Consumer Revolt and the Rising Cost of Defection

Abstract

Consumer defection from direct-marketing tactics like traditional banner advertising has served as a catalyst for more collaborative marketing formats to evolve. Paid search advertising represents an important evolutionary step, because it involves consumers directly in assessing the quality of content and compelling advertisers to cooperate by providing relevant content. The growth in opportunities for direct consumer feedback has produced grim lessons for marketers, as consumers are able to take punitive measures against brands that defect. Instances of consumer backlash through social media, often in the form of viral videos that counter brand messaging, have produced tangible results in compelling marketers to cooperate with consumer demands. Consumers' eagerness to punish defecting brands has both a historical basis in marketing's long history of defection - and a neurological basis, as individuals take pleasure in enforcing rules of engagement.