The Ethical Optimist

As my close friends will tell you, I have a love of guitars. My latest purchase was a beautiful Baby Taylor. So, when I saw the hubbub about United Airlines PR Guitar fiasco, I couldn’t help but pay attention. If you haven’t seen Dave Carroll’s music video on it, you should! It’s a hilarious comeuppance for United Airlines.

Dan Greenfield wrote a terrific story on the PR implications of the video for Social Media Today. In it, he notes that:

It once again demonstrates the power of authenticity, creativity and compelling content to grab attention and send PR executives reeling.

Before I begin, I don’t want to beat up on United Airlines, but what happened last week is a case study on why companies need to take videos and their online response very seriously. They did speak to reporters, but as this post will show, key social media channels were neglected. And I am not privy to all the behind the scenes efforts that went on to work with Mr. Carroll and other upset passengers. I only see what the public sees.

The numbers of YouTube views and Twitter tweets are just staggering. Like the infamous Comcast customer service rep video, Dave Carroll’s video undermines United Airlines’ reputation and hurts its brand.

Numerous traditional media outlets covered the story (LA Times, USA Today, Chicago Tribune), but it was YouTube, Twitter and blogs that fueled the flame.

Greenfield tracks the various social media channels that picked up the story and the numbers behind them. It’s a fascinating worst case history that all PR people involved in social media should pay close attention to. In fact, the next time a client asks you why they should bother with social media, just send them a link.

It is also a classic example of why companies need to focus on customer service and tracking. Many in the c-suite forget there is a direct link between the customer service line and the public relations department. They also forget that it can work both positively and negatively. For instance, I have one enlightened client that lets us know when consumers call with great feedback on a program they are doing. We can sometimes parlay that into a story. By the same token, if they are getting numerous negative calls, they alert us immediately and we put a plan into action.

In my experience, they are one of the few companies to do this. The reason they do it so well is because they ensured that the head of their customer service department has direct access to their agency. We routinely vet issues on the phone that raise red flags.

Back to Mr. Carroll. He has two more music videos pending, and I’m sure the folks at United are now spending more time and money dealing with his musical trilogy than they did on ensuring their customer service operation was up to speed. Once again, cutting back on the basics only means you’ll wind up paying more later.