Talk about diluting the brand.
Thousands of bourbon drinkers told Maker's Mark that it bottled a big mistake when it reduced the alcohol content — to 84 proof from 90 proof — in its signature whiskey.
Within a week, the spirited outpouring elicited a promise to return the alcohol content to 90 proof, or 45 percent alcohol by volume.
Consumers spoke. The company listened.
Maker's Mark is just the most recent company to misjudge its customers or its product and backpedal to protect its brand.
It wasn't easy. On Sunday, Bill Samuels Jr., the chairman emeritus of Maker's Mark, called the interlude the "worst four or five days in my life."
At least his agony was short-lived. When companies mess with their brands, consumer rebellion sometimes lasts far longer. And one thing's for sure in the Internet age: Social media let reaction pop up faster, spread further and potentially last longer.
Netflix, for example, stumbled for months — in the court of public opinion and on Wall Street — when subscribers reacted angrily in 2011 to new pricing and distribution plans for its video streaming and DVD rental service. The company lost 800,000 customers and $9 billion in market value in less than four months after it instituted a 60 percent price increase.
