Okay, maybe “zero” is an exaggeration. But there is definitely a way to promote your brands for much less money than through traditional Madison Avenue-driven channels.

Just today, we’ve seen two examples:

The Fairtrade movement’s pockets are about as shallow as they come, and yet it’s reporting a 12% increase in Fairtrade goods in this the most dismal of years. Also, the music music labels are now trying to exploit the cheap labor that goes into the viral videos created by its artists.

An editorial by Mahesh Murthy in today’s The Wall Street Journal gives more examples, as well as some how-to advice. Very simple stuff: create conversation, monitor the conversation, and participate in the conversation. But just because it’s simple, doesn’t mean it’s easy.

The key, as Murthy points out, is intelligence. He even proffers his own Law:

Today, the best way to establish your brand among big-hitter rivals is to make it remark-worthy and generate conversations free of charge. See how Red Bull took on big-ad-buying Coke and Pepsi with a product that sold at a higher price for a smaller pack size and built it to a billion-dollar brand with little advertising? The new axiom, call it Mahesh’s Law, is this: your marketing IQ is inversely proportional to your marketing budget.

What he forgot to add is that “intervention” may, from time to time, come in the form of fighting fires. And when these conflagrations arise do make sure your reputation management people are social network savvy.