Guerrilla marketing is an advertising strategy that uses the element of surprise and being present where nobody expects to reach target demographics. This type of marketing relies on imaginative and atypical presentations to arouse amazement or shock and can be very successful at generating publicity.
Guerrilla marketing allows a business to spread a campaign without incurring significant advertising costs. It was developed in 1984 by advertising executive Jay Conrad Levinson, marking a transition away from conventional media (print, television, and radio) and toward digital and viral marketing.
History of Guerilla Marketing
The term “guerrilla marketing” was coined by Jay Conrad Levinson in his 1984 book, “Guerrilla Marketing: Secrets for Making Big Profits from Your Small Business.” Levinson was a marketing consultant who believed that small businesses could compete with larger companies by using unconventional marketing tactics.
Some of the earliest examples of guerrilla marketing can be found in the early 20th century. For example, in 1919, the American automaker Ford used a guerrilla marketing campaign to promote its Model T car. The campaign involved placing small, wooden replicas of the Model T car in public places, such as parks and sidewalks. This campaign was very successful in generating interest in the Model T car.
In the 1960s and 1970s, guerrilla marketing became more popular as a marketing strategy. This was due in part to the rise of counterculture movements, such as hippies and punks, who were often critical of traditional advertising. These movements embraced guerrilla marketing as a way to promote their ideas and values without relying on mainstream media.
In the 1980s, guerrilla marketing became even more popular as a marketing strategy. This was due in part to the release of Levinson’s book, “Guerrilla Marketing.” The book popularized the term “guerrilla marketing” and provided businesses with a blueprint for how to use it effectively.
Today, guerrilla marketing is still a popular marketing strategy for businesses of all sizes.
It is a cost-effective way to reach a large audience and generate buzz about a product or service. Guerrilla marketing can also be used to create a sense of community around a brand or product.
What Is Guerilla Marketing?
Guerrilla marketing is a form of advertising that uses creative methods to attract and excite consumers. It serves as an alternative to conventional marketing techniques such as direct mail, billboards, television ads, and print media. Instead, it concentrates on upsetting crowds and events with distinctive, enduring pictures or behaviours that can encourage brand identification or purchase. Guerrilla marketing typically uses urban human interaction to have a huge impact on a tiny budget and spread via social media and word-of-mouth.
Guerrilla marketing strategies can work well with digital marketing channels, especially social media. When a piece of disruptive content captures the interest of its target audience, it can quickly become popular on social media sites like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter as users share and repost it. Let’s see some of the most famous guerrilla marketing examples of jaw-dropping guerilla marketing campaigns..
Types of Guerrilla Marketing Campaigns
In a world of endless advertising and marketing messages, guerrilla marketing can help you break through the noise and capture attention. Guerrilla marketing is all about creative, unconventional tactics that surprise and delight your target audience. Here are some types of guerrilla marketing campaigns to inspire your next big idea.
1: Ambush Marketing
Ambush marketing is all about capitalizing on a big event or moment, even if you’re not an official sponsor. For example, during the 2012 Olympics in London, Nike launched a “Find Your Greatness” campaign that featured everyday athletes running and training in locations around the world, even though Adidas was the official sponsor of the games.
2: Street Marketing
Street marketing is all about taking your message to the streets and engaging with your audience in unexpected ways. This can include things like pop-up shops, street art, or flash mobs. One example of street marketing is the “Piano Stairs” campaign in Stockholm, where a staircase in a subway station was transformed into a giant piano keyboard that people could play as they walked up and down the stairs.
3: Ambient Marketing
Ambient marketing is all about creating an immersive experience that engages all the senses. This can include things like 3D street art, virtual reality, or interactive installations. One example of ambient marketing is the “Dove Real Beauty Sketches” campaign, where a forensic artist drew portraits of women based on their own descriptions and then compared them to portraits drawn by strangers, revealing the women’s negative self-image.
4: Experiential Marketing
Experiential marketing is all about creating a memorable experience that builds a connection with your brand. This can include things like product demos, immersive events, or branded content. One example of experiential marketing is the “Red Bull Stratos” campaign, where Felix Baumgartner broke the record for the highest freefall jump from the stratosphere, sponsored by Red Bull.
5: Viral Marketing
Viral marketing is all about creating content that people want to share and talk about. This can include things like funny videos, social media challenges, or user-generated content. One example of viral marketing is the “Ice Bucket Challenge” campaign, where people were challenged to dump a bucket of ice water on their heads to raise awareness and funds for ALS.
