Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Guerrilla Marketing Creates A Spectacle

By Bernard Miner


Guerrilla marketing is a relatively newly defined phenomenon which broadly encompasses non-traditional and deliberately exaggerated forms of attention seeking to create publicity for products or services.

These tactics are designed to create a 'buzz' around a product or service, where it becomes an unexpected focus of attention for many members of the public. Marketers hope to cause this buzz to go 'viral' and to become embedded in the popular mainstream, creating the kind of publicity which would take a much larger budget to achieve using conventional means.

A recent example of this type of activity took place recently in New York City, when a food stand gave food away to customers who could ask for it using a phrase from the country from the food type originated. There were four food types and four European languages, and potential customers responded well to the sense of challenge and reward that the experience gave them.

Although this sounds challenging, many people respond well to situations where they perceive that they are being rewarded for showing some kind of skill. Not only does this kind of stunt boost potential customers' self-esteem, it means that the product is cemented into their memory.

It is also a memory that they will associate with pleasant sensations, thereby fixing the product into their consciousness even more effectively. But this type of promotion and advertising does not have to centre on giving food away; it is about making a splash any way possible.

An example of this kind of memory creation is to project advertising images onto the side of prominent buildings, as has happened in London, England, several times over the last couple of decades. Images have been projected onto the House of Commons in the British capital on several occasions, hijacking a very visible ambient space for promotional purposes.

Using ambient surfaces is an often used tactic from marketers using these kind of unconventional tactics. Rain stencils are one such way of attracting attention from possible customers, particularly those in younger demographics. These stencils can be seen on pavements when it rains, so they are an ideal tactic for autumn and early winter.

As mobile phones have developed ever more complex technologies, so they have become ever more useful in this kind of advertising campaign. Using text messages and other forms of direct communication can make customers feel much more valued and personally involved.

Advertisements where people least expect to see them are always a good way of attracting attention. Campaigns using nudity and absurdity are common ideas. Guerrilla marketing is not about following the rules; it is about making an impact.




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