Guerilla Marketing
Utilizing non-traditional tactics that trigger surprise, wonder, or shock is the essence of guerrilla marketing, which is a technique employed to generate exposure leading to brand recognition.
The late business writer Jay Conrad Levinson coined the term in the early 1980s to describe a set of guerrilla tactics in various professional fields. Marketing was vastly different back then, and although guerrilla marketing still exists today, the constantly expanding digital space is altering its appearance.
Understanding Guerrilla Marketing
Guerrilla marketing is relied upon by businesses to distribute its bold promotions via word-of-mouth or viral marketing, ultimately reaching a wider audience at no cost.
Guerrilla marketing relies heavily on establishing an emotional connection with consumers. Not every product or service is suitable for this approach, as it’s typically geared towards more daring items and younger audiences who tend to be more receptive.
Public places with large audiences such as streets, concerts, public parks, sporting events, festivals, beaches, and shopping centers serve as the setting for guerrilla marketing.
The proper selection of time and location for a campaign is a crucial aspect of guerrilla marketing in order to prevent any potential legal problems. Guerrilla marketing encompasses both indoor and outdoor settings, as well as “event ambush” and experiential approaches aimed at promoting customer interaction with a brand.
While certain tactics may come close to crossing ethical lines, guerrilla marketing is considered lawful.
Roots of Warfare
It’s difficult to dissociate guerrilla marketing from guerrilla warfare, since this marketing strategy was named after the military tactic. In warfare, surprise plays a critical role in guerrilla tactics, which involve ambushes, sabotage, and raids, as explained by Creative Guerrilla Marketing.
How does this apply to our daily work? Guerrilla marketing techniques rely on the element of surprise, aiming to develop unconventional campaigns that unexpectedly catch people during their regular routines.
Budget-Friendly
Marketers appreciate guerrilla marketing due to its relatively inexpensive approach.
The main investment required is a creative and intellectual one, but the execution need not be costly. Michael Brenner’s concept of “guerrilla content” perfectly encapsulates this marketing style, wherein you reuse existing content by expanding certain segments of a report into individual blog posts. Although it requires a considerable amount of time, it does not necessarily call for monetary investment.
Guerrilla marketing operates by leveraging your audience’s existing setting. Analyze it and determine which elements can be adapted to incorporate your brand.
Guerrilla Marketing Types
Numerous variations of guerrilla marketing exist. For instance:
Viral or Buzz Marketing
The technique of buzz marketing places emphasis on the distribution of information through word-of-mouth. This marketing strategy, which is commonly used on social media platforms, involves a single user sharing a company’s content with their social network, friends or family. Instead of actively generating excitement themselves, guerrilla marketing approaches rely on customers to spread awareness of a product or company organically.
Stealth Marketing
The objective of stealth marketing is to sell products to customers without their awareness of being marketed to, while keeping costs low. When watching television, even if paying only partial attention to ads, companies may still try to covertly advertise their products to you.
Ambient Marketing
Ambient marketing is a type of guerrilla marketing that aims to blend seamlessly into a natural setting, in contrast to more overt forms of advertising like bus bench promotions.
To avoid potentially alienating customers, certain marketing departments may opt for a less conspicuous guerrilla marketing approach as opposed to a more overt one.
Ambush Marketing
Picture yourself watching a sports competition and witnessing numerous commercials of corporations that financed the occasion.
Companies often resort to coat-tail marketing as a tactic to create the impression of sponsorship while not being one. This strategy, also known as ambush marketing, is commonly used as a guerrilla marketing approach during event sponsorships. It enables companies to save resources while taking advantage of major events.
Projection Advertising
Projection advertising involves placing eye-catching advertisements, usually on building sides or plain walls. This type of guerrilla marketing enables firms to tailor promotions, particularly for occasions. Projection advertising, which may be less formal and require less initial capital, is a more transient form of advertising that avoids capital investments or long-term contracts.
Grassroots Marketing
Grassroots marketing involves a guerilla marketing strategy that depends on limited resources.
Grassroots marketing is frequently employed by local or small companies and involves low-cost marketing strategies that depend on people’s time. Instead of larger marketing strategies, grassroots marketing relies on distributing flyers and similar approaches. It is a more straightforward approach to launching a marketing campaign.
Guerrilla Marketing Advantages and Disadvantages
Pros of Guerrilla Marketing
Guerrilla marketing is frequently chosen by management because of its affordability. Unlike other marketing strategies that require significant funding, guerrilla marketing is typically a more economical option.
Start-ups, small businesses, and organizations with fewer corporate limitations frequently utilize guerrilla marketing methods because it permits greater room for creativity. By relying on informal channels to disseminate marketing information, practitioners of guerrilla marketing can employ less conventional techniques to implement their strategies.
The capacity of marketing professionals to be more inventive allows some guerrilla marketing campaigns to achieve a broader audience. This not only presents the chance for higher profits than other campaigns, but also makes guerrilla marketing campaigns more appealing and enjoyable to marketing professionals.
Cons of Guerrilla Marketing
Due to their lack of structure, guerrilla marketing tactics often have a higher probability of failure and lower success rates. Inconsistencies in messaging may arise, leading to potential misunderstandings among the target audience.
