In a crowded tech market, Microsoft has managed to create a lot of noise about its mysterious "Origami" project without saying a word.

Through whispers, teasers and a cryptic Web site - http://www.origamiproject.com - Microsoft is getting ready to unveil some kind of portable device that could be anything, judging by the volume of speculation in the blogosphere. It could perhaps play music or games, or turn out to be simply a smallish computer.

The less the company says, the more the guessing game heats up. This type of word-of-mouth pre-launch hype is as good as gold, marketers say. If only it could be duplicated.

"Viral marketing is very effective - witness Origami - but it's tough to get it right," says David Meerman Scott, author of "The New Rules of PR." Witness the big "it" campaign that worked people into a frenzy with speculation about a world-changing invention. It turned out to be the Segway scooter. Cool, yes. World-changing, not so much.

If the product doesn't live up to its hype, "that's pretty much the last time that organization can do viral for a while because you've already shot the bullet," he says.

asap asked a couple of marketing types: What works and what doesn't?

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First off, why is word of mouth so effective?

AUTHENTICITY:

"Most other forms of marketing feel like a corporate-speak kind of thing coming from on high," Scott says. But, "if somebody says to you, 'hey, this is a great restaurant,' and it's somebody you trust or you hear it somewhere, you tend to think that's more true than if you read an advertisement in a paper."

THE BLOG FACTOR:

"It's becoming so powerful," Scott says. "Because if you can get a buzz going with the blogging community, it has that same kind of authentic feel to it."

THE TECHIE BUBBLE:

The tech sphere is particularly hype prone, with its own dedicated Web sites and blogger base, marketers say. "That's a matter of consideration when (a company is) designing the communication strategy," says Brett Zaccardi, CEO of Street Attack Marketing in Boston. "I'm sure they take into account that certain people will follow this religiously and check back each day there's an update."

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And the pitfalls?

THE FAKE FACTOR

Blog buzz can't have the company's fingerprints all over it. "If it's blatantly advertising and you're trying to package it differently and it gets sort of sniffed out by the consumers, then there's a bad taste in your mouth before you even see or touch the product," Zaccardi says.

NOT CROSSING THE LINE

"There are types of blogs that are not authentic," Scott says. "Over time that's just not going to work because it's difficult to trust somebody, a blog I mean, who takes money to do that sort of thing.

"However, I do think it's absolutely valid for companies ... to create a dialogue with bloggers and treat them like The AP or any other member of the media," he says.

Companies can also have blogs, he adds, "if and only if the blogger has an authentic voice in the marketplace and they're commenting on the broad market and not just their company."

FANNING THE FLAMES, BUT NOT TOO MUCH.

"For a product launch, I think it's a great way to do a teaser or a whisper campaign, but it's very important to have a well-defined strategy - how it's going to be introduced, through which channels," Zaccardi says.

Timing is key, he adds. "It's a matter of build-up versus reward."

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THE UPSHOT

The great thing about word-of-mouth is, "this only works for products that are good," says Andy Sernovitz, CEO of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association in Chicago. So, "your product's got to be good. ... This puts wonderful authentic pressure on companies to make good stuff."

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Stephanie Hoo is asap's business writer.

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