rockstartup

The folks over at PayPerPost recently launched a new website documenting the launch and progress of PayPerPost. The videos are presented via YouTube in true MTV documentary style, complete with background mood music and reality tv styled edits.

Ted Murphy, founder of PayPerPost, graces the screen in true giddy school-boy fashion, as he and Britt (communications specialist for PayPerPost) tackle a New York City tradeshow in Episode One. Britt goes to setup at the tradeshow and finds out quickly that PPP isn't on the list. These are the typical types of little "quirks" that you don't often see as part of the "history" of company startups. Eventually everything gets worked out, though.

Episode two has them returning to the today show, with free signs for the audience members, a ploy that worked well for them last time. They also gave out those stadium foam fingers, which reminded me of that commercial where the guy pours a beer into the foam finger to take with him to the game. No such abuse of the PPP "finger", but once again they managed to get some serious free publicity. The episode then follows up with Ted scoring an interview with Business Week over his cellphone, and grabbing a quick lunch sitting on the floor.

I think that one of the reasons why PayPerPost has gained such publicity and earned a place with "everyday bloggers" is because of the seeming accessibility and "normalness" of its founders. Ted doesn't seem at all like the typical "head geek" that we grew so accustomed to seeing in interviews and press releases with the dotcom companies of the nineties. The advent of video blogging has also assisted in making the staff of PPP more "exposed" to their customers, rather than hiding behind a logo or invented web widget.

I salute PayPerPost for their skills in getting their brand seen and heard, and appreciate the guerilla marketing techniques they've employed. These non-traditional techniques just seem to "fit" with a company that is breaking the traditional mold of internet advertising. If they had followed strict traditional channels to advertise their product, I don't think that they would have been as successful.

Aside from the raw MTV styled video footage, I don't quite get the "rockstartup" reference, and how it really relates to PayPerPost, but perhaps one of the newer episodes can clue me in. Until then, I can at least make some quick cash for posting about it!