in the Greater Vancouver region. Actually, my focus will be on Vancouver and Surrey as they’re the municipalities to which I am most closely tied (and I voted in Vancouver). My source for information tonight is the CBC online and hopefully after the polls close at 8:00pm I’ll have some good news to report (*cough* go Paul! *cough*)
Update: Gregor Robertson is being called the new mayor of the city of Vancouver [CBC] with 123 of 133 polls reporting. More results can be found on the CivicBC site although it seems to be up and down this evening (probably due to high traffic).
Photo credit: Raul on Flickr (Sept 2008) Sheila and Me with the (now) new mayor of Vancouver Gregor Robertson
Update: You can follow chatter and results on Twitter – #civicvote2008.
Update: Above is a map of how neighbourhoods in Vancouver voted. Green is for Robertson of Vision Vancouver and red is for Ladner of the NPA.
Update: Dianne Watts has been re-elected as the mayor of Surrey, but our friend Paul just didn’t quite make the cut for City Council and School Trustee [Surrey Results].
Update: News1130 has basic results listed here, click on a city name to see more results:
– Derek Corrigan re-elected Burnaby.
– Dianne Watts re-elected Surrey.
– Lois Jackson mayor Delta.
– Richard Stewart new mayor Coquitlam.
– Pamela Goldsmith-Jones re-elected West Vancouver.
– Greg Moore mayor Port Coquitlam.
– Peter Fassbender re-elected City of Langley.
– Malcolm Brodie re-elected Richmond.
– Wayne Wright re-elected New Westminster.
– Don Mclean mayor – Pitt Meadows.
– Joe Trasolini re-elected Port Moody.
– Ralph Drew mayor Belcarra Village.
– Richard Walton mayor District of North Vancouver.
– Darrell Mussatto mayor City of North Vancouver.
– James Atebe re-elected Mission.
– Ernie Daykin mayor Maple Ridge.
– Rick Green mayor Langley Township.
– George Peary mayor Abbotsford.
– Catherine Ferguson mayor White Rock [PDF]
– Branching outside of the Lower Mainland: New mayors elected in most Northern-BC communities [CBC] & Kelowna mayor has been re-elected [CBC].
Update:#civicvote2008 is now the second most talked about topic on Twitter today. With almost a million people on Twitter, it’s pretty cool to see British Columbians having active discussions about the process online.
Millions of dollars have been poured into reshaping Stanley Park after windstorms in 2006 devastated the park, money has been spent on everything from solidifying the cliffs that hang above the seawall to making trails safe. However, $9 million later and the seawall closed today due to a mudslide. Continue reading this post ⟩⟩
