Guerilla Marketing? Is it just a bunch of people walking around without permission at a fair passing out samples hoping they don’t get caught? Not anymore, it’s much more. We think it is cost effective and should be a part of any strategic plan. Times have changed, but the main objective of guerrilla marketing is still to create a unique, engaging and thought-provoking concept to generate buzz.
Guerilla marketing typically uses unusual means to get huge results with minimal resources. Some effective examples of creating buzz through guerilla marketing are dropping wallets with money throughout a city, creating a flash mob or tweeting locations to find Brand Ambassadors to receive giveaways. Throughout the years, the definition of guerilla marketing has evolved and guerilla marketing is a term now used to describe a lot of different types of non-traditional media such as:
- Reverse Graffiti — clean pavement adverts
- Viral marketing — through social networks
- Presence marketing — making sure your brand is in front of consumers on a daily basis to raise recognition
- Grassroots marketing — tapping into the collective efforts of brand enthusiasts
- Buzz marketing — word of mouth marketing
- Undercover marketing — subtle product placement
- Astroturfing — disguising company messaging as an authentic grassroots movement
- Experiential marketing — interaction with product
- Tissue-pack marketing — hand-to-hand marketing
- Live-in marketing — real life product placement
- Wait marketing — when and where consumers are waiting (such as medical offices and gas pumps) and receptive to communications
The goal with all of these forms of non-traditional media is to connect with the consumer and create a memorable brand experience that will obviously increase profits. In order to be successful multiple forms of non-traditional media should be a part of every great strategic experiential marketing plan.