Your Introduction to Guerrilla Marketing
Similar to most fields of the world, the trifecta of technology, globalization and personalization have disrupted traditional marketing for good, leading to the rise of a host of new opportunities and practices to stimulate the modern consumer. One among the many swift advancements that are taking place is Guerrilla Marketing.
Guerrilla marketing is a publicity strategy in which a company uses surprise or unconventional forms of interactions with a large audience in order to promote a product or service. Deriving its name from guerrilla warfare, which involves small groups of combatants haphazardly fighting larger ones, this trending marketing tactic aims to engage people through creative and out of the box thinking, usually at lower costs. The term was coined in the early 80s by the late business writer Jay Conrad Levinson. I actually find the name to be somewhat of a misnomer. For a field where first impressions are everything, the term ‘guerrilla’ tends to evoke imagery of a bold and in-your-face campaign. However, this is often not the case, and there are several instances where subtlety is what works best for the brand. It also tends to be more cost - effective to implement, another trait depicting optimization and efficiency rather than randomness and irregularity.
Guerrilla marketing exists in various shapes and forms, and while it’ll take this whole article to describe them all, they all involve modifying a physical or virtual medium with some audio and/or visual content you would least expect to find there. A popular example of this is McDonald’s painting the stripes of a zebra crossing yellow and the adjacent street with their french fries’ packaging, to depict a pack of fries. Another eye catcher which comes to mind is the undergarment company GoldToe putting a large pair of briefs on statues across New York City, including on the famous charging bull on Wall Street.
These campaigns generated enormous traction thanks to the sheer number of people encountering them everyday. Owing to their uniqueness, they also tend to make a more significant impression in people’s minds compared to traditional marketing methods. Although it often loosely shares borders with simply smart or joyful advertising, when done right, guerrilla marketing creates a lasting impact at a fraction of the cost.
My Take On Some Challenges
Since we’ve talked about a lot of the benefits of guerrilla marketing, it’s worth considering some of the challenges associated with it as well. Chiefly, the dependence on creativity and out of the box thinking is very high; too high for some organizations who steer clear of the tactic for this reason alone. If done right, guerrilla marketing can etch a brand’s image and offerings in people’s minds at significantly reduced costs and enhanced traction. However, if not, it can lead to unintended results and cause the brand a lot more harm than good. This is why several larger, established brands, which are typically less dynamic and youthful, often choose not to resort to guerrilla marketing. Bigger companies with global visibility have as much to lose as to gain. As they discovered to their dismay, firms such as Vodafone and Paramount Pictures tried their hand at guerrilla marketing on multiple occasions, only for their campaigns to fail spectacularly, resulting in widespread backlash on social media.
Since they often involve disrupting a (physical or virtual) setting, guerrilla marketing campaigns have faced legal and regulatory hurdles in their implementation. Executing a physical campaign is further fraught with complications, as installations are susceptible to wear and tear, require regular maintenance and face the risk of vandalism. Further, a physical campaign often means permanently creating something for the foreseeable future. In case the brand changes its strategy or product mix, getting rid of the installation can be an additional expense, if even possible at all. It could even raise questions and concerns among regular passers by as to why the company is eliminating something which has become a symbol in the area, such as the McDonald’s fries painted on the street.
What The Future Holds
While still a relatively nascent field of marketing, guerrilla is slowly but surely making its way into the marketing strategy for a large number of brands worldwide. The pervasiveness of social media has given it a much deserved shot in the arm, as brands can now be rest assured that an intriguing campaign is likely to blow up on the internet, resulting in organic leads for brands with minimal promotional costs and effort. The present and future of guerrilla marketing lies in its convergence with technology, as organizations race to embrace creating quirky online campaigns. A popular one is that of the creators of Deadpool making an account for the anti - hero on dating app Tinder to promote their movie.
Within tech, Virtual Reality holds significant promise as it combines the physical and virtual facets of guerrilla marketing, enabling consumers to get the best of both worlds. For example, outdoor apparel company The North Face partnered with virtual reality company Jaunt to give customers a realistic preview of the experience they would have wearing and using the company’s products. Shoppers can take an immersive tour of outdoor attractions such as Yosemite National Park and virtually experience hiking over landscapes or scaling rocks in company apparel.
Last Words
To me, guerrilla marketing is a high risk - high return strategy. When done right, the results are fascinating to behold and exciting to engage with, but if not thought through to the T, it can backfire just as quickly. As a discipline of marketing, it is interesting to observe where guerrilla marketing will go from here, and if it will become a truly pervasive part of even larger companies’ marketing efforts. Its future is certainly uncertain, but I believe guerrilla is going to permeate into our streets and phones in a much bigger way in the foreseeable future.
