Tara Hunt of Riya has a good post on her blog talking about the Chevy Tahoe “create your own ad” contest on the internet, and how it’s turned into a lot of user-created ads that are negative on SUVs due to global warming, peak oil, and dependence on foreign oil.
She makes some great points on how GM can react to this. They can either stick their head in the sand, or embrace the community and the feedback to brainstorm on creating cars/SUVs these people would support.
It may be a bit myopic as it’s clear at this point that car companies don’t care that much about global warming, but it’s still a good example on how a company can choose to respond positively to negative feedback from users online.
In my view, GM’s response in leaving up a lot of the negative ads demonstrates credibility and trustworthiness.
This can only be good for the company’s reputation with consumers.
Of course, the ultimate demonstration of responsiveness would be a hybrid Tahoe!