Get The Crowd Buzzing

• Sonja Carberry
• On 5:29 pm EDT, Thursday October 22, 2009

You've created a product worth talking about. How to get noticed in a noisy marketplace? Consumers will spread the word. How some leading firms raise the volume:

Target the leaders. The need to ease screen time for heavy digital users is huge, says Gunnar Optiks co-founder Joe Croft. "125 million people are at their computers more than three hours a day," he told IBD. "This is a massive market."

Croft and his fellow Gunnar Optiks pioneers spent years finding the right combination of lens material, shape, tint color and coating for the firm's performance eyewear.

How well do the products work? Croft says seeing is believing.

To prove it, Gunnar Optiks talked prominent digital users into trying the specs. Keith Arem, designer of the popular video game "Call of Duty," became a fan after experiencing the difference.

The firm calls such high-profile early adopters its G-Force and includes their stories on its Web site.

"We literally have the creme de la creme of the digital crowd," Croft said. "The key is to get those front movers for sure."

Be an advantage. When a few pros with Major League Gaming -- video games' official league -- started wearing the glasses, other players sniffed a competitive edge.

"Once the word got out there, we've had a huge number of people come to us," Croft said.

This month Gunnar Optiks released its first officially licensed MLG performance eyewear style.

Offer big rewards. Obesity and heart disease among dogs is up. Why not make healthier food for pooches? That's the idea behind All American Pet Brands' Grrrnola, Bowwowbreakfast and Fido Flakes, says to CEO Barry Schwartz.

To get dog owners to notice the wellness approach, All American Pet Brands partnered with like-minded firms to throw a $1 million cutest dog contest.

Every dog owner thinks his pooch is the best. And who doesn't want to win big money?

"We get over 2 million hits per week on the site from people who vote," Schwartz said. "It's unprecedented the play we're getting on it."

Add treats. To keep people interested until the million dollar giveaway on Thanksgiving Day, the contest offers daily and weekly awards, such as Apple (NasdaqGS:AAPL - News) iPod Nanos and smaller cash prizes.

It's feel-good marketing. "There's an unbelievable camaraderie of people with their pets," Schwartz said.

Build a club. In the old days, only in-the-know New Yorkers could buy designer clothes at huge discounts because industry sales were kept quiet.

The Internet changed that.

The Private online shopping club BeyondtheRack.com now holds cyberspace designer auctions at up to 70% off retail.

But you can't simply join the site. You have to be invited. Co-founder Yona Shtern says this approach lets BeyondtheRack maintain its exclusive feel while controlling growth.

Members do the inviting, and the firm thanks them with a reward.

When an invitation to the site results in a purchase, BeyondtheRack gives the person who did the inviting a $10 credit redeemable on the site.

The result is a quarter-million shoppers and counting.

"Our members are our greatest advocates," Shtern said.

Buzz up!