Viral Blanketing
| posted by Heath RowTalk about interoffice advocacy... and then some! When Rob Davis, a relatively new hire at Minneapolis-based PR firm Haberman & Assoc., was hit by a virus on his home PC, he didn't just clean up his hard drive, he started using a new browser, encouraged all of his colleagues to do the same -- and launched a national campaign to promote his new browser of choice.
After switching his home PC -- and officemates -- from Explorer to Firefox, Davis decided to call Mozilla, makers of the browser, to explore bringing the technology further into the mainstream. By organizing a fundraising campaign among Firefox's supporters, perhaps the community of users could raise enough money to buy a full-page ad in the New York Times, no less, to announce the November launch of the latest version of its browser.
To date, more than 8,000 people have signed on to help spread Firefox, and the original goal of raising $75,000 has been far surpassed. Business leaders such as Sun's COO are even supporting the effort.
Now -- with just six days left in the campaign, Davis hopes to net enough for two full ad pages. How could you leverage your community of customers and clients? What kind of collective action would make sense?
[Thanks, Eric!]
Comment
Recent Comments | 2 Total
October 28, 2004 at 8:54am
DaveOkay, someone explain to me the wisdom here.
You use a browser that is so small in user base that it is not worth a hacker's efforts to target its vulnerabilities. (I dare someone to put their professional reputation on the line saying that Firefox has no vulnerabilities)
So, what is your natural inclination? You advertise it with full page ads.
Wide adoption invites the same issues you face with the blue e. Not to mention that a full page ad is like placing a bulls-eye on Mozilla. From what I know of the hacker commuity, this is exactly the kind of challenge that motivates them.
I am interested in the subject of "activating advocacy in my customer base", but this was a better illustration of "failure in understanding the value of exclusivity"
One more thing. Unless the PR Agency views this as a means to call attention to themselves, I would think they would prefer that this staffer spend his passion, time and creativity advancing their business...as an advocate of course.
D
October 28, 2004 at 2:04pm
MaryOver the years, Microsoft has bullied computer manufacturers and forcing them to put only their (Microsoft's) browser on any computer sold with the Microsoft Operating. Eventually that was over turned. I think it is those type of closed minded manuevers to thwart the competition and create a monopoly that has brought on the angst that the hacker community has had towards Microsoft. I do believe the hacker community has it's own demographics. Some just want to tunnel in in any way shape or form and regardless of browser this is going to happen while others just have it in for Microsoft. For a while, alternative browers WILL help the effort. But, Dave is right, eventually, marketing Firefox will bring it to front of the minds like all other marketing efforts do and hackers will target it as well. I think it will help some (for a time period of about a year) in the way that 3 locks on your door helps slow down a buglar. But, if the buglar wants in, he will eventually get in.
M