vangogh
07-10-2009, 07:32 PM
Came across an interesting story today about a musician who had a bad experience with United Airlines baggage handlers. They were literally throwing his guitar and broke the neck of a $3500 Taylor guitar. He tried to file a claim, but was given the runaround for close to a year.
After awhile he realized he was never going to get anywhere, but as a musician figured there was something else he could do. He promised the last person he spoke to at United that he would write 3 songs about United and what happened and would create videos for each of those songs.
Here's the first video from YouTube called United Breaks Guitars (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YGc4zOqozo).
You can read the short and long version of the story on Dave Carrol's site (http://www.davecarrollmusic.com/story/united-breaks-guitars/)
I'm posting both here in part because the story is interesting and the video is funny and in part because there are some good marketing lessons that come out of both.
As I mentioned in the subject it's not you, but your customers who control the message about your company. You don't necessarily have to kiss the you know what of everyone wanting to do business with you, but you should probably be careful about who you end kicking in that same you know what.
The internet gives more power to ordinary people to share information. Social media does this even more. Because of that a single person could create the message about you and alter the perception of your brand before you even realize it's happening.
The story and video about United are spreading and the message both carry is not from the side of United Airlines.
Another lesson is how Dave Carrol is using the experience to ultimately promote himself and his band. Let's face it if enough people watch the video and hear the music in the coming weeks, he'll be selling more records and playing in front of more people on the road. At the end of his story he says
I’ve been done “being angry” for quite some time and, if anything, I should thank United. They’ve given me a creative outlet that has brought people together from around the world.
The next lesson will come in the days ahead as United responds or doesn't respond and in how they respond if they do. While anyone can spread a message about your company, you still have the ability to counter it, deflate it, or use it to your benefit. A post on SEOmoz offers some suggestions how United could turn things to their advantage.
Dear United, Here's Your Chance for Awesome Reputation Management (http://www.seomoz.org/blog/dear-united-heres-your-chance-for-awesome-reputation-management)
Are there any other lessons from the story? Are you currently monitoring the web to see what people are saying about you and are you responding when necessary? If you were United how would you respond to the video and if so how? What do you think of how Dave Carrol handled the whole the situation.
After awhile he realized he was never going to get anywhere, but as a musician figured there was something else he could do. He promised the last person he spoke to at United that he would write 3 songs about United and what happened and would create videos for each of those songs.
Here's the first video from YouTube called United Breaks Guitars (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YGc4zOqozo).
You can read the short and long version of the story on Dave Carrol's site (http://www.davecarrollmusic.com/story/united-breaks-guitars/)
I'm posting both here in part because the story is interesting and the video is funny and in part because there are some good marketing lessons that come out of both.
As I mentioned in the subject it's not you, but your customers who control the message about your company. You don't necessarily have to kiss the you know what of everyone wanting to do business with you, but you should probably be careful about who you end kicking in that same you know what.
The internet gives more power to ordinary people to share information. Social media does this even more. Because of that a single person could create the message about you and alter the perception of your brand before you even realize it's happening.
The story and video about United are spreading and the message both carry is not from the side of United Airlines.
Another lesson is how Dave Carrol is using the experience to ultimately promote himself and his band. Let's face it if enough people watch the video and hear the music in the coming weeks, he'll be selling more records and playing in front of more people on the road. At the end of his story he says
I’ve been done “being angry” for quite some time and, if anything, I should thank United. They’ve given me a creative outlet that has brought people together from around the world.
The next lesson will come in the days ahead as United responds or doesn't respond and in how they respond if they do. While anyone can spread a message about your company, you still have the ability to counter it, deflate it, or use it to your benefit. A post on SEOmoz offers some suggestions how United could turn things to their advantage.
Dear United, Here's Your Chance for Awesome Reputation Management (http://www.seomoz.org/blog/dear-united-heres-your-chance-for-awesome-reputation-management)
Are there any other lessons from the story? Are you currently monitoring the web to see what people are saying about you and are you responding when necessary? If you were United how would you respond to the video and if so how? What do you think of how Dave Carrol handled the whole the situation.