Well, today all the Blue
Monster bits will be out!. Ted says Sunday night, and as this is US time, it probably
will be a late night for me (or maybe an early morning? ..). It’s a massive puzzle
with 192 pieces spread all around the web and people have to scavenge for all the
bits to try and win a $500 prize. Unfortunately, due to the rule of diminishing returns,
the more bits you have, the harder it is to find the remaining pieces
So, what did PayPerPost have to gain with
an initiative like this. The two objectives would be promotion and team building.
Blue Monster is the code name for PayPerPost’s new campaign which looks like it is
centered about a big Monster Truck which may tour the country. If they had to release
this information using traditional means, press releases, TV advertising etc, it would
be very expensive to make this information known around the US and the chances of
hitting the right people are low. This sort of campaign gets the blogosphere talking
and information is disseminated this way. The second advantage is that it helps the
PayPerPost blogger community gel together. Whether people are posting puzzle pieces,
or searching for them, it brings everyone together. It makes people visit each other’s
blogs, makes them trade pieces and befriend one another. People start “knowing” each
other and how to work together.
And the costs? Well, it probably cost them around $4000-$5000. There’s a $500 prize
pot, and they paid $5 to each poster who put up the pieces (some pieces were posted
multiple times, so it’s not a plain 192 x $5). Add to this the people costs of administering
the pieces and the additional people cost in approving the posts (they had staff in
over the weekend to catch up) and you can see how the costs build up.
It’s not an insubstantial cost, but the benefits outweigh this. PayPerPost’s
success is dependent on the strength of the community it succeeds in building
and the buzz it creates. This campaign goes a long way to creating that community.
The next few months promise to be interesting.