Guerrilla marketing

Guerrilla marketing

guerilla marketing definition

Guerrilla marketing is an advertising strategy concept designed for small businesses to promote their products or services in an unconventional way with little budget. Large companies have taken over the term and techniques but with much larger budgets.

To qualify as guerrilla marketing, activities must be carried out exclusively in streets or other public places, such as shopping malls, parks or beaches, i.e. places accessible to as many people as possible. One of the objectives of this interaction is to provoke an emotional reaction in customers so that they will ultimately remember brands in a different way than those usually used. The challenge of any guerrilla marketing campaign is to find the place and time to perform an operation without being legally involved.

history of guerrilla marketing

In 1984, the term "guerilla marketing" was introduced by Jay Conrad Levinson in his book Guerilla Advertising. The term itself was inspired by guerrilla warfare: unconventional warfare using different strategies than those usually used by professional armies.

A guerrilla marketing campaign requires creativity, imagination and energy to capture the public's attention. This type of marketing is purely consumer-driven, taking the consumer by surprise to create a strong impression from the outset and thus make word of mouth or social media work.

Generation Y, largely composed of urban youth (15-30 years old), is often highlighted as the most sensitive target for campaigns because of its links to street culture and social media. Indeed, guerrilla marketing is increasingly considered to be the mobilization not only of the street space but also of its imagination: street culture and street art. Therefore, the success of any guerrilla marketing campaign lies in the relationship between the advertiser and the agency, which must necessarily work in the same direction and have the same objectives. The desire for instant gratification of Internet users provides an avenue for guerrilla marketing by allowing companies to combine wait marketing with guerrilla tactics

types of guerrilla marketing

"Ambush Marketing": "Ambush marketing is a form of co-marketing used by an organization to capitalize on the recognition, attention, or other benefit generated by the association with an event or good, without that organization having a direct or official link with that event or good." Thus, this organization will benefit from the notoriety and media coverage of the event.

"Stealth Marketing: "Stealth marketing is a deliberate action to enter, play in, or exit a market in a secret and imperceptible way, or at least an attempt to do so". People take part in the product without knowing that they are actors in the advertising campaign. Be careful and discreet because if participants are informed, it will have a negative effect on the brand.

"Viral Marketing": "Viral marketing is electronic word of mouth by which a marketing message, related to a company, a brand or a product, is transmitted exponentially increasing, most of the time through social media. ». The goal is to create buzz via network marketing.

"Ambient Marketing": "Ambient marketing is a complex form of corporate communication, which mobilizes elements of the external environment, potentially including any type of existing physical surface, to convey messages that can engage the consumer. ». It is a compilation of intelligence, flexibility and effective use of the atmosphere.

guerilla marketing examples

Since the main objective of guerrilla marketing is to carry out a low-cost operation, one might think that the majority of companies using this marketing tool are small. However, medium and large companies are becoming more and more involved in these initiatives because of their originality and impact.

Example of marketing ambush: The Dulux Valentine paint brand has diverted the notoriety of Fashion Week to promote its new collection. During this unmissable fashion event every year, four models appeared on the podiums in colourful wedding dresses. The favorite accessory chosen for this occasion was a paint can of the brand as a handbag.

On November 14, 2009, a major marketing guerilla operation took place in Paris, where nearly 10,000 people gathered to collect scholarships each containing between €5 and €500. The operation quickly turned into a riot following the cancellation of the event by the prefecture and the organizers Stéphane Boukris and the company Rentabiliweb donated a total of €100,000 to Secours populaire.

Example of Stealth marketing: In 2009, American director Derrick Borte put stealth marketing at the heart of his new film The Jones Family with Demi Moore and David Duchovny. Throughout the film, many brands of cars, clothing, etc. are voluntarily displayed in order to advertise them and encourage the neighbourhood to buy them.

In 2011 the film Donoma, with a budget of one hundred euros, will be released, entirely promoted with the help of a shooting and a "guerilla" promotion by the Donoma Guerilla association.

Example of Marketing Ambient: In 2015, the Café Pele brand organized a marketing Ambient operation in the metro in Sao-Paulo. Indeed, an interactive billboard depicting a man yawning every time a traveller passed in front was set up. As a result, passers-by who had yawned at the advertisement received a cup of coffee from the brand's hostesses.