Say you saw me (handsome bald man) at a party standing all alone (not that that would ever happen). Whether positive or negative, memorable or easily forgotten, you would have some sort of impression of me. If, at the same party, I was standing next to Tiger Woods, your perception of me would be much different.

Marketers have tapped into the power of star equity for a long time. But in an age in which Andy Warhol's vision (that everyone will be famous for 15 minutes) has become a reality, there are more creative (and potentially more effective, not to mention less expensive) ways to effectively align your brand than simply writing a large check to a celebrity. One way is to align your brand with a consumer group that represents a lucrative segment for your brand.

A few months ago, Dell created a social, or conversational, hub called Digital Nomads. Dell describes the initiative in the following way:

"Digital Nomads is a community site for individuals that work or play without regard for their physical location. It is a place where they can come together to read about other digital nomads, share ideas, tips and tricks and best practices, and read the latest nomad-oriented news. Digital Nomads live a lifestyle where their laptop and other electronic devices create the center of their office and/or play-space."

Given the nature of the technology employed by the so-called digital nomad, it should come as no surprise that this consumer segment is important to Dell. By employing a tactic referred to as crowdsourcing, Dell aimed to tap into the collective intelligence of a very specific market segment and engage members of this segment to have conversations with one another. As a result, Dell was able to align its brand with this group. One striking element of this initiative is the fact that there is very little branding from Dell. In fact, the homepage has only one -- very small -- explicit mention of the brand, and this mention is at the bottom of the page, located in the footer.

The initiative's conversation extends beyond the confines of the DigitalNomads.com to employ a distributed web strategy that spans various social networks.

 
Dell has kept its brand presence sparse at all digital touchpoints. Those wishing to know who is behind the initiative should have no problem finding out who it is; Dell has, by no means, hidden its involvement in this initiative. By fostering a relevant conversation among consumers, Dell has neatly positioned the brand in the conversation, without appearing to control the conversation. By remaining at arm's length, Dell is allowing consumers to tell and hear stories about digital nomads from "people like themselves." It is likely that most consumers will include Dell as a footnote (if not more) when telling this story.