Managing the Public Relations Social Networking Arena of My Little Pony
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Recent Advances in Communications, Circuits and Technological Innovation
Managing the Public Relations Social Networking Arena of My Little
Pony
CHRISTOPHER FARMER
Department of Mass Media Communication and Journalism
Clarion University, Clarion PA 16214
USA
kabopple@gmail.com
Abstract: - With the advent of social media, companies increasingly realize the value of the public, not only
as critical consumers but also as marketing informants and content generators. This paper examines how
Hasbro proactively sought customer perspectives, and successfully incorporated them into their public
relations management approach.
Key Words: - social media, consumers, marketing informants, content generation, public relations,
Hasbro
1 Introduction billion dollars, and their net income was $385
In today’s markets, consumers no longer are million [2].
relegated to playing a passive role in corporate Their toy My Pretty Pony was introduced in
public relations management. The public has 1981, and the related My Little Pony line was
always had opinions about products, and have started in 1983. The product inspired animated
voiced their perspectives among themselves and specials, feature-length movies, and three
sometimes to the company itself. However, animated TV series. Three generations of the
companies increasingly realize the value of the brand were launched between 1986 and 2003.
public, not only as critical consumers but also as In 2010 My Little Pony was rebooted once
marketing informants and content generators. This again to keep it fresh: new characters, new
paper examines how Hasbro proactively sought character designs, new voice actors, new plots, and
customer perspectives, and incorporated them into a new animation studio. The latter change is
their public relations management approach. As a significant because this studio uses a more stylized
result of this collaboration, both the customer and and “flatter” graphic approach utilizing Flash
the company have benefited. animation [3].
Another important factor in the reboot was
designating Lauren Faust as the new creative
2 Problem Formulation director and executive producer: She worked on
Hasbro is a leading toy and children’s other high-quality animation, sometimes in
entertainment company. Mattel and Hasbro are the collaboration with her husband Craig McCracken
two leading companies within the toy and game who is director of several popular animation series
manufacturing industry, which enjoys a yearly (e.g., Powerpuff Girls and Dexter’s Laboratory). In
$2.6 billion revenue [1]. Hasbro also has a joint Faust, Hasbro was able to attract a top-end
venture with Discovery Communications to create animator who believed in their product and would
a children’s television channel, “The Hub,” do it justice. Lauren Faust is also a self-proclaimed
launched in 2010. lifelong feminist who believes in strong female
Hasbro has been making toys since the 1940s. characters, so the lead ponies are all female and
Some of their more famous products include Mr. affirming. The following statement demonstrates
Potato Head, GI Joe, and Transformers. They also her passion for the My Little Pony show, and
acquired Milton-Bradley and their portfolio of served as a public relations tactic to garner respect
games. In 2011 Hasbro’s total assets topped four for the pedigree of the show.
ISBN: 978-1-61804-138-8 39Recent Advances in Communications, Circuits and Technological Innovation
I never expected to work on a show based on a simply cannot be tolerated online” [8].
toy line, but I accepted the project based on Christodoulides explained the changing roles:
my sincere childhood love of the toy and “The brand manager who used to be custodian of
Hasbro’s desire to create an entertaining show the brand has now become a host whose main role
that is not just a long toy commercial [4]. is not to control (this is impossible) but to facilitate
In terms of public relations management, for the this sharing; alas, if the experience promised by
first time ever for the company, Hasbro Invited the brand is not delivered” [9].
fans to make friends with the My Little Pony 3.2 Fandom
brand on Facebook and Twitter. Prior to this Fandom (a community of fans) as served as
reboot, Hasbro’s public relations communications indication of brand popularity for centuries. Fan
were mainly one-way, and they controlled the clubs tend to focus on sports teams and celebrities,
message. In the past, fandom existed – and still but the Harry Potter movement attests to the
does, as opinionated consumers, but Hasbro ongoing independent and influential nature of
consciously branded their product on web 2.0 fandom, as well as the social attachments that fans
social networks, and established a collaborative can form with characters rather than real people
environment where fans could comment on My [10]. Some of the benefits of fandom include
Little Pony, generate content, and impact Hasbro social inclusion, skill development, and escape
production. from boredom. Fandom mutually benefits the fan
The impact of the shared public relations was and the object of “worship” or the brand in this
documented at Hasbro shareholders’ meeting. case because of the mutual dialogue and feedback.
