Thursday, June 28, 2007

New Delta? You Be the Judge

Just in case you thought the sky was falling, with Delta claiming "Today is a New Day," welcoming us aboard the "New Delta," let me reassure you that Delta is just as crappy as they've always been.

Two examples:

Twitter
Delta - either someone who was a Delta fan, or (more likely) a Delta employee started a Twitter account on May 10, 2007. It was pretty cool for a while, with updates that were seemingly coming from inside the company. The style was informative and a little irreverent, but it definitely felt like there was a personality to it - not some corporatespeak straight from a press release, which was very refreshing.

Unfortunately, this didn't last. The party ended only 5 days after beginning: May 15 is the date of the last post. My guess is that someone higher up at Delta found out about it and put the kibosh on it. This was an incredibly short-sighted and stupid move on their part. Delta actually seemed relevant again for a short while.

YouTube
And here we have the power of consumer-generated media to showcase the true nature of a brand. If you ever want to see what an enterprise is truly all about, catch them in a crisis situation.

In this case, the passengers were stuck on the tarmac at JFK for 7 hours. One passenger had the presence of mind to take a video. It's now being passed around the Web. Last night, it had about 400 views; as of this posting, it's up to over 13,000. Expect many, many more people to witness the ineptitude of Delta in action.

Delta, what's the matter with you? You're coming off of a precarious bankruptcy in a market where low-cost airlines provide better service and hipper attitude. As far as I'm concerned, "Today is a New Day" is just lip service. Today is the same as every other crappy day you've given your customers.

It'll be a new day when you understand that you're not in the airline business - you're in the customer service business.

Labels: Delta, Twitter, Video

Posted by Scott Monty at 8:38 AM

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About Scott

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The best way to describe Scott is "Renaissance Man." Friends and colleagues that know Scott from one facet of his life are very frequently surprised to learn of his interests and talents in other areas.

Scott is a marketing and communications professional focused on the digital industry — specifically on social media. His career spans a number of industries such as healthcare, pharma, biotech, travel, automotive, tech, and communications, and includes a wide range of clients, from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies.

Currently on the staff of corporate communications in Ford Motor Company, Scott heads up the social media function and holds the title Global Digital & Multimedia Communications Manager. He is a strategic advisor on all social media activities across the company, from blogger relations to marketing support, customer service to internal communications and more, as social media is being integrated into many facets of Ford business.

Prior to joining Ford, Scott served as Consigliere for crayon and spent a number of years with PJA Advertising + Marketing, a boutique BtoB agency specializing in health sciences & high tech.

In addition to his consulting and agency background, Scott is an active blogger and podcaster. He writes about the intersection of advertising, marketing and PR at The Social Media Marketing Blog and also writes The Baker Street Blog, a literary undertaking. Scott has been featured in numerous news and business publications, on a variety of podcasts, and on national television. Scott is a recognized thought leader in the social media industry and frequently speaks at industry events.

Scott received his Master's in Medical Science from Boston University's School of Medicine concurrently with his MBA from BU's Graduate School of Management. He lives in the greater Detroit area with his wife and two young sons, golfs all too infrequently, and has a hidden talent for voice over work.

Oh, and one last little-known fact: Scott coined the term "tweetup."

You may download a headshot here, courtesy of C.C. Chapman and a PDF version of Scott's bio here.

Books in which Scott's work is featured:
The New Rules of Marketing & PR
Twitterville
Six Pixels of Separation
Monkeys with Typewriters
Read This First
World Wide Rave
Get Seen

Disclosures/Relationships

Scott is on the Advisory board of SavvyAuntie
Scott is on the Advisory board of Business Smart Tools
Scott is a judge for the SAMMY Awards
Scott is on the Advisory board of The Hive Awards
Named one of iMedia's 25 Top Internet Marketing Leaders & Innovators
This blog's content is also syndicated on Social Media Today
Plaid occasionally does web work for me and designed this site
No animals were harmed in the making of this blog.

Speaking Events

Scott speaks on social media at events, seminars and conferences around the world. His topic generally focuses on corporate use of social media, becoming an online spokesperson, and specifically on the progress that Ford has made in the recent past. If you're interested in booking Scott to speak at your event, please send an email to speaking [AT] scottmonty [DOT] com. Scott's bio and headshot can be found in the "About Scott" tab above.

Some previous engagements include:

BlogWell - How Big Companies Use Social Media - Minneapolis - August 13

Who is Scott Monty?

Hi, I'm Scott. I'm the head of social media for Ford Motor Company. This is my personal blog, where I share my perspectives on social media - the convergence of marketing, advertising and PR on the Web - for marketers, agencies, the enterprise and the individual. This blog contains my personal views.