In the spring of 2008, Dave Carroll and his band, the Sons of Maxwell, were traveling to Nebraska from Chicago on United Airlines. What should have been a routine journey turned into yet another cautionary tale for customer service and the Internet.

United’s baggage handlers damaged Dave’s high-end Taylor guitar. After 9 months of attempts to navigate customer service with little result, Carroll promised the individual who denied his claim that he would produce three songs and videos about his experience. Last Monday, he made good on his word by posting the first song to YouTube. The next two are already in production.

Within a week, Carroll’s video received a staggering 3 million (and counting) views on YouTube and has received coverage in major publications like USA Today, Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal and on well-trafficked Web sites including The Consumerist and Boing Boing.

To make matters more interesting, the owner of Taylor Guitars also jumped on this non-stop flight to free publicity, posting a video of his own.

What exactly made the video and issue take off? To understand, let’s deconstruct why this video is so compelling and how consumers are increasingly raising the stakes in how they shape brand reputation online:

Torches and pitchforks

This video effectively tapped into the simmering indignation many people feel towards the airline industry. The lesson for brand managers is if your brand is already struggling with negative consumer sentiment you are particularly vulnerable to vigilante consumer attacks. You need lightning-fast procedures to protect your brand.

Laugh and the world laughs with you

Never underestimate the power of great parody and entertainment. Brand managers should note that a good sense of humor provides significant lift in the world of social media.

I reject your reality and I submit my professionally produced version

The United example goes above and beyond the typical “candid camera” approach usually found on YouTube. It’s memorable and well produced, with staging, editing, costumes and credits. Low barriers-of-entry to technology and growing audiences enable and inspire consumers to up the production quality of the content they create.

Dead in the cross hairs

Intentional or not, the video effortlessly targets several demographic segments eager to embrace social media. Nielsen Research shows that travelers, musicians, hipsters, and marketers are often the best “carriers,” helping to spread CGM. Brands should make an effort to learn which of their customers use social media.

Flawless distribution

There is more to success than top-notch production values or posting to YouTube. The creators of this video tagged it well, enabled sharing and effectively seeded the conversation on Twitter. Within a few hours, the video was picked up by popular high-traffic Web sites and then shot thought the stratosphere by traditional media – all this on a news day that was monopolized by the memorial service for Michael Jackson.

How can United Airlines clean up the mess?

Go to the source

Despite the public rebuff by Dave Carroll in the response video below, United should continue to reach out to address his concerns directly. In an effort to make amends and at Carroll’s request, United announced via Twitter that it had made a $3,000 to the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz. When defusing cause-driven outrage, it’s important for the public to believe that United is sincere in any related efforts.

Search means forever

This video is now the third Google search result for the query “United Airlines.” and iIt will likely haunt the company for a long time to come. United will need to produce a tremendous amount of positive company content, both written and video, to eventually push Carroll’s off the first page of Google search results. They might also consider utilizing paid search to drive travelers customers to an apology video like the ones posted by some of their competitors others for in their past problems.

Jet Blue Apology

Past United Apology

Listen and learn

This exchange will serve as a case study and United needs to continue to work to give it a happier ending.

Since there is currently a tremendous volume of conversation occurring about the United brand, tThe company should take this opportunity to carefully listen to the tremendous amount of online chatter toand learn about its brand detractors and supporters. Where do these customers post? How do they talk about United? How do they discuss airlines in general? What specifically do they want in an airline? Are there new and unexpected brand engagement opportunities?

Straighten up and fly right

Many companies revisit how they handle consumer complaints after an experience like this. Social media will only continue to grow in reach and power, especially and when connected-customers make threats. Companies need to take them seriously and revisit how they handle consumer service..

Ninety percent or consumers surveyed noted that they trust recommendations from people they know, while 70 percent trusted consumer opinions posted online.

“The explosion in Consumer Generated Media over the last couple of years means consumers’ reliance on word of mouth in the decision-making process, either from people they know or online consumers they don’t, has increased significantly,” says Jonathan Carson, President of Online, International, for the Nielsen Company.”

However, in this new age of consumer control, advertisers will be encouraged by the fact that brand websites are trusted at that same 70 percent level as online consumer opinions.

Carson adds, “We see that all forms of advertiser-led advertising, except ads in newspapers, have also experienced increases in levels of trust and it’s possible that the CGM revolution has forced advertisers to use a more realistic form of messaging that is grounded in the experience of consumers rather than the lofty ideals of the advertisers.”

