Before the technology-laden Nasdaq stock index plummeted in March, startups couldn't spend fast enough on TV, radio, and print ads. Many companies have cut back on traditional ad campaigns. Last November, the online-shopping portal advertised in Delta Sky magazine and a few other publications. But the ads were expensive and ineffective, says Ebrick co-founder and Chairman Scot Fishman.
Companies have to be more careful about how they spend their dollars.
For several months now, it has been offering special deals and discounts to its shoppers, encouraging them to forward the deals to their family and friends. That month, the site had 492,000 unique users, according to the company. This dirt-cheap method of promotion, in which online customers pass company information along to their friends, is experiencing something of a boomlet again. And in an era when dot-coms are scrambling for cash, many say it deserves a second look. Wash. Then its use spread out into other fields.