Slice of Life: Jenni Beattie, Director, Digital Democracy

We'd love you to meet Jenni Beattie, Director of Digital Democracy. Jenni recently launched her consultancy which combines social media with her expertise in public relations, communications, knowledge management and market research. Not only does Ms Beattie know her stuff, she's has one of the most impressive shoe collections around...


So what's your story?
I grew up on the South Coast of NSW lived across the road from the beach so it was fantastic. I moved to Sydney many years ago to do my degree at UTS (Information Science and Mass Comms) and I now live in the inner-west of Sydney. I have two children 8 and 12 which keeps me busy as well as a feisty cattle dog that demands two walks a day! I recently resigned my roles as Director of Digital Consulting and opened up my own social media consultancy called Digital Democracy.

Can you tell me a little more about Digital Democracy?
Yes. Digital Democracy fills a gap in the market by looking at Social Media very wholistically. As I have a background in pr, communications, knowledge management and market research. I view Social Media with those eyes and help organisations get the most from the tools. I am passionate about basing creative ideas on tangible research foundations.

Where did the name Digital Democracy come from?
Now that many people have access to the web we all have the ability to comment, create and review media online. Technology today has given consumers the ability to have a voice whether it is about politics, brands or services – hence digital democracy.

You mentioned working in varying fields can you tell us more about that mix of sectors?
Yes, over the past 20 years I have worked with a great range of organisations and across the marketing field. For example, I worked at News Ltd as a research manager, with McCann Erickson Advertising as a researcher, worked at Media Monitors as a Communications Manager and at Network PR as a Online Research Manager developing their online engagement methodology. More recently I worked at the Digital Edge as the Director of Digital Consulting where I developed and managed online research communities.

What clients have you worked on in the past?
While at Network PR I worked on Paramount Pictures social media strategy for their films – that was very entertaining! At the Digital Edge I set up online communities for Kelloggs, Weight Watchers, Sara Lee, Kimberly Clark and others.

What type of work are you doing now?
Six weeks in and I am working with companies on sales collateral, running social media courses for pr agencies, developing social media strategies for a film currently in development and doing research projects for agencies. Lots of variety!

Right now I'm:

Reading... too many blogs and also a few guide books on Japan

Eating.... mandarins – I love this time of year.

Listening... to Brian Eno

Planning.. a trip to Tokyo for three weeks in September (hope North Korea behave themselves)

Buying... birthday presents for my 8 year old son – it’s a sleepover party so it’s going to be …energetic!

Enjoying... seeing my business grow even in recessionary times.

Drinking... strong coffees in the morning and herbal teas in the evenings (and a few glasses of wine in between)

Media monitoring

Online Reptuation Management: REMO style

Some months ago in Digital Ministry I penned an article about Remo being one of the first Australian websites to build a community around ecommerce.

Recently in light of the Victorian bushfires Remo had a new t-shirt designed that was a fundraiser with all money going to the Victorian fire appeal. On the surface it looked like a no-brainer, good product idea married with an altruistic purpose (they'd done it before the the "Sorry" t-shirt). Technically it should have ticked all the boxes. But… it didn’t pan out that way.



What ensued was actually a good case-study of online crisis management.

So how did the crisis unfold?

STEP 1: The t-shirt went up on display with the offer that

“100% of the proceeds from the sale of this design will be donated by REMO on behalf of its CustOMERs to the Australian Red Cross Victorian Bushfire Appeal”

STEP 2: A range of positive and negative feedback from members occurred regarding the t-shirt with some members particularly upset about the original design (not shown here) that had a fire blaze and an unhappy face. Comments included:

"This is not an opportunity for SELF PROMOTION! You've lost me.... I won't be back! And please people, just donate direct to the Red Cross. That way all of your money goes direct to the recipients."

"Sorry, but I find this particularly bad taste. This is not a merchandising or marketing opportunity! Asking customers to donate directly to the Red Cross Appeal would be a far more appropriate response rather than celebrating it on a T-Shirt."

"The Black Saturday T-shirt design would have been somewhat more poignant with out the sad face. I mean really, that's obvious, and I think it just makes it a little tacky."

STEP.3. Remo to his credit followed the Crisis Management handbook to the letter. So what did he do?

a. He apologised – admitted there was a problem.



b. He responded quickly – in fact the same day

c. He responded to each individual with a personal message.



d. He listened. Members of the community particularly disliked the flame and unhappy face. He then had the t-shirt redesigned extremely quickly without these elements. Even some of those that were critical had turned around:

"Given my earlier suggestion to drop the :( and flame I must revise this up to 5 stars. But I still advocate direct donations..........and buy the tee-shirt too."

