A golden case study…

It’s an old story now, but a great example of how you can build exposure cheaply and effectively using online PR. Nintendo Wii, the fantastically popular home gaming console, used the blogosphere to it’s advantage when they pitched influential blogger Heather Armstrong.

In keeping with the open and transparent nature of the ‘social web’, Nintendo contacted Heather asking if she would use, and review, Wii Fit. No payment. No demands for positive reviews. The only thing they asked was that she writes about her experience.

Heather wrote an article on how she held a Wii Fit party in her house. In the article she promised to give away five consoles to the authors of the five best comments on the article.

A mind blowing 42,232 comments later, the prizes were sent to five extremely happy commentators who then became advocates of the Wii console and Wii Fit themselves! Today Nintendo hosts a flourishing forum in which you can host your own blog party with Wii products.

The whole dream campaign has cost Nintendo five game consoles: about $1,000 If only 11 of the 42,232 people who commented bought a Wii Fit bought one, Nintendo breaks even. How´s that for a bargain?