In its printed form, the term “guerrilla” appears to be highly intense.
It evokes visions of insurgency and violence.
When you put it next to the term “marketing,” a lot of people say, “Huh?”
However, guerrilla marketing is not a combative mode of communication.
In reality, it’s a highly unusual type of marketing in that it promotes brand recognition among
huge audiences without interfering with them.
What is guerilla marketing?
Guerilla marketing is a strategy of increasing exposure and, as a result,
brand recognition by promoting utilizing unusual tactics intended to elicit surprise, amazement, or shock
The phrase was coined in the early 1980s by the late business writer Jay Conrad Levinson,
who published many books on guerrilla tactics in a variety of professional fields.
Of course, marketing, in general, looked quite different at the time,
and while guerilla marketing is employed today, the ever-changing digital world is changing how it appears.
Roots of Warfare
When we hear the phrase “guerilla marketing,” we immediately think of guerrilla warfare,
which makes sense given that this type of marketing earned its name.
Guerrilla tactics in combat rely heavily on the element of surprise.
According to Creative Guerrilla Marketing, consider “ambushes, sabotage, and raids.”
But how does this transfer into the job we perform daily?
Guerrilla marketing tactics rely heavily on the element of surprise.
It aims to develop extremely unusual ads that catch consumers off guard in the course of their daily lives.
Budget-Friendly
What marketers love about guerilla marketing is how low-cost it is.
The actual investment here is creative and intellectual; nevertheless, its implementation does not have to be costly.
Michael Brenner beautifully explains it in his essay on “guerrilla content,”
where he frames this type of marketing in the same framework as reusing your current material,
such as selecting certain portions of a report and extending each one into a blog post.
It is a time investment rather than a financial one.
Guerrilla marketing works in part by reusing your audience’s present surroundings.
Examine it and determine which parts of it may reused to integrate your brand.
Types of Guerrilla Marketing
As obscure as it may appear, there are a few sub-categories of guerilla marketing,
as defined by the business ALT TERRAIN:
Outdoor Guerrilla Marketingis a type of marketing that takes place outside.
Adds something to pre-existing urban settings,
such as affixing a detachable object to a monument or displaying temporary artwork on sidewalks and streets.
Indoor guerilla marketing is a type of marketing that takes place within a building.
It is similar to outdoor guerilla marketing, except that it takes place indoors,
such as in railway stations, stores, and university campus buildings.
Guerilla Marketing takes the form of an ambush during an event.
Using the audience at an ongoing event, such as a concert or sporting event,
to promote a product or service visibly, generally without permission from the event sponsors.
Experiential Guerilla Marketing.
All of the above, but done in a way that requires the public to interact with the brand.
We realize that without context, the concept of guerilla marketing
might be a little perplexing, so let’s look at how it’s been used by a few other businesses.
Guerrilla Marketing Examples to Inspire Your Brand
1. Bounty’s Giant Popsicle
Bounty discovered a novel approach to market its product
and the solution it supplies by placing life-sized “messes” across
the streets of New York – a huge, knocked-over coffee cup and a gigantic melting popsicle.
“Wouldn’t a succinct billboard ad accomplish the same thing?”
you may question.
No, not at all.
Culturally, we’re beginning to seek out any means of removing advertisements from our life.
That’s why we appreciate features such as DVR and ad-free alternatives on
streaming services like YouTube.
This campaign, unlike an advertisement, is more difficult to dismiss.
After all, would you stop and look if you came across a melting popsicle
the size of your mattress on your way to work?
The key lesson is to identify the most pressing issue that your product or service addresses.
Then, create an unusual manner to convey that to the world, ideally without using words.
2. Deadpool’s Tinder Profile
Some Tinder users taken aback when they saw none other than comic anti-hero and legend Deadpool appear on their app.
Deadpool breached the fourth wall and met potential moviegoers
ahead of the film’s Valentine’s Day premiere by posting “cheeky” photos and humorous profile content.
If a Tinder user “swiped right” and matched with the character, they sent a link to buy tickets.
While Tinder isn’t the ideal technique to build buzz
(confined to a tiny fraction of users, and you’re technically not permitted to use the site for marketing),
screenshots of this humour soon went viral on social media.
The key takeaway: Promotions that utilize “interruptive”
tactics that offer unexpected joy aren’t irritating.
3. Childish Gambino’s Ice Cream Pop-Up
Have you ever noticed how effective free food can be as a motivator?
Make it a sweet treat, and you’ve got yourself a winner.
Childish Gambino most certainly had this in mind when he held his
“Summertime Starts Here”
pop-up events, where he gave away free ice cream.
As people waited in the heat for some wonderful ice cream, a big speaker blasted Gambino’s two singles.
It was an excellent approach to introduce fans to his EP, Summer Pack.
The major takeaway: Sometimes you have to entice an audience with incentives in order to get their attention.
4. The GRAMMYs Singing Posters
Okay, so this one isn’t fair because it wasn’t done “in real life.”
But how awesome would it be if it were?
The GRAMMYS music awards program developed a video to promote the candidates for its Album Of
The Year category, showing what would happen if posters for the nominated artists suddenly started singing.
It may appear to be difficult to carry out such a task.
But what if you could make musical posters for your company?
