by
Supporters are enlisted during Winterfest events on the Ann Arbor campus last month. (Facebook photo)
Surprise lessons can come in odd ways and from unexpected directions. Just ask University of Michigan senior Mike Weinberg, a music major who wants a second anthem for fans of the Wolverines.
Bill Shea of Crain's, who did ask, reports on what the Ann Arbor student now knows about social media wildfires, good intentions gone awry, crisis communications and persistence in the face of an outcry:
Weinberg, 22, is the originator of an effort to create a contemporary "pump-up" song for Michigan athletics and other events, called "Hail and Unite: The Michigan Anthem Movement." . . .
"Hail and Unite" does not intend to supplant Michigan's iconic "The Victors" fight song, but that's what some students and alumni believed. . . . Angry alumni, students and fans took to Twitter and other social media with a torrent of outrage,
The boondoggle drew national media attention from the likes of the The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post. . . .
Months of work persuading groups and departments to support and participate in "Hail and Unite" were nearly undone, Weinberg said.
Mike Weinberg, 22, seeks $65,000 by May 19.
Fast-forward a month to recovery and version 2.0 of the campus campaign, as Shea describes:
Weinberg said he spent 48 hours straight in his room, calling and emailing media, campus organizations, UM departments and backers to get the real message out, that "Hail and Unite" had no intention of replacing "The Victors." . . . "We learned more in the last month than I have in my entire life," he said. . . .
Everyone who was spooked is back on board, Weinberg said, and instead of seeking university or student funding, the effort has launched a $65,000 crowdfunding campaign on Funderbuilt, which is based in Southfield.
The donation page, which has the video below, shows nearly $2,900 in pledges from 41 backers in 10 days. The two-month drive though May 19 is intended to cover contracts with musicians, artists and producers, as well as studio time, legal costs, a music video, a making-of documentary and other promotion.
Weinberg, who's from Los Angeles, says at his Facebook page that he's "CEO & founder" of the Hail and Unite group created 18 months ago.