Today, we are driving growth in our business Chapman encouraged organizations to use
through immersive brand experiences which social media tools to reach and interact with fans,
are more innovative, more global and noting that the focus should be on people, not the
increasingly backed by media and technology. In that process, Chapman also
entertainment, and in many cases, backed by encouraged organizations to experiment and take
digital and online gaming…. My Little Pony is risks with social media, paying attention to the
an interesting proof point to discuss, as it results and acting on them. Chapman was aware of
relates to television [5]. organizational fear of losing control, but countered
by claiming that giving fans some freedom can
lead to special products. Trying to reframe the
3 Problem Solution situation, Chapman suggested that organizations
Hasbro’s successful shared public relations want to see a community built around their
management is based on effective use of social products, and that they can leverage that interested
media, leveraging collaborating branding based on community as market informants who provide
fandom and user-generated content. open and honest feedback [11].
Hasbro exemplifies Chapman’s philosophy,
3.1 Branding with very positive results. When My Little Pony
Smith defined branding as the “creation of a clear was reintroduced in 2010, the pedigree of the show
and consistent message for an organization” [6]. In sparked people’s interests. A week later on
his article on post-Internet era branding, October 19, 2010, Amidi’s article in Cartoon Brew
Christodoulides identified three key aspects of gave a critical look at artists’ lack of control in
branding: promised experience, emotional values, creating My Little Pony, but the readers paid more
and rational values [7]. Christodoulides claimed attention to the caliber of the show’s artists, and
that the Internet is an effective medium for the show gained more attention and a greater
branding because it is a cost-effective way to following [12]. From this small group of people
personalize marketing offerings and address who risked watching the show from the start, My
customer’s social needs. Christodoulides then Little Pony was perceived as a diamond in the
compared web 1.0 and web 2.0 branding. In the rough. The core fans (single males ages 15-30)
earlier version, the consumer located the brand pride themselves for their ability to get beyond the
online, and rated the received services by their children’s level to appreciate the underlying
delivery, speed, and support. In the web 2.0 quality of art and writing, and catch subtle
environment, customers experience the brand inferences. The unusual perceptions of the
interactively on both personal and group levels, children’s show led to an explosion of online chat
with factors emerging that exist outside the and greater loyalty to the product as well as user-
brand’s control; “Command and control branding generate content [13]. The My Little Pony fandom
ISBN: 978-1-61804-138-8 40Recent Advances in Communications, Circuits and Technological Innovation
exemplifies Blackshaw’s contention that relations management proactively leveraged user-
“consumers are getting louder, more persuasive, generated motivation to increase sales and improve
and certainly more viral” [14]. Blackshaw also saw their product [19].
such activity as a goldmine for researching brand MyLittlePony.com is Hasbro’s official website.
advocacy to reinforce and improve brand strategy. Although it is interactive in that the user can play
games, it is not web 2.0; probably more
3.3 User-Generated Content importantly, it is geared to children. To address the
One of the specific branding activities of socially need for a social network presence, Hasbro uses
networked consumers, accentuated in fandom, is Facebook:, which has almost 90,000 “likes” [20].
user-generated content, which Christodoulides, The main area where consumers contribute is the
Jevons, and Blackshaw defined as consumers Fan Forum; other areas where the public can add
creating content that is publically accessible via their own content include the wall, discussion area,
telecommunications, displays creativity, and is photos, and videos. Images have to be vetted by
created for free outside the profession. While the company, and all content is monitored. This
consumers have generated content for many years, site attracts all ages (and has unrelated ads on the
the Internet, especially web 2.0, has made that side, which is a default setting for Facebook, and
content much more visible and impactful. demonstrates that Hasbro cannot control every part
Christodoulides, Jevons, and Blackshaw further of the page).
contended that companies need to understand the Nevertheless, most My Little Pony user-
motivation behind user-generated content, analyze generated content is mounted on independent
such content, and manage public relations third-party fan sites, reflecting an electronic word-
accordingly. They stated that brands are likely to of-mouth approach [21]. Smith also noted:
get more attention if they foster a community, “Bloggers also create third-party endorsement,
create a brand identity that resonates with those independent and influential voices that have
consumers, and develop brands that are the ear of an organization’s publics. Because of
customizable with consumer input [15]. their independence, they also have potential high
Some companies frown on user-generated credibility” [22]. The most influential website for
content, contended that intellectual property is My Little Pony fan creations is Equestria Daily,
being compromised and company profits which includes fan fiction, pictures, videos,
decreased. They also decry the lack of control they community contests, and official new [23].
experience as consumers change the brand counter Rainbow Dash is a twitter aggregator for pony-
to its original intent. In the face of such related roleplaying and information sharing out of
disapproval, Hasbro has applauded user-generated character [24]. Cataloging fandom is exemplified
content, even producing a tribute video about its by Bronibooru [25], which is an image harvesting
fans’ creations. “Some, like Hasbro, recognize that website; it contains nearly every picture that has
the Internet has enabled the tools and distribution been created and been posted on an online image
to "remix" the shows and movies they love or hate. forum. Derby Hooves serves as a directory for
What was always a passive experience for fans has fan-based web content, linking to other sites
given way to a participatory culture” [16]. including to videos of each episode in various
Of particular application to Hasbro is the formats [26]. The two social media bases seem to
motivation of user-generated content [17, 18]: co-exist and complement each other successfully.
