Liveworld

Earlier this week, LiveWorld held its first social media lunch and learn event in Bridgewater, New Jersey. Modeled from the success of a similar event at Social Media Week 2013, the event brought together an intimate group of like-minded marketing professionals for a case study presentation and panel discussion over lunch.
Zoetis kicked off the luncheon with an insightful presentation by Ed Stening, Senior Manager, Digital Strategy & MultiChannel Marketing. Ed took the audience through a case study about his team’s launch of EQStable on Facebook.
EQStable is the social media program for Zoetis’ equine pharmaceutical business. It was inspiring to hear “from the horses mouth,” the level of detail Ed’s team went into to formulate the strategy and risk management process prior to launch. That was well before the content development and the advertising and partner outreach to ensure EQStable’s launch was a success.
With over 100,000 likes and high engagement in just a few months, it’s safe to say Zoetis and LiveWorld certainly did make it happen.


Following Ed’s presentation, social media experts Kathleen Hartnett from Pfizer Consumer Healthcare, Gerard M. Stegmaier from Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, and Peter Friedman from LiveWorld tackled issues facing social media marketers in regulated industries, and the broader question of whether marketing and legal are allies or enemies. 
Crisis management was one of the key areas of discussion. According to advice from Kathleen, in a crisis, preparation is key. Your business needs to identify all of the risks and work through to shift and remediate those risks before you even embark on your social media campaign. The group was unanimous in their consensus that your business should have a central crisis team that can make decisions — a team that knows and understands social media. When a crisis hits, Gerard advised that step one is always to acknowledge — and fast. It’s true, people want to know they are being listened to, and being heard.
Presenters agreed on this takeaway from the event: Regardless of whether marketing and legal are allies or enemies in your business, they must become allies — and close ones at that. Involve your legal and compliance teams early on in your planning. As Ed says, it’s the best way to avoid having your campaign thrown back at you “like a mud pie.” The responsibility lies with marketing to align the teams and the vision behind your social media goals.
Missed the party? Take a look at the best photos or tweets, and then connect with us to stay in the know on social, legal, and LiveWorld events in your area.