Brands Gaining Global Trust… In Some Regions More Than Others

In the two years the biannual study has been conducted, brand sponsorship has seen the greatest increase in levels of trust from 49 percent of Internet consumers in April 2007 to 64 percent in April 2009. Regionally, Latin American countries lead the way with 81 percent of both Colombian and Venezuelan Internet consumers and 79 percent of Brazilians trusting brand sponsorships. In contrast, sponsorships hold the least sway amongst Swedish (33 percent), Latvian (36 percent) and Finnish online consumers (38 percent). In comparison, 72 percent of United States Internet consumers trust brand sponsorships, placing the United States 12th out of the 50 countries represented in the survey.

Brand websites, globally the most trusted form of advertiser-led advertising, hold the greatest sway in China (82 percent). Following China are Pakistan (81 percent) and Vietnam (80 percent). However, brand websites tend to be trusted least amongst Swedish (40 percent) and Israeli (45 percent) Internet consumers. In the US, 62 percent of Internet consumers said they trusted brand sponsorships, placing the United States 21st out of the 50 countries surveyed.

“The regional differences provide a clear guide to advertisers as to how they should focus their ad strategy in different countries. It also shows that, despite the authority of word of mouth when it comes to consumer decision-making, advertisers still have a major say in the process. This is backed up by past Nielsen studies which showed that the majority of people posting comments online went to the advertiser website or emailed feedback to the company before they posted. The website, and monitoring feedback through it, is a golden opportunity for advertisers to shape the tone and content of consumer opinion before it reaches the digital masses,” said Carson.

For more regional data, download the Nielsen Global Online Consumer Survey press release.

More and more researchers are waking up to the reality that mining the growing volume of conversations on blogs, message boards and social networking sites (i. e., “listening” to consumers) can provide timely, penetrating insights on a wide range of issues and brands.

A series of parallel studies we conducted with Procter & Gamble demonstrates that both surveys and listening are often required to tell the whole story. We looked at a number of brands and products: everything from orange juice, to razor blades, to the infomercial hit, the Snuggie.

While surveys provide a sense of size or magnitude but are not ideal for capturing passion or intensity. That’s where listening comes in. Both magnitude and intensity are essential to capturing the “energy” associated with consumer beliefs. Perhaps the most significant finding of our investigations is that when it comes to deciding the best course of action to pursue in the marketplace, understanding intensity can be just as important as understanding magnitude.

One real-world case in which “listening” to consumers informed a course correction for Tropicana, was when they redesigned their Pure Premium packaging. After tracking intense commentary on the web, the brand went back to its original iconic look.

“What we didn’t get was the passion this very loyal small group of consumer have,” noted Neil Campbell, President, Tropicana North America. “That was something that came out in the research.”

Asking is More Left Brain… Listening is More Right Brain

Another brand that employed listening was Snuggie, the blanket/robe hybrid that became a viral web sensation, spawning tributes, You Tube parodies, and enough buzz to land it on the “Today Show.” “We were definitely in on the joke,” noted Scott Boilen, CEO of AllStar Marketing, the firm behind the ads. “Do we expect a family to wear these to a football game? No.”

Tracking Snuggie conversations online and employing Nielsen Online’s Brand Association Map (BAM), the results show responses and associations with the brand that are more “right brain,” allowing for more emotional, immediate and contextual understanding when compared with the survey responses.

Listening And Social Networks

Jon Gibs, VP Media Analytics, will be facilitating a Listening Zone Learning Presentation focused on social networking, citing the importance of fostering a listening environment. The presentation will feature new data from Nielsen Online’s social networking study and demonstrate how brands are getting the most out of their listening programs. Gibs will also be giving a talk called: “Measuring Clutter: It Matters.” Read more about clutter here.

Additionally, David Wiesenfeld, VP Marketing Solutions, Nielsen Online and Kristin Bush – CMK Senior Manager, Digital Research, The Procter and Gamble Company will speak on “Listening vs. Asking: Contrasting Consumer-Generated Content and Surveys”

The Future Of Research And Consumer Trends

David Calhoun, Nielsen’s Chief Executive Office will participate in ”The Research Industry Vision,” a panel discussion of strategies to respond to research transformation over the next five years.

Paul Donato, Nielsen’s Chief Research Officer will present “The Media, The Consumer, The Economy,” which investigates how news reports about policy and the economy affect consumer confidence as well as how this information affects purchasing and entertainment decisions.

For a complete schedule of events and for streaming video of select events visit thearf.org.

