GM's Media Wall

I keep running into business and agency people who should know better but remain skeptical of social media's prowess. Perceptions of the tenuousness of new media won't likely change until there's widespread adaptive use of social media by the world's leading brands. But wait! Hasn't that already happened.

GM Corporate Headquarters, Renaissance Center, Detroit, MI.

In this provocative conversation during the Influencer Dinner of SF's Pivot Conference in between Wired co-founder, John Batelle, and host/Altimeter Group principal, Brian Solis, Batelle relates a recent visit to GM World Headquarters in Detroit, MI.

When you visit Joel Ewanick, CMO of GM, in his offices in Detroit, the first thing you notice is that unlike most C-suite executives, he’s not on the 39th floor of GM’s Renaissance Centerheadquarters (the highest floor). Instead, you exit the elevators on the 24th floor, less than two thirds up the building.

The second thing that strikes you is the floor itself – it’s bright with natural light, sports an open plan bustling with energy, and features a central video wall sporting constantly updated feeds reflecting consumer sentiment about GM and its brands – Facebook wall postings, Tweets, news stories, and the like.

He goes on to describe how GM uses its video wall to quickly engage its customers where they stand in the media space, often addressing customer service messaging at the local level within an hour of detection. While Mr. Ewanick no longer occupies the CMO office, this kind of acknowledgment of social media clout represents a seismic shift in the thinking of even the most conservative of global brands and ought to be enough to win over even the most recalcitrant of skeptics, wouldn't you think?

After all, what's good for GM is good for the country.