Many online women have come to know, appreciate, and participate in the weekly event hosted by Mom It Forward known as Girls Night Out, or in Twitter speak, #GNO.
While the events are generally once a week, the online Twitter chats, designated by the #GNO hashtag can occur up to three times per week. The chats are generally sponsored, which means that a brand has contributed something towards the evening?s chat, such as chat panelists, chat topics, and giveaways.
This past week saw an unusual sponsor for #GNO that not only raised eyebrows but managed to result in heavy tweeting and a cancellation.
On Tuesday, March 6th, Mom It Forward had a planned sponsor for the #GNO chat. Store Brand Formulas was co-host a planned Twitter chat about safety and feeding tips for baby. Giveaways for the chat included a Kindle Fire and?store brand formula (ARV: $250).
So what went wrong?
Word got out and many online moms took issue not only with the content of the chat but also with what they considered to be potential violations of the World Health Organization?s International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes.
One of the most vocal opponents was Laura, who tweeted multiple times throughout the evening:
Laura was joined by many others that shared her sentiment, include phdinparenting:
The question then came up, was this really just bullying by breastfeeding moms that think formula is bad in any sense of the word? Or did it really come down to a violation of the WHO code? And ultimately, what was the reason the chat was canceled?
Jyl Johnson Pattee, the founder of?Mom It Forward, said that she and Store Brand Infant Formula?partnered to host a #gno?Twitter party. The objective was to have a discussion about safety and baby feeding tips. Together, they hoped to create a forum in which moms could have an honest, open discussion?on infant feeding in a nice and welcoming environment.
When asked about the specifics of why the Twitter party was canceled, she said ?Given the strong opinions that were expressed prior to the Twitter party, both parties?Mom It Forward?and Store Brand Infant Formula?were concerned that we would be unable to have a?supportive, balanced conversation, which would result in having participants not feel?comfortable sharing their personal experiences.?
While that answers the question about why the party was canceled, there was still concern over whether this was a bad idea or a realization of how savvy online women are to the codes that regulate things like formula marketing.
Jeremy Jones, representing Store Brand Formula, weighed in with his perspective on why they felt it best to cancel the twitter party.
?The United States is not signatory to The World Health Organization?International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes, commonly referred to as the??WHO Code.?? Per U.S. law, ?Store Brand Formula fully complies with and meets the requirements of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act for infant formula under the regulation of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Store Brand Formulas provide complete nutrition to support infant growth and development at a great value to families.? Every label we sell in the U.S. clearly states ?BREAST MILK IS BEST FOR BABIES?? and our website includes details about the?benefits of breastfeeding.? Additionally, we provide accurate and science-based infant feeding information to mothers so that they can make informed decisions about how to nourish their children.? As the World Health Organization has stated, ?Women have the right to proper nutrition, to decide how to feed their children and to full information and appropriate conditions that will enable them to carry out their decisions.?
The intent of the Twitter Party was to provide a forum for moms to discuss a full range of topics around infant nutrition.? This is obviously a subject with many strongly held beliefs and we have the utmost respect for all points of view.?? When it became clear that the environment at the time of the event might not be comfortable for all moms to share their points of view, we made the decision to cancel the event.?
Clearly, a formula company has to be savvy in their marketing endeavors these days and it appears that Store Brand Formula knows exactly which side of the fine line to walk.
Is it a disservice to have canceled a chat that perhaps many women were looking forward to regardless of their stance on breastfeeding? In this case, the ?right? answer lies in the eyes of the beholder, or in this case, the hands of the tweeter.
(This post is the author?s opinion.)
Fadra Nally is an accidental blogger. After she found herself on the government payroll (re: unemployment) for the second time in a year, she decided to go find herself. The result was her personal blog, all.things.fadra, where she writes about the humorous and inspirational side of life. Since then, she's also started, Social Dialect, a site that focuses on helping brands and bloggers speak the same language. When she's not blogging, you'll find her on twitter @allthingsfadra
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