[Update] I'm telling on you, II

Recently, I’ve posted a couple of articles at this blog which illustrated the increasing ease in which consumers can review, recommend, reprimand, or otherwise advertise for a company they’ve done business with, and that some companies are starting to monitor blogs and social media as a way of obtaining consumer insights. (“I’m telling on you!” posted 9/2/09, and “Objective analysis of subjective content,” posted 8/31/09.)

As a matter of coincidence, Phil Lempert offered another outlook on the topic just this morning at his “Supermarket Guru” web site. It pointed out a YouTube video that has received a tremendous number of views (more than 5.3 million at this writing), which contains a country music video about the singer-songwriter’s alleged experience with United Airlines. You can watch it here:


On the other hand, I came across another story this morning—this one from Marketing Daily—which suggests that few executives believe social media has achieved enough “critical mass” to be used as a valid tool in obtaining consumer feedback. (See the story “Social media not yet core feedback tool,” published today.)

Implications: As someone who travels quite a bit, I found the music video at least a little entertaining. As a marketer, I found it at least a little unnerving. I cannot know whether the singer-songwriter had a legitimate claim, because the tune does not explain details of his experience--although a story at his web site does--nor does it offer a rebuttal with the airline’s point of view. But in the artist’s perspective, at least, this virtual retaliation was justified.

That is the point: There is little United Airlines can do to respond to the allegations of this video/viral campaign. The opportunity to reconsider (or remediate) the issue has passed, as they cannot put the proverbial toothpaste back in the tube; the song has made 5.3 million impressions.

Perhaps some marketing execs have yet to monitor blogs and social media to see what consumers are saying about their company. But I’m wondering if, someday soon, those same folks will feel as if they’ve arrived late to the gate… to learn that plane has already departed.

Mike Anderson