Much of what success in business is comes down to marketing. This morning I watched a video with David Heinemeier Hansson, the creator of an immensely (and very quickly) successful web programming framework. When asked how he became so successful so quickly, he replied:

"[By] making a stir, taking a big target and picking on it... you just have to poke at them a little bit and they'll go bananas and link to you like mad. And if you poke them in the eye, they'll go even better bananas."

Basically he's saying that by criticizing the companies or markets that represent your biggest competition, you're bound to get some attention.

This also only works if you've created a "Blue Ocean" by creating a disruptive product that rises above the level of your peers. Once you get the attention, you'll definitely need to be able to back up your claims.

He also states that this only works to a point--once you've gotten the attention, you should be ready switch out of "poking" mode to go in to the mode of explaining and educating people on what's different, and better about your offering.

I thought it was an interesting approach. You'd definitely have to be careful not to be too provocative, but with just the right amount of "poking with a stick" you can, as David has proven, really get some great publicity for your company or product.