The events that happened online happened extremely quickly – online communities move fast.

What was also interesting apart from Remo’s control of the situation was the ability of an online community to self-regulate with some members coming to the defence of Remo saying:

"I don't think it's in bad taste, it is a way of showing support for those victims and whenever you wear the t-shirt will remind yourself and others of the support these victims need. It is no different than attending a football game whose proceeds go to the same benefit."

While the crisis occurred online what ensued showed that the old crisis management techniques still apply and are more important than ever.

Thanks to Jenni Beattie from The Digital Edge for this post.

Media monitoring

The Motrin Video Disaster: Learning about PR2.0 the hard way

As any good marketing strategist would tell you understanding your consumer is critical to getting the right messages and conversations with your target audience.

Unfortunately, US J&J/McNeil Consumer Healthcare rolled out an online video on the brand website for Motrin.com, which during only one day , infuriated thousands of people. The video talked about pain relief for mothers carrying their babies in slings or babypacks referring to it as ‘fashionable’ – the tone itself was highly condescending. Although the offending video was pulled from Motrin.com, someone else uploaded it to YouTube for all to see. View the video for yourself below:

(if you're getting this post via email and can't see the video, click here)

Today getting the message wrong has never been more brand-destroying. The reason: the blogosphere moves extremely fast and can be extremely damaging to a brand. For example, negative comments regarding the video were picked up by mum bloggers in the US who then spread the negative word throughout Twitter (view video capturing tweets). This naturally caused a large backlash towards both Motrin and J&J/McNeil.

(if you're getting this post via email and can't see the video, click here)

To their credit McNeil Consumer HealthCare did try to engage with bloggers after the fact, but the damage was already done.

Key Lessons:

1. Listen to the Consumer: The phama company could have engaged key mum bloggers (influentials) early in the campaign development via market research company to gain feedback from this audience. An ideal way to reach and listen to that segment would be via an online community – an interactive space set up where particpants converse about key topics.

2. Engage in the Blogosphere – ensure that you are tuned into blogs, Twitterers and forums that your clients are likely to participate in - this will give you better understand your segment, and create constructive channels for feedback on new products, services or campaigns

Thanks to Jenni Beattie, Director of Digital Consulting at The Digital Edge for this post.

Tracking the media, monitoring the message

Market Research Online Communities get closer to the consumer

Recently we invited Jenni Beattie from The Digital Edge to give us the low down on MROCs and what they can do for marketers. And it's good stuff we thinks!



Have you heard the acronym MROC? It stands for market research online communities. These are bespoke online communities set up for clients by market research companies to listen and converse with consumers.

While relatively unknown of in Australia, MROC's have been around for a while in the US and UK. Unlike branded online communities that are managed by companies themselves (such as Dell’s Ideastorm), MROCs are managed for the clients with specific objectives in mind. Communities can run anywhere from a few days, to weeks, and even on an ongoing basis.

The Digital Edge, a newly formed digital research division is the first research house in Australia to offer MROCs - leading the way in innovative research practices.

Recent MROCs commissioned by the Digital Edge include areas such luxury travel, FMCG and fitness and health. MRCOS are ideal for subjects that have high ‘talkability’ – the previous examples of our client sectors are an indicator of some sectors that work extremely well in a qualitative environment. Other areas that work well are ones that may in fact need a more discreet anonymous environment rather than face-to-face, for example some personal care/pharmaceutical products.

MROCs have been used for different purposes. Clients objectives are all different but some that we have implemented include: ideas for creative advertising concepts, feedback on new menu items and ideas for new product development.

Participants for MROC communities are typically recruited from The Digital Edge's own custom panel www.youropinion.com.au where they have confidence in the quality of members. Occasionally MROC members have also come from companies internal customer databases – both setups can be accommodated.

Benefits of this form of market research include is its quick turn-around time, ability to build brand advocates (for long term projects) and gain participation from a range of people without the traditional geographic boundaries. Plus consumers can help shape some of the research (more active, less passive) and it provides the ability for clients to dip in/out of the community if they have a retainer style MROC. Prices are also surprisingly affordable for such rich qualitative insights.

Marketing has recently come of age with an increased focus on consumer empowerment and the social media platform that drives it. Today market research is also harnessing new platforms to give the consumer an even greater say while providing clients with even richer consumer insights.

For more information contact The Digital Edge.

Tracking the media, monitoring the message