LinkedIn isn’t known for producing beef. That’s Twitter’s domain. But recently an exchange on the professional platform got me thinking about the importance of managing your brand’s reputation in the big moments and the small.
Enter Modibodi v Boody.
‘Wow David Greenblo not sure how to respond to this post, but after a year in the market and you finally got a customer who prefers Boody over Modibodi nice one. Now in your next post can you kindly explain to all your audience exactly what a period is, you wonderful original pioneer.’ Kristy Chong OAM, Investor/Advisor, Philanthropist, Founder Modibodi
Having spent the last month binge-listening to Business Wars, it’s hard not to read that comment and think ‘Woah.’
For those playing along at home, Modibodi and Boody both produce period underwear. I personally own and love both. Modibodi was founded in 2013 by Kristy Chong who revolutionised period products while Boody is an online apparel store that jumped on the trend last year with its own range of period underwear.
Recently, Boody’s co-founder David Greenblo shared a customer review stating that its product was superior to Modibodi. Queue Chong’s spicy response.
Before the comedy police come for me, I appreciate Chong may be being sarcastic or aiming for a light-hearted roast. I have it on good authority that Greenblo’s comment was meant in jest. But there is still an underlying tension in the exchange. Against a backdrop where less than a quarter of startups are founded by women and only 0.7% of capital is raised by solely women founded teams (0.7%!!!), and as a woman founder who has been on the receiving end of some pretty harsh commentary, I get it.
I’m also not trying to suggest that great brands can’t tussle and poke fun from time to time. Think Coca-Cola v Pepsi, McDonalds v Hungry Jacks, or Koala v IKEA. Instead, this incident is a timely reminder that social media viewers are likely to skim-read and stop at their first ‘Woah!’ reaction, and not bother with the backstory.
Both comments may have been tongue-in-cheek and well-intended, but from a PR perspective, both parties risk damaging their personal brands and affiliated organisations.
So while there are no winners here, there are some big PR lessons for anyone itching to clap back online.
Imitation has long been considered a profitable business model — just ask Zuckerberg.
Since Chong launched Modibodi in 2013, countless lookalikes have thrown their period panties in the ring. Period underwear can now be found at Big W, Aussie stalwart Bonds has launched its own version and even Kotox has expanded its range of menstrual products to include period underwear. And yet despite the category growth, only 15% of people who menstruate choose to use sustainable options. There is still so much growth ahead of the category.
It’s no surprise that nine years into the business, other brands followed suit once Modibodi’s concept hit the mainstream. True innovation (one that scored her patent and an Order of Australia) inevitably leads to cultural and social change and nowhere is this more important than in the sustainability space — the more brands and allyship in the category, the better. If the result of Modibodi’s success is a thriving market category, that’s a win for people and the planet — two entities that Modibodi claims to produce its ground-breaking products for. After all, a rising tide lifts all boats.
A less inflammatory approach to competitors was recently demonstrated by Hannah Spilva of LVLY. After a LinkedIn commenter pointed out that it was LVLY who started a trend in Australia of giving subscribers the choice to pause marketing emails around potentially painful holidays such as Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, and not the competitor who was being given the credit, Hannah commented with ‘Love to see other brands following LVLY with the thoughtful marketing movement! There’s so many companies doing this now and the more the better ?? Well done to all those being more thoughtful ♥️’
By simply pointing out that LVLY started the trend, and not attacking her competitor, she reaped the positive reputational vibes and kudos while keeping it friendly.
Customers need choice. The innovation that arises from more choice often leads to significant shifts within a category… and more brands entering the market.
Brands need to get crystal clear on who they are and what they stand for in order to differentiate themselves from competitors.
Modibodi’s aim is to have a positive impact on people and the planet. It also wants to break down body shame and normalise conversations around periods, incontinence and menopause.
If in doubt, test your message in-house before setting a comment live. In this case, some friendly scaffolding around the original message, or testing said ribbing behind closed doors, may have resulted in a celebratory social media moment between two companies with shared values, rather than an awkward exchange.
Last year, Chong sold Modibodi to Sweden’s Essity for $140 million. While she’s no longer CEO of the ground-breaking company she started, she can still impact its reputation.
Most might look at Chong’s success of $140 million later without considering that in the beginning, she was a boot-strapped entrepreneur whose big idea was borne from frustration.
It all started when she was training for a marathon. A weakened pelvic floor, the result of the birth of her second child five months prior, was making it uncomfortable. She knew there had to be a better solution than pads and liners so she made it her mission to find it, eventually developing Modibodi.
As any working mother could testify to, it wasn’t without its challenges. Just last month she told AFR: “[In 2019], I was breastfeeding, pumping, in the rooms at [advisers] Deloitte, and then going back up and doing [sale] pitches, and then still trying to run my business with a baby who didn’t even sleep in a cot. I had to hold her every night. That was really, really challenging.”
Chong worked incredibly hard and is a true innovator. Since selling Modibodi, she’s become an investor; all companies she throws her weight behind must be founded by women.
So her retort is potentially damaging not only to her own personal brand but to the brand that she founded and those that she’s investing in.
From a PR standpoint, it doesn’t always help that LinkedIn is deceptively accessible. Rather than squeaky clean, communications-team-tested messages, fiery founders can shoot from the hip. Or the couch.
This may sound like conflicting advice. After all, isn’t that what social media is supposed to be about? Easy access to a wide variety of opinions. Opinions that are unfiltered and vulnerable?
Sure, but when you’re the face of a brand, or deeply associated with them, it pays to ensure your online commentary can’t be misinterpreted.
As someone that could talk for hours about sexism, inequity and why period underwear is a game changer, I appreciate the difference between a woman founder entering a space from a place of personal experience and a man-led team jumping into the category.
But still. Chong’s last comment, ‘Now in your next post can you kindly explain to all your audience exactly what a period is, you wonderful original pioneer,’ doesn’t quite land.
What’s the point here? That men can’t understand periods? If one of Modibodi’s goals is to destigmatise period conversations, this is a step backward.
I truly believe a little healthy competition can be motivating and even entertaining. There are some brands that do the funny response thing on Twitter very well. But if you’re going to clap back, be strategic about it.
Intentional, planned marketing moments that are aligned with your mission and brand tone of voice have more chance of making a bigger impact than CEOs and founders popping off on social media.
They could both take a leaf out of Koala’s playbook. A 2018 campaign took a cheeky dig at IKEA in a way that was funny, strategic and good-natured. Playing on how infuriating it is to assemble an IKEA flatpack, Koala’s billboard was next to IKEA’s Sydney store and asked ‘NOFNIDEA? No tools, no worries’.
Proving that you can have fun and playful competition without dragging everyone down in the process.
Still not convinced? Consider the wise words of Benjamin Franklin: ‘It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it.’
Odette Barry is a head-line winning publicist and PR mentor who teaches the popular Hack Your Own PR program.