6. Astroturfing Marketing
Astroturfing is a marketing strategy that involves creating the illusion of grassroots support for a product or service. This can be done by creating fake social media accounts, websites, or even public events that appear to be organic but are actually created and controlled by the company or organization behind the campaign.
Astroturfing is often used to create the perception that a product or service is more popular than it actually is, or to generate positive publicity for a company or organization.
7. Grassroots marketing
Grassroots marketing is a marketing strategy that involves mobilizing a group of people to support a product or service. This can be done by organizing events, distributing leaflets, or simply talking to people about the product or service. Grassroots marketing is often used by small businesses or organizations that do not have the budget for traditional advertising.
8. Buzz marketing
Buzz marketing is a marketing strategy that involves creating a sense of excitement or anticipation around a product or service. This can be done by leaking information about the product or service, creating viral videos or memes, or sponsoring events or contests. Buzz marketing is often used to generate interest in a new product or service, or to revive interest in an existing product or service.
Examples of Guerrilla Marketing to Promote Your Brand
Guerrilla marketing is all about creativity, innovation and capturing the attention of your target audience through unconventional means. From pop-up shops to flash mobs, guerrilla marketing offers endless possibilities for promoting your brand. With a little bit of imagination and a willingness to take risks, you can create memorable experiences that will leave a lasting impression on your customers. Check out these guerrilla marketing examples to get inspired and start thinking outside the box!
Bounty’s Huge Popsicle
Bounty discovered a novel technique to promote its product and the solution it offers, with little words, by placing life-sized “messes” throughout the streets of New York, including a huge, knocked-over coffee cup and a largely melted popsicle.
In terms of culture, we’re starting to choose to avoid advertisements in whatever manner we can. We adore features like DVR and ad-free choices on streaming services like Hulu and YouTube because of this. This campaign is more difficult to ignore than an advertisement.
After all, would you stop and take a closer look if you came across a melting popsicle the size of your mattress on your way to work? We’d do it.
Key Takeaway
Determine the main issue that your solution addresses. Then, develop a creative approach to communicate that to the general public, preferably without using words.
Deadpool’s Tinder Profile
Some Tinder users were shocked to find the legendary comic book anti-hero Deadpool on their app. Before the movie’s Valentine’s Day release, Deadpool broke the fourth wall and introduced himself to potential moviegoers with cheeky photos and clever profile prose.
Although Tinder isn’t the best approach to spread awareness because it only reaches a small portion of users and you’re not legally permitted to use the app for advertising, screenshots of this joke immediately spread on social media and received a ton of attention.
Key Takeaway
The main lesson is that “interruptive” promotions are not annoying if they result in unanticipated joy.
Oreo – Dunk in the Dark
In 2013, Oreo capitalized on the circumstance when the Super Bowl’s lights went out by tweeting an image of an Oreo with the statement “You can still dunk in the dark.” Within minutes, the tweet was retweeted 10,000 times, creating a lot of interest for the company. It is currently the best real-time marketing illustration.
Key Takeaway
In this instance, Oreo made use of a big occurrence to their benefit.
Red Bull – Stratos Jump
Guerrilla marketing strategies are nothing new to Red Bull. They achieved a significant victory in 2012 by supporting the first successful Stratos jump from space. The jump attracted a lot of media attention for the company and was seen by millions of people across the world.
Key Takeaway
By doing something that has never been done before, you can grab people’s attention.
Frontline’s Interactive Floor Ad
“Get that dog away from those flies, please!” The dog and the flies weren’t real in that sense. The latter were actual people, while the former were photographs.
This is because Frontline, a company that produces dog flea and tick control medications, was able to cover the whole floor of this sizable public area with this image. The brand was aware that many people would pass by that area every day and that many would also see it from the top floors of the building, giving the illusion of a dog and an insect. It’s difficult to overlook and to fail to look twice.
Key Takeaway
Consider the potential unconscious responses that people may have to your marketing communications. There are ways to include people in the campaign even if your product or service, for example, does not address the problem of pest removal.
Dove – Real Beauty Sketches
Dove’s 2013 campaign against exaggerated and highly perfumed beauty images included the release of an advertisement titled “Real Beauty Sketches.” In the film, ladies were seen describing themselves to a forensic sketch artist and then having their descriptions changed depending on those of others. Dove’s sales rose from $2.5 billion to $4 billion during that campaign year as a result of the ad’s effectiveness.
