Consumer Generated Media for Hewlett Packard

The first of what promises to be many homespun ads for HP hit the Web yesterday. See the HP video here (thanks Steve Rubel). Sit back and watch viral marketing in action - we should see some nice earned media for the HP brand and a heap-load of free impressions. CGM (consumer generated media) is a very powerful thing - Converse, Vespa and Apple have all reaped significant benefits from this form of customer evangelism recently. It will be interesting to see how, and if, HP responds. Hopefully, they will embrace and showcase!

This may provide a good case study on the anatomy of buzz. As the clip makes its rounds, consumers and journalists will write about it and create a layer of CGM that intercepts individuals seeking information about HP products and services. Since CGM is link-rich and dense with relevant keywords, this content may even rise to the top of search results, providing the first-impressions before consumers get to official brand content. This scenario will play out if the homespun ad generates enough interest and spawns provocative themes and issues among influentials who propagate relevant content through blogs, news portals, and discussion forums.

Tags: marketing cgm advertising