Spreading the Firefox Fire
The little browser that could has grabbed 10% market share thanks to Mozilla's inventive marketing and a skulk of fox-fervent volunteers
By Sarah Lacy
How do you compete against Microsoft when you're a small, 60-person not-for-profit organization? Enlist armies of ardent enthusiasts who will market you for free. That's how Mozilla generated buzz for its Firefox Internet browser, garnering 10% of the market in just a few years. Competitors Opera, Safari, and others combined make up less than 3% of the Microsoft-dominated market. The techniques are an extension of the open-source ethos that built Firefox from the beginning, and they've led to some unique branding activities. Here are some of the more unusual—and effective—approaches.
How do you compete against Microsoft when you're a small, 60-person not-for-profit organization? Enlist armies of ardent enthusiasts who will market you for free. That's how Mozilla generated buzz for its Firefox Internet browser, garnering 10% of the market in just a few years. Competitors Opera, Safari, and others combined make up less than 3% of the Microsoft-dominated market. The techniques are an extension of the open-source ethos that built Firefox from the beginning, and they've led to some unique branding activities. Here are some of the more unusual—and effective—approaches.