Again, it’s not like a billboard commercial since we don’t expect to see wall of paper ads in
, say, New York City to start moving.
Now, we’ll agree that this isn’t exactly a cheap concept,
as it may need some technological labour to bring to life.
Even if you could incorporate a single moving
or digital picture among a sea of static ones – in a position where it would catch people off guard, such as a brick wall
It would catch people off guard and, as a result, capture their attention.
The main takeaway: Consider the items that your audience could pass by daily and have them do something unexpected and involved.
5. Frontline’s Interactive Floor Ad
I’ll confess that I was taken by this shot when I first saw it.
“Someone, get that dog out of there with those flies!”
I feverishly pondered.
Then I understood that neither the dog nor the insects were genuine.
The former was a photograph, whereas the latter were real people.
Again, this approach differs from typical marketing in that
it does not just plaster a single message somewhere that is likely to be overlooked.
It generates an unintentional personal contact that reminds the observer of what the product accomplishes.
The main takeaway: Consider how individuals can unintentionally engage with your marketing messaging.
While your product or service may not solve a specific need, such as bug eradication,
there are methods to include people in the campaign.
6. Public Breakup on Burger King’s Instagram
Breaking up is difficult enough in person, let alone when it’s publicized online.
That’s what reportedly happened when one Instagram user commented
on one of Burger King’s Instagram photos, telling a story about his “daughter” getting meals from Burger King.
There was just one issue.
This guy had a girlfriend, but she wasn’t anywhere near a Burger King.
Many thought when the comments went viral that the entire encounter was orchestrated by Burger King.
And if it was, we can’t help but admire them — what
a way to push your brand into the public consciousness.
Burger King has around one million Instagram followers.
While we don’t know how many followers the former had before this famous split,
it stands to reason that it brought greater attention to its social media presence, at least on this specific platform.
People may have previously been monitoring the brand on Instagram, but were they actively discussing it before now?
The main point is that guerrilla marketing has gone digital.
Consider where your audience currently exists online, and then perform for them.
While we cannot tolerate dishonesty, we can appreciate ingenuity,
so don’t be hesitant to utilize the comments to get people talking.
7. UNICEF’s Dirty Water Vending Machines
I’m just as guilty as everyone else of squandering money on bottled water.
I don’t have an excuse.
I’ve got a reusable one.
Even though my office provides filtered water from a machine rather than a traditional cooler, it remains a terrible habit.
That’s why this guerilla marketing campaign from UNICEF struck a chord with me.
“What if those bottles of water you squander money on were filled with filthy water?”
it said.
It was a means of reminding the wealthy that in far too many places of the world,
whole populations lack access to safe drinking water.
Instead of wasting money on bottled water, UNICEF advised putting it into initiatives to deliver safe drinking water to these communities.
It accomplished this by erecting improvised vending machines
that sold bottled unclean water, with each button designated as an illness caused by a shortage of safe drinking water.
The key takeaway: Guerrilla marketing is effective in the non-profit industry as well.
While terrifying, tragic pictures are frequently an effective method of expressing your purpose,
there is a way to tell it that is less confrontational and more participatory for the audience.
8. GoldToe’s Giant Briefs
Are you an underwear manufacturer searching for a novel approach to advertising your product?
Try putting a massive pair of underwear on a famous charging bull statue.
We can’t possibly make this stuff up.
In principle, it’s so easy that it sounds like fiction.
When the GoldToe company sought a means to tease and advertise
the introduction of its new undergarments,
it did just that: it casually placed these new articles of clothing on statues throughout New York.
While we can’t be certain that this is the path GoldToe chose,
we truly hope that those bull-sized briefs were created from leftover production fabric,
making this campaign even more cost-effective.
The main point is to not over-think things.
What appears to be your most ridiculous idea may turn out to be the greatest one.
9. Fiji Water’s #FijiGirl
One guerrilla marketing strategy for gaining attention in subtle ways is strategic product placement.
Fiji Water’s participation at the 2019 Golden Globes,
when models donned blue and handed trays of water for thirsty attendees, is one such example.
But it didn’t stop there.
Kelleth Cuthbert, a model, positioned herself in the backdrop of photo-shoots, successfully photobombing high-profile celebrities.
When the images began to circulate on social media,
people began to identify Cuthbert as a common denominator, dubbed her #FijiGirl.
She eventually became one of the evening’s highlights, winning over admirers and attracting notice to Fiji Water’s brand
The main takeaway: Your business doesn’t have to be the focal point of an event to stand out.
10 BBC’s Dracula Billboard
When I think of Count Dracula, I think of the ultimate evil, associated with anything that goes bump in the night.
The BBC sought to capitalize on this sentiment to advertise their Dracula program.
By day, their billboard was simple, with red writing on a white backdrop and a few bleeding stakes.
The billboard, like its topic, transformed entirely when darkness fell.
The stakes deliberately positioned to create a shadow over Dracula himself.
The installation was highlighted in Ad-week and achieved some viral popularity
due to its originality and skilled execution.
The major takeaway: When it comes to promotional materials, think beyond the box.
In this situation, light and shadow sufficed to communicate the message and draw attention.
These examples should motivate you, especially if you’re marketing a tiny company.
Don’t be scared to solicit material for these initiatives.
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