Allowing customers to create their own messages around products or services provides a trusted voice to market the brand. Chevrolet recently created a tool enabling users to build their own commercial, resulting in a highly successful viral marketing campaign.

However, there are risks-- as brand managers no longer control the content, the brand is out in the wild. During the recent Chevy campaign, for example, environmental activists created negative ads. Nonetheless, even this had its own reward. According to Ed Peper, the Chevrolet GM, "It sure got people talking about the Tahoe, which was the whole idea, after all."

An example of a commercial created by a Chevrolet customer.

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