Guerrilla marketing relies on unconventional ways to interact with people and promote a company’s products and services. It’s ideal for any business that has a small budget. Instead of spending a large sum of money on social media, television, and radio ads, it uses personal interactions to target specific groups. These groups are often taken by surprise. This method’s success comes from effectively boosting sales by drawing attention to a brand and its offerings in a unique way.
The goal of guerrilla marketing is to create hype about a brand in hopes of increasing people’s likelihood of buying its products and services. At the very least, it is meant to get everyone talking.
The History of Guerrilla Marketing
Guerrilla marketing came about as marketing shifted from radio, TV, and printed ads to electronic media marketing. The term was first used in a 1984 book by Jay Conrad Levinson, who coined the phrase.
Guerrilla marketing provides startups and small businesses with an affordable way to create a viral marketing event. The campaign often focuses on the company’s core mission.
Examples of Guerrilla Marketing include:
- Custom Promotional Products
- Graffiti, including stencils and reverse graffiti
- Stickers
- Undercover actors raving about a product or service while amongst a crowd
- Flash mobs
- Publicity stunts
- Treasure hunts
Popular examples of guerrilla marketing include Marvel creating a Tinder profile for the title character before the release of the “Deadpool” film. Red Bull once threw away their empty cans in trash bins near clubs. The idea was to make it look like trendy people at these popular spots drank their product.
Pros and Cons of Guerrilla Marketing
While guerrilla marketing is legal, it often involves questionable methods. The name itself comes from guerrilla warfare, which is a form of physical combat that uses unique means to gain an advantage. Just like guerrilla warfare, guerrilla marketing uses unusual tactics to achieve success rather than a large, organized campaign.
Pros
- Allows the company to be creative
- Reaches your audience with untraditional methods that can stand out in the crowd
- More affordable than other marketing campaign methods
Cons
- Less successful and more difficult to track due to its lack of structure
- May turn off some people
- Can be misunderstood
Why Does Guerrilla Marketing Work?
Guerrilla marketing is often successful because it’s memorable. It can be seen as a refreshing change of pace among traditional ad campaigns. It sticks in your mind much better and longer than the run-of-the-mill marketing techniques. Regardless of how it obtains success, the main goal of a guerrilla marketing campaign is to make a big impression on potential customers.
Is Guerrilla Marketing Right for You?
Companies that use guerrilla marketing need to be risk-takers. While it’s a way to get noticed, some of these campaigns backfire on the company. The following are a few reasons why this marketing campaign may backfire.
Authorities Intervene
If guerrilla marketing involves something like graffiti in an area where the company doesn’t have permission for such activity, the authorities can put a stop to it.
Obstacles Arise
Some things can’t be planned. Since guerrilla marketing tactics often involve being out in public, uncontrollable things like bad weather or bad timing can undermine its success.
Backlash Occurs
If someone doesn’t approve of a company’s guerrilla marketing plan, they can call them out on it. This results in not only an unsuccessful campaign but also negative attention.
Before implementing a guerrilla marketing plan, consider how unusual it is. Does any part of it cross a line when it comes to respect for other individuals, local laws or morals? Think about the area you are in as well. Many small towns aren’t as accepting of these techniques as the bigger cities may be.
Getting Started With Guerrilla Marketing
With the right company and target audience, guerrilla marketing can be well worth the time and effort for small business marketing. A small business or startup can quickly make a name for itself in this way. To learn more about this and other successful forms of marketing, contact My Marketing Department today – 727.888.1200.