intrinsic enjoyment for the sake of self-expression, The name Derpy Hooves is important because
personalization of the brand, self-promotion, it signifies the name of a background character
financial gain, self-knowledge, sense of belonging, which was unnamed and did not have a speaking
social function, and changing perceptions to part. The pony had a wall-eyed expression, and
persuade others to view the brand differently. one of the fans named it Derpy Hooves; fans give
Christodoulides, Jevons, and Blackshaw asserted the pony a persona and back story. A couple
that before consumers generate content, they need months later, an episode of My Little Pony
to feel empowered, the brand has to appear to included Derpy Hooves as part of a site gag – and
match the consumer’s self-concept, the brand has a nod to the fans; Derpy continues to be included
to seem to foster a sense of community, and the in subsequent episodes, and is considered an
brand needs to be perceived as a joint production “ascended meme”: a consumer concept that
between the company and the consumer. As became part of the brand canon. This sequence of
detailed below, Hasbro’s products elicited a strong actions and decisions demonstrates the symbiotic
following, and their social networking public relationship between fandom and Hasbro.
ISBN: 978-1-61804-138-8 41Recent Advances in Communications, Circuits and Technological Innovation
ascended meme). No longer is the brand operating incorporate consumer opinion as part of their
strictly in parallel with the fans, but is now ongoing market research.
partnering with them. However, forward-thinking companies actively
engage their consumers, and treat them as partners
in their enterprise. That approach can build more
3.4 Shared Control of Public Relations loyalty because the consumers are respected and
Management trusted. New ideas are tested, with the best ones
Companies have traditionally been in charge of improving the brand overall.
managing their public relations, and keeping In a way, managing social network-based
public relations (PR) under their tight control. public relations resembles crisis PR management
With the advent of web 2.0, their control can feel because few people were prepared for the spread
undermined. Certainly, consumers can alter the and popularity of social networking. Nor can they
brand reputation on their own, but if they are given easily control it. Instead, companies such as
opportunities to change perceptions in brand- Hasbro has been able to leverage the opportunity
sponsored venues, then it appears as if the that social media affords to build broad-based
company itself is either being negligent or out of support and active participation. They have used
control. social media as an ally, and have been accessible
Hasbro has successfully countered that to their publics in a timely manner in the process.
argument with their website and Facebook In short, brands should sit up and take notice of
presence. Consumers feel as if they have more social networks, embrace them, and leverage them
ownership of the product, and appreciate Hasbro’s to improve public relations, their brand, and their
trust in them, even if monitoring occurs. The fact bottom line.
that Hasbro pays attention to fandom sites and
user-generated content to the point that they References:
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ISBN: 978-1-61804-138-8 42Recent Advances in Communications, Circuits and Technological Innovation commentary/the-end-of-the-creator-driven- User-Generated Content, Journal of Interactive era.html. Advertising, Vol. 8, No. 2, 2008, pp. 1-24. 13. Equestria Daily, June 10, 2011. 19, Christodoulides, Jevons, & Blackshow, pp. http://www.equestriadaily.com/2011_06_10_archi 51101-8. ve.html 20. Hasbro. My Little Pony. https://www. 14. Blackshaw, P. User-Generated Content in facebook.com/mylittlepony Context, Journal of Advertising Research, 2011, 21. Li, H. The Interactive Web, Journal of pp. 51109. Advertising Research, 2011, pp. 5113-34. 15. Christodoulides, G., Jevons, C., & Blackshaw, 22. Smith, pp. 209. P. The Voice of the Consumer Speaks Forcefully 23. Equestria Daily. http://www.equestriadaily. in Brand Identity, Journal of Advertising Com. Research, 2011, pp. 51101-8. 24. Rainbow Dash. http://rainbowdash.net/ 16. Wallenstein, A. Brans Frown on Fair Use. 25, Bronibooru. http://bronibooru.mlponies. Variety International News, July 26, 2011. com/post http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118040411 26. Derpy Hooves. http://www.derpyhooves.com/ 17. Berthon, P., Pitt, L., & Campbell, C. Ad Lib: 27. Dent, S. My Little Pony. Dot Conference, When Customers Create the Ad, California Dublin, June 27, 2011. http://flashhost.heanet.ie/ Management Review, Vol. 50, No. 4, 2008, pp. 6– dotconf/SabrinaDent.html 30. 18. Daugherty, T., Eastin, M., & Bright, L. Exploring Consumer Motivations for Creating ISBN: 978-1-61804-138-8 43
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