Behind the scenes with Dave Carroll and United Breaks Guitars

Most of you by now have viewed one or more of the brilliant viral YouTube videos titled: United Breaks Guitars. This topic is of special significance to me because I too was a traveling musician (violinist) who battled often with the airlines to ensure that my instrument didn’t suffer a gruesome death at the hands of Conan the Baggage Handler.

Dave Carroll, the creator of the videos, and his fellow band members were not so lucky. They got to witness the cruel treatment of their instruments by United’s baggage handlers first hand. You can read the whole story here.

Let me put this in perspective for non-musicians. The bond between a musician and his/her instrument is akin to that of the bond between parent and his/her child. You see your instrument being mistreated it’s going to piss you off in a major way. United Airlines failed to understand that and got what they deserved.

But my interest in United Breaks Guitars goes beyond just empathy. When Dave Carroll’s frustration with United Airlines customer service reached the breaking point, he didn’t get mad, he got creative. By doing so, he got what he wanted and more. The video campaign attracted millions of visitors, boosted sales for his music, raised awareness for instrument care on airlines, and birthed a forum where people could share similar customer service nightmares.

United Breaks Guitars has made Dave Carrol a very busy man. Luckily, I managed to snag a quick email interview with him last week (thanks Dave!). What follows is a great example of how to use creativity (and humor) to achieve amazing results.

Are you crazy? Who checks their instrument on an airline?

Some people have called me crazy but checking a guitar on many airlines is the only option. Air Canada’s policy for instance has been to force passengers to check guitars. I don’t recall for sure but I don’t believe I was told I had a choice with United Airlines. They certainly didn’t offer me the option to board with it.

Was writing the song more a form of therapy or did you have a specific goal in mind (e.g., raise awareness and help others with similar problems etc.)?

Both! I was frustrated by the customer service maze. I promised them (United) the three songs as a way of taking back my power as a customer. Worst case scenario I’d find a creative outlet to release some of that frustration. If they (videos) were successful then there would be an opportunity to affect real change. My goal was to enjoy doing it and not judge the success of it by the reaction of others.

Can you outline the steps you took to put the whole United Breaks Guitars campaign together? For example, how many people were involved? Did you put together a formal marketing/PR plan? How much did it cost?

There was literally very little planning put into the marketing for UBG. I wrote the first song and called some musician friends and said: “United broke my guitar and I’m recording a song about it. Do you want to play on it?”  They all said yes. When the song was done I sent it to my friends in the film industry here in Halifax and said: “Hey, United broke my guitar. Listen to this song and let me know if you’d be into making a funny video to put on YouTube.” They said sure. I called a few friends (all with no acting experience) and asked them to be in the video.

In June 2008 I went shopping and bought three sombreros, some white gloves, a globe, some mustaches and few other props. The entire production budget for the first video was $150. We met at the Waverley Fire Hall, where I am a volunteer fire fighter, at around 9 a.m. and we shot all the outdoor scenes that morning. We spent the afternoon at Curve Productions studio for the inside shots and finished at 6 p.m.

We had no real shot list just a few ideas: the guitar with the chalk outline was one, and the idea of having a handler throw the guitar like an Olympic hammer throw was another. Steve Richard had the idea to create an airplane fuselage out of white foam core but many of the shots were staged on the fly with one or two takes at the most.

Lara Cassidy edited the video but there weren’t that many shots to choose from because of the limited takes we had. I uploaded the video the first chance I had (July 6) and sent out a message to around 1000 Facebook fans and everyone in my outlook express email list. The rest is history.

Why did you choose to add video as opposed to just using the song alone?

I wanted to share the song with as many people as possible and songs don’t typically “go viral.” The visuals combined with a song are what gives people the strongest experience and I knew that Curve would deliver a great looking video. I knew that if I created a well written song with high production values in the recording and the video than it would be enjoyable to watch and one you would want to tell your friends about.

How well versed in social media were you prior to the United Breaks Guitars campaign?

I used Facebook and Twitter and understood the potential behind YouTube but the beauty of social media is that you don’t need to be an expert at all to use it effectively. If you make something relatable, that looks good, sounds good and makes people want to tell their friends about, others will do the work of spreading the word.

Were you surprised by the success of the United Breaks Guitars campaign? Can you tie a sales figure to this campaign? How has it opened doors in other areas for you?

I thought the potential was there to reach 1 million views with the three videos in one year. I had seen plenty of videos with more than a million hits with poor production value that were completely forgettable. I was convinced that because UBG was funny with great production value that it could get the numbers. What I didn’t foresee was how strong the reaction would be with traditional media and how people would watch it so many times. Sales jumped dramatically both online and with physical CD sales and I have had offers for record deals and publishing deals.

When putting together social media campaigns, what do you think is the most important consideration?

Relatabilty, high production value and humour draw people in. People will be attracted to shocking things and violence but if you can make them laugh the experience will resonate more effectively.

Do you believe you’ve had an impact on the customer experience for people flying United? In other words, are they more careful with musical instruments after the United Breaks Guitars success?

I met three Vice Presidents at United Airlines in September and suggested that a clearer policy be implemented on guitars. I’m told that that has been done and that musicians can bring their guitars on all United Airline flights if they are within a certain length. However, UBG has had an impact worldwide across most industries. Any big company stands to experience a similar customer service nightmare if they ignore the needs of their customers and have poor recovery plans in place. Mistakes will happen in every industry but there is a wide range as to how big companies are reacting. Since July changes are taking place. I understand United is doing better in both the industry and with long time flyers who say it’s better across the board. It’s gratifying to know you’ve had a positive impact.