Note how pockets of negativity cluster around the term “peanut butter” on the post-event BAM. This suggests that the majority of consumers who discussed peanut butter in this time frame repeatedly mentioned the outbreak. Also note the lack of any brand presence on the pre-recall BAM vs. the post-recall. Before the crisis hit, consumers were mentioning peanut butter without a brand connotation or as a generic recipe ingredient; post-outbreak, consumers educate others by mentioning specific brands associated with the recall. Because consumers are spreading the word about the recall, brands need to make sure that the information is accurate and credible. Brand can best control this type of situation by having a defensive branding strategy in place for such events.

Key questions brands need to ask during a crisis:

• Are we set up internally to address a crisis online?
• Where online are consumers discussing this crisis and how do we plan on monitoring it?
• Is our brand/product at fault?
• Where can we make a difference on the Internet?
• What needs to be done to react quickly and credibly?

Hear more from Nielsen’s Pete Blackshaw on listening.

Today, the likes of Netflix, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Veoh, and Hulu are betting it has.  Instead, they’re throwing their resources into developing a new video source: online streaming movies.

These new media titans may have the right idea, according to recent research by Nielsen that found online streaming video usage almost doubled in the U.S. between 2006 and 2007.  A separate survey conducted by Nielsen in 2007 found that 40% of respondents had streamed some type of video, while just over 10% had downloaded a full movie.

But while consumer generated media streaming has taken off online, movie content streaming accounts for only about 1% of all online streaming activity, according to Nielsen. 

But that trend may be changing fast, according to a new report by Nielsen PreView.  So far in 2008, movie content streaming has grown by leaps and bounds, outpacing the growth of streamed consumer generated media, the most popular streamed content, by a factor of eight.

Online video streamers are also an increasingly engaged lot, with more people streaming online movies for longer periods of time.  Between November 2007 and May 2008, those who streamed 30 minutes or more of online video grew by 4%, according to Nielsen. 

What’s trigging the growing popularity of online streaming video?  In part: broadcast TV content available for streaming online. 

Consumers who streamed more than 43 minutes of broadcast content during a recent seven-month period had the highest likelihood of being online movie content streamers, according to Nielsen’s report.

Read Nielsen PreView’s report.

Learn more about other recent Nielsen PreView studies on R-Ratings and 3-D films.

“About 60% of Americans are putting content on the Web, and it can affect how your product or service is perceived in the marketplace,” Pete Blackshaw, Nielsen Online’s EVP of Digital Strategic Services, told Fortune Small Business in a recent Q&A.  “Consumers trust each other more than they trust advertisers or businesses.  The question is, how do you turn it to your advantage?”

In general, business owners should closely monitor online conversations about their brands, Blackshaw, the author of “Satisfied Customers Tell Three Friends, Angry Customers Tell 3,000,” which examines marketing in the era of Internet-empowered consumers, advised.

“If someone pans your business, use that criticism to identify and fix problems,” Blackshaw noted.  “If your company is accused of wrongdoing, it’s important to respond.”

Read the August installment of Pete Blackshaw’s Ad Age column.

That’s the message Pete Blackshaw emphasized in a recent discussion with the editors of The Council of Public Relations Firms’ The Firm Voice. 

Blackshaw, Nielsen Online’s EVP of Digital Strategic Services, is the author of a new book, “Satisfied Customers Tell Three Friends, Angry Customers Tell 3,000” (Doubleday), which examines marketing in the era of empowered consumers. 

“I think PR firms are going to have to get much smarter and savvier about the root causes of what drivers [sic] buzz and conversation – particularly customer service – and develop practices to help clients get key operations nailed at the source,” Blackshaw told Firm Voice editors.  ”I worry that too many PR firms are looking for that ‘viral hit’ when they should be trying to figure out how to REALLY fix the issue that consistently drives the most negative buzz for bands: service.”

On Monday, Adweek and the Miami Herald published reviews of “Satisfied Customers Tell Three Friends, Angry Customers Tell 3,000” (Doubleday).  The Herald referred to Blackshaw as a “guru on customer interaction,” while Adweek’s review featured a video interview with the author (full disclosure: Adweek is owned by Nielsen) . 

“Satisfied Customers Tell Three Friends, Angry Customers Tell 3,000” has also received rave reviews from CNBC’s Gloria McDonough-Taub and TIME’s Andrea Sachs.

Sachs concluded that the book, which offers guidance for marketing to Web-empowered consumers, “deserves a spot on the desk of every executive who worries about his company’s reputational risk.”

In her “Bullish on Books” blog, McDonough-Taub echoed that advice: ”‘Satisfied Customers’ is a great guide for business leaders and marketing officers who want to build a trusting, authentic and lasting relationship with today’s vocal consumer,” she wrote.