Guerrilla marketing is considered negative by certain individuals who would rather not receive these types of advertisements. Consequently, some consumers are endangered by the potential negative effects of guerrilla marketing strategies.
The lack of structure in guerrilla marketing may be its biggest disadvantage. As a result, it may be difficult for marketing experts to assess the efficacy of the campaign by gathering metrics. Additionally, the company may employ unconventional guerrilla tactics that are untested, resulting in uncertainty over their effectiveness.
Guerrilla Marketing Examples
1. Bounty’s Giant Popsicle
Bounty utilized an innovative approach to promote its product and its problem-solving abilities in New York City by setting up real-life replicas of a colossal spilt coffee cup and a melting popsicle, without the need for excessive wording.
One may wonder, “Could a brief billboard advertisement achieve the same objective?” However, this is unlikely as we are currently moving towards eliminating ads from our daily routine using all available means.
We appreciate things such as ad-free choices on streaming platforms like Hulu and YouTube, and DVR for television shows. Unlike an advertisement, this promotion cannot be easily disregarded. If you encountered a gigantic melting popsicle on your commute to work, would you be able to resist stopping and taking a look? We certainly wouldn’t.
The main point to remember is to pinpoint the primary issue that your product or service solves. Subsequently, seek out an alternative method to promote it to the general public – preferably without any verbal communication.
2. Deadpool’s Tinder Profile
Tinder users were unexpectedly greeted by the iconic Deadpool character on the app. The charming profile included clever descriptions and humorous pictures that artfully acknowledged the viewers and promoted the upcoming Valentine’s Day movie premiere.
Once a Tinder user “swiped right” and matched with the character, a link was sent to them for purchasing tickets.
Although Tinder is not an effective means of creating hype, as it has a limited audience and promotional use is prohibited, the prank screenshots were widely circulated on social media and generated significant interest.
The main lesson is that utilizing “interruptive” methods for promotions can be enjoyable as long as they generate unforeseen pleasure.
3. Childish Gambino’s Ice Cream Pop-Up
Have you witnessed the potency of free food as an incentive? Add some sugary delights to the mix, and you’ll have a surefire way to encourage others.
It is probable that Childish Gambino intended for his “Summertime Starts Here” pop-up events to include free ice cream distribution while his two singles were being played on a loudspeaker, as individuals waited in line enduring the hot weather.
Introducing his EP, Summer Pack, through it was an excellent method to familiarize the audience with his music.
The major point to remember is that at times, incentives are necessary to attract and obtain the attention of an audience.
4. The GRAMMYs Singing Posters
Although not an actual occurrence, this example may not be biased. In a hypothetical scenario, the GRAMMYS music awards show released a video to endorse the nominees for Album of the Year category, showcasing music posters magically singing. How spectacular would it be if this were a reality?
Executing such a plan may appear unfeasible, yet consider the possibility of designing musical posters for your brand. Unlike a billboard advertisement which is static, when we pass by a collection of paper ads in a city like New York, we don’t anticipate them to come to life.
Admittedly, this idea may not fit within a budget as it may entail technical efforts to execute. However, by incorporating a solitary digital or moving image amidst a multitude of static ones – especially in an unexpected location such as a brick wall – it would seize people’s attention by taking them by surprise.
The main point to remember is to consider items that your target audience might overlook in their daily routine and transform them into something surprising and engaging.
5. Frontline’s Interactive Floor Ad
Frontline, which produces flea and tick protection items for canines, occupied the whole level of the vast, communal area with this image. The business was aware that a significant number of individuals pass through that area daily, and that numerous people would see it from higher storeys of the building, resulting in the creation of the illusion of dogs and insects. It’s impossible to overlook and not glance twice.
This campaign stands out from traditional marketing methods as it does not merely involve displaying a single message in a location that is likely to go unnoticed. Instead, it fosters inadvertent human interaction that serves as a reminder to the audience about the product’s purpose.
The main point is to determine the potential methods by which individuals could unintentionally engage with your promotional communications. Even if your company does not specifically cater to something like pest eradication, there are means of involving people in your initiative.
Guerrilla Marketing Mistakes
There are numerous instances of guerilla marketing campaigns going wrong, due to the inherent risks involved and the unfamiliar areas it explores.
- In 2007, the Cartoon Network promoted a show by placing LED signs resembling a character from the show all over Boston. The signs created a bomb scare and cost Turner Broadcasting (the network’s parent) $2 million in fines.
- In a 2005 Guinness World Record attempt, Snapple promoted its new frozen treats by erecting a 25-foot popsicle in a New York City park. It melted faster than expected, covering the park in sticky goo requiring the fire department to come to hose it down.
Guerrilla Marketing Legality
Guerrilla marketing is not illegal, even though a few of its tactics may raise ethical concerns. These tactics are still within the bounds of the law. Often, companies resort to guerrilla marketing due to limited resources or a desire to pursue a more innovative marketing approach.
Notes on the margin
Guerrilla marketing involves departing from traditional marketing methods and opting for unconventional ways to generate interest in a brand, product, or company. By using inexpensive or free marketing tactics, businesses adopt a more straightforward approach to entice customers through engaging strategies.
