Guerilla marketing is a way to drive publicity and brand awareness by using unconventional methods that evoke surprise, wonder, or shock. At Steel Space Concepts, we know how Guerilla marketing can be used to create highly unconventional campaigns that catch people unexpectedly in the course of their day-to-day routines. In fact, our modified shipping containers solutions can perfectly do that! Our pop-up booth can be budget-friendly structure, creative, and can make an impact creating word-of-mouth about your brand.
What Is Guerilla Marketing?
Guerilla marketing is an unconventional way of promoting a brand or product to generate publicity and increase brand awareness. This marketing technique involves using creative and often surprising methods that aim to evoke emotions like wonder, shock or surprise. Unlike traditional marketing methods such as television commercials, print media, billboards, and direct mail, guerilla marketing strategies focus on unconventional methods that catch people’s attention in unexpected ways.
What Is the Purpose of Guerilla Marketing?
The term “guerrilla marketing” often brings to mind the concept of guerrilla warfare, which is where this marketing style derived its name. In the context of warfare, guerrilla tactics rely heavily on the element of surprise, such as ambushes, sabotage, and raids, as defined by Creative Guerrilla Marketing. However, in the marketing world, guerrilla techniques focus on surprising consumers with unconventional and creative campaigns that interrupt their day-to-day routines. The goal is to generate buzz and brand awareness through unexpected and memorable experiences that leave a lasting impression.
What Is an Example of Guerilla Marketing?
While it may seem like a narrow field, there are actually several subcategories of guerrilla marketing. These include:
- Outdoor Guerrilla Marketing: This involves adding something unique or eye-catching to pre-existing urban environments, such as placing removable art on a statue or installing temporary artwork on sidewalks and streets.
- Indoor Guerrilla Marketing: Similar to outdoor guerrilla marketing, this technique takes place in indoor locations like malls, train stations, shops, and university campus buildings.
- Event Ambush Guerrilla Marketing: This method involves leveraging the audience of an in-progress event, such as a concert or a sporting game, to promote a product or service in a noticeable way, often without permission from the event sponsors.
- Experiential Guerrilla Marketing: This type of marketing combines all of the above techniques, but requires the public to interact with the brand in some way.
To help illustrate these techniques, here are a few examples:
Red Bull
In 2012, Red Bull made headlines when they sent Austrian athlete Felix Baumgartner 128,100 feet into the stratosphere to set a world record for the highest skydiving jump. This impressive feat, known as the Red Bull Stratos performance, garnered over 8 million confirmed views on YouTube, and the video has since accumulated over 44 million views. This bold move was a prime example of guerrilla marketing in action, as it generated buzz and conversation around the Red Bull brand. Red Bull’s strong association with the sporting world made this campaign an excellent fit for the company, and it was a memorable way to reinforce their image as a daring and adventurous brand.
KitKat
KitKat provides an excellent example of outdoor guerrilla marketing in action. In the Philippines, the brand used innovative techniques to build a public advertisement without relying on a traditional billboard or poster. This approach was designed to capture the attention of consumers who are becoming increasingly adept at noticing, recognizing, and ignoring advertisements. This particular campaign proved to be a success, generating over 262 million impressions and achieving a 21% volume growth in sales. By leveraging unconventional advertising methods, KitKat was able to stand out in a crowded market and connect with consumers in a unique and memorable way.
Newcastle Brown
Newcastle Brown’s innovative approach to advertising is a prime example of guerrilla marketing in action. With a media budget for the entire year equivalent to the cost of a 15-second Super Bowl ad (a whopping $2 million), the brand decided to take a different approach. Instead of creating a typical Super Bowl ad, Newcastle Brown chose to make an ad about not making an ad. The result was a profanity-laden 2-minute video featuring Anna Kendrick discussing how the brand had backed out of creating a Super Bowl ad. This kind of ambush marketing was a huge success, with the video series garnering nearly 4 million views on YouTube and being named Adweek’s number one ad for 2014. By taking a humorous and unconventional approach to advertising, Newcastle Brown was able to generate buzz and stand out in a crowded market, all while staying within their modest budget.
IKEA
In 2011, an IKEA store in Essex took an innovative approach to guerrilla marketing by responding to a Facebook group with over 100,000 members called “I wanna have a sleepover in IKEA.” The store selected one hundred winners and hosted a sleepover for them, complete with manicures, massages, and a bedtime story read by a reality TV star. In addition, a sleep expert was on hand to provide advice and encourage participants to choose a new mattress, making this an excellent example of experiential guerrilla marketing. By providing an immersive and unforgettable experience for customers, IKEA was able to generate buzz and positive associations with their brand. This approach was particularly effective in the age of social media, where the sleepover quickly became a viral sensation, generating significant exposure for the brand at a fraction of the cost of traditional advertising methods.
Want to see more examples? Check out those 11 Guerilla marketing examples.
How Effective Is Guerilla Marketing?
Guerilla marketing can be really effective but it still has some cons to it.
Pros:
- One of the key advantages of Guerrilla marketing is its cost-effective structure. Compared to traditional advertising, it is much more affordable, making it a great option for businesses with limited budgets.
- In Guerrilla marketing, creativity is highly valued over budget. The emphasis is on imaginative and innovative thinking that can make your campaign stand out.
- Word-of-mouth is a powerful tool in Guerrilla marketing. When people talk about your campaign and brand, it can help to build brand awareness and generate interest among potential customers.
- Guerrilla marketing can generate significant publicity for your brand. Successful campaigns can attract attention from news sources and inspire other marketers to take note of your brand and campaign ideas.
Cons:
- One of the potential drawbacks of Guerrilla Marketing is that its indirect approach may result in misunderstandings. This can lead to a less than desirable outcome for the campaign.
- Occasionally, the interference of authority figures can create unwanted tension in some exceptional cases of Guerrilla Marketing.
- Unforeseen obstacles can arise during a campaign, which can be daunting and challenging to overcome.
- In some cases, audiences may react negatively to a Guerrilla Marketing campaign, especially if the business is not approved to run it. This can harm the reputation of the company attempting to promote their brand.
Final thoughts
If you’re promoting a smaller brand, the examples shared in this conversation can inspire you. Don’t hesitate to use crowd-sourcing for content creation in your campaigns. The creative approach is key to maintaining Guerrilla Marketing’s budget-friendly and inbound nature. Remember to reach people where they are and integrate your brand into their environment. Instead of interrupting, invite them to participate.
Now, are you ready to host your own Guerrila marketing campaign? Call us, we can work with you. Mobile shipping container can be the best assets for your campaign.