Key Takeaway
Dove conveyed their message with the use of a touching tale.
Incredible Bus Shelter for Pepsi Max
Pepsi Max started an outdoor advertising campaign in 2014 to generate buzz and get people talking about their drink. They transformed a bus shelter in New Oxford Street into bizarre CG videos using augmented reality technology. The films wowed and entertained viewers, and the campaign received 8 million views on YouTube. Also, Pepsi max 95% impressions and media attention came from the advertisement.
Key Takeaway
The lesson is that Pepsi Max developed a distinctive and attention-grabbing campaign using cutting-edge technologies.
Domino’s Pizza With a Football Theme
To commemorate the 2010 World Cup, Domino’s released a limited-edition pizza called the “Meatfielder” in 2018. In the UK, there were more than 1,000 stores that sold pizza. Moreover, Domino’s released a Pizza-nini sticker collection including names for its popular pizza varieties that are inspired by football, such as Ronaldo, Mighty Messi, Vegi Volkaneo, and Pepereina Passion. According to Domino’s, the campaign was successful because 8.2 million pizzas were sold in the UK.
Key Takeaway
The campaign Domino’s designed for the world cup was enjoyable and festive, which is the main lesson you can take.
Old Navy’s cardboard cutouts
In 2010, Old Navy placed life-size cardboard cutouts of its models in public places, such as subway stations and sidewalks. The campaign was very successful in generating attention and buzz for the brand.
Key takeaway
Guerrilla marketing can be a very effective way to reach a large audience and generate buzz about a product or service, especially if it is creative and unexpected.
Sprite’s dancing videos: In 2014
Sprite created a series of videos that featured people dancing in public places. The videos went viral and helped to promote the brand’s new flavour, Sprite Cranberry.
Key takeaway
Viral marketing can be a very effective way to promote a product or service, but it is important to create content that is both creative and shareable.
Volkswagen’s remote-controlled Beetle cars
In 2016, Volkswagen created a campaign that involved placing small, remote-controlled VW Beetle cars in public places. The cars would randomly drive around and park in unexpected places. This campaign was very successful in generating attention and buzz for the brand.
Key takeaway
Guerrilla marketing can be a very effective way to get people’s attention, but it is important to be creative and original.
Red Bull’s “Steal a Taxi” campaign
In 2009, Red Bull launched a campaign called “Steal a Taxi.” The campaign involved placing life-size cardboard cutouts of taxis in public places. The cutouts had a QR code on them that people could scan to enter a contest to win a real taxi. The campaign was very successful in generating attention and buzz for the brand.
Key takeaway
Guerrilla marketing can be a very effective way to engage people and get them involved with your brand.
Doritos’ “Crash the Super Bowl” campaign
In 2007, Doritos launched a campaign called “Crash the Super Bowl.” The campaign invited people to submit their own 30-second commercials for a chance to have their commercial air during the Super Bowl. The campaign was very successful in generating attention and buzz for the brand.
Key takeaway
Guerrilla marketing can be a very effective way to tap into people’s creativity and passion. These popular guerrilla marketing examples may inspire you to take bold steps in promoting your business. However, guerrilla marketing is not always easy to execute successfully. It takes creativity, originality, and a good understanding of your target audience
If you’re not sure where to start, or if you want to ensure that your guerrilla marketing campaign is successful, you may want to consider working with a marketing agency that specializes in guerrilla marketing.
Hire OTT For Guerrilla Marketing
OTT is a leading SEO company that offers a wide range of marketing services, including guerrilla marketing. Our team of experienced marketers can help you develop a guerrilla marketing campaign that is tailored to your specific needs and goals. We can also help you execute your campaign effectively and track its results.
We understand that every business is different, which is why we offer a customized approach to guerrilla marketing. We’ll work with you to identify your target audience, develop creative and effective marketing materials, and execute your campaign in a way that gets results.
We’re also experts in search engine optimization (SEO), which can help you improve your website’s visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs). This means that more people will be able to find your website when they search for keywords related to your business.
If you’re looking for a marketing agency that can help you with guerrilla marketing and SEO, contact OTT today. We’ll help you develop a marketing strategy that will help you achieve your business goals.
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By SEO
- Feb 22, 2023
By SEO
