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Quite a bit has been written about McDonald's Open for Discussion blog (it's on the topic of corporate social responsibility) and the blog's non-response to readers' negative comments about miniature Hummers as Happy Meals giveaways....
Before I tell McDonald's VP and corporate blog author Bob Langert to stuff it because he's doing a really bad job of it, I'd like to offer him a little advice.
Bob, admit you weren't listening!
Bob, it's not too late to pull yourself out of this hole. Hummer toys are cool collectibles and yes of course your colleagues' children love them. But what they represent is antithetical to your desire to expound, through the CSR blog, on McDonald's environmentally responsible initiatives. You wrote in a somewhat garbled sentence: "I do not see this promotion as a reflection of our commitment to strategies that will conserve non-renewable resources and reduce the environmental footprint of our restaurant business--and our supply chain." Huh?!
What I think you meant (if I can wade through that mouthful of corporate-speak) is that you see the promotion as a harmless marketing ploy that you had nothing to do with. Therefore it isn't connected to your loftier mission of promoting McD's CSR. Hmmm...
On one level you are correct. If my son were of Happy Meal age (alas, he's all grown up) I know he'd go nuts for a mini Hummer. But I'm sure you can see (wince...) there's a bit of a disconnect here.
Offer a cheerful apology with an "Oops"
An "oops" blog entry is in order. Ya gotta apologize. First for failing to promptly post readers' comments about the Hummer giveaway. And secondly for not responding in a cogent way to what your readers are saying.
Their comments are great provocative: "Thanks Bob for posting all the comments, better late than never eh? I look forward to your responses and participation in the discussion. Questions for you: Would McDonalds allow Colt to give away a toy gun in Happy Meals? If not, why not?" - Al Tepper
Then move on and blog some more
Bob, chalk this up to taking your lumps in the blogosphere. As long as you promise to listen more carefully to your smart readers in the future and to speak more credibly, you'll do fine. Please, give us more authentic Bob-think. And a lot less corporate-speak.
Looking forward to your next post...
Useful Links
Would you like fries with your hummer? (Christopher Carfi)
McDonald's blog not open for discussion (Jackie Huba)
McDonald's VP McBlogs About the Hummer (Elana Centor)
Fortune senior writer Marc Gunther on McBlogging
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Comments
It might also be helpful for Bob to check out one of his store's parking lots and drive thrus. I doubt Hummers represent a view of his customers' economic status or lifestyle. What is the message sent? We don't know who our customers are.
Posted by: Lewis Green | 09.15.06
Last I heard, it took 5 days for the negative comments to show up, and what's interesting is that during those 5 days was when the blogosphere ran with this story. So it's possible to assume that McDonalds really was going to censor those comments, and only published them after the backlash among bloggers.
This is yet another case of a company thinking they can start blogging on THEIR terms, and not that of the community. It's really disappointing because blogging offers SO many opportunities for progressive companies that are willing to CEDE some control of their message to the community and that actually want honest COMMUNICATION with their customers.
Communication leads to greater understanding. Trying to control the conversation leads to blogger-backlash, as McDonalds is finding out the hard way.
Posted by: Mack Collier | 09.15.06
I appreciate McDonald's CSR efforts and I wish more corporations would follow suit since every bit *does* help, but they've really missed the mark with their blog so far.
Bob's postings sound highly scripted and he doesn't seem to ever respond to any comments (if you find a comment by him, let me know). In his "Postscript on Hummers," he says:
The important thing is that we listen to--and respect--one another's viewpoints. That's the mission of this blog. To be frank, I've been hoping for more comments, more dialogue.
I'd be willing to bet that the reason they aren't getting more comments is because Bob never posts a comment in return. What's the point of leaving a comment if no one ever responds? How can he hope to have a dialog if he doesn't talk back in a substantive way?
Right now, the CSR blog is just VP Posting:Reader Reaction, with none of the follow-up required to make it a living blog.
Dell seemed to get the point and has been doing better at responding to comments in an engaged way. Here's hoping we can get McDonald's participating in an actual conversation, too.
Posted by: Ariel | 09.15.06
Debbie, Most of the Hummer comments came in during my extended three holiday trip with my family in Europe. I just returned. This issue generated the most comments. I know blogging is a commitment to be "on" all the time and I need to reply more often to comments. I am committed to this. And I trust you and others will help will help keep me on track and give me good advice.
Posted by: Bob Langert | 10.01.06