Guerilla Marketing
Advertising trends have evolved from traditional print or Tv ads to the latest marketing strategies that include innovative and creative efforts with extensive use of digital platforms to promote businesses. In the battle of acquiring customers’ attention, marketers tend to follow every possible trend to hack growth and win customers’ hearts.
In this digital age, techniques like content marketing, online advertising, and social media marketing cause a miraculous growth in businesses. However, some other techniques help in increasing brand awareness at a wider level, that you might be unaware of.
And, Guerilla Marketing is one of them!
Guerilla Marketing
Guerilla Marketing means the unconventional use of marketing measures that thrive on the element of surprise. It is indeed the most creative marketing strategy that helps a brand increase its awareness even at a low cost.
In other words, guerilla marketing is an innovative communication strategy that draws the attention of people. It involves displaying advertisements in the most creative way on such platforms where people wouldn’t have imagined an ad to be placed.
The use of unconventional yet stunning methods surprises the viewers and leaves a mark on their minds about the brand or its message, which automatically elevates its image and awareness level.
For example, Frontline, the makers of flea and tick prevention products for dogs, generated a creative yet impactful guerilla strategy by placing a picture of a dog on the floor of a building. The message was strictly for the people watching from the upper level of the building by creating a dog-and-insect illusion in their minds!
History
The history of guerilla marketing goes back to the 1980s when an author named Jay Conrad Levinson coined the term “Guerilla Marketing” in his book “Guerilla Marketing; Easy and Inexpensive Strategies for Making Big Profits for Your Small Business”.
The purpose was to create a buzz about a brand or its product in such a way that it catches the attention of audiences, hence making it a center point of their discussion.
This technique was introduced for small businesses that could not afford heavy marketing budgets. According to this method, brands can use creative and attention-grabbing ways for promotion at a modest cost.
Types Of Guerilla Marketing
There are many types of guerilla marketing, the most effective ones are;
Street Marketing
It is the most commonly used guerilla marketing tactic that uses street elements for ads to be displayed in the outdoor environment. For example, McDonald used the street guerilla marketing technique for its promotion.
Ambient Marketing
Ambient Marketing means promoting a brand or its services in the most surprising way in everyday and normal environments. It includes placing ads outdoor in buses, parks, restaurants, coasters, or even on seats of public toilets; making the most of every public place.
For instance, Big Plot used this tactic by using hanging straps for their watches’ promotion on buses and trains.
Ambush Marketing
Otherwise known as copycat marketing, this technique is carried out when a brand uses the advantage of the audience of an event held or sponsored by another competitor.
Viral Marketing:
Viral marketing is another form of guerilla marketing that uses content that can spread like wildfire. It can either be spread through word-of-mouth or online via the use of social media to the target audiences.
Guerilla Projections:
It includes the projection of ads (images or videos) on the different buildings. The advertisements placed on high-rise buildings present in high traffic areas cause a great rise in a brand’s awareness.
Although it’s quite an old technique, many brands are still not aware of this stunning advertising technique. If crafted creatively, a guerilla strategy can be a perfect marketing solution for a brand!