A term frequently thrown around in the 21st century is "new media." With the emergence of social media and digital content, new media has become a large portion of people's lives. With very little research regarding the effectiveness or stability, companies are reluctant to pursue marketing campaigns where the ROI isn't clearly defined.
However, as the economy suffers, the best way to make money is to think smart. The belief is that if you spend more money on advertising/publicity, you will get more impressions or buzz. Of course, like with any investment, your expectations can fall very short.
In no way has guerrilla marketing been the lone execution in establishing a product or company, but it's a cost effective way to jump start a brand's image and street cred. It can also be used to incite short-term recall or to re-iterate a company's stance on certain issues (speaking through their brand).
One thing guerrilla marketing shouldn't be is a major expenditure. Yes, the ideas behind the execution should probably be insightful and inspiring - but it shouldn't cost you money. This is where your creativity and strategic thinking come together for smart, effective executions. Guerrilla marketing should always summarize a positive characteristic of your brand, but never summarize your entire brand.
Whether you're a large, fast-food brand or a small independent sewing company, the gist of guerrilla marketing are the same: it's a low cost medium to add personality and build awareness for potential consumers.
Examples can be found among city streets or local town halls. Here are some tips, supported by examples, to help ensure that your guerrilla marketing campaigns are successful.
1. Respect and Inform
There's nothing more annoying than a political flyer that assumes your level of intelligence is below that of a monkey. Not one consumer will embrace your brand if they feel the brand has disrespected them as a person or as a part of a bigger group. Although it is creative to be somewhat controversial, you must tip-toe this line carefully, as your image has a lot to lose by going overboard.
A great example of this is from my own experience. A college-campus food company had a specific execution in their men's urinals. The mat in the urinal read: "In Your Hands, You Hold the Power to Stop Rape". A powerful, straightforward piece of copy that lingers in the minds of males, even if only for a few seconds. It acknowledges an audience and respectfully educates them at a position that is appropriate to the message and receiver.
2. Don't think "outside the box" - Look at the box from a different angle
Whoever came up with the phrase, "think outside the box," never took full advantage of exploring the content inside the box. Thinking outside the box generates subjective ideas that are likely hard to relate or just too far fetched for the average consumer. As a brand, you must respect the target's level of intelligence instead of trying to compete with it. If you want to speak to them on a personal level, you don't want to leave or try to shake up their "box." Instead, look left, look right, and stand at a different angle from the corner. I know this is all metaphorical, but the point is this: don't rise above consumer mindset, it will only give you more work trying to explain your actions.
3. Think about how you can help your community, your consumer, and your brand
Companies benefit from building a trusted, reliable community of customers that will not only speak well on their behalf but continuously use their product. To support the "target triangle" (consumer, community, company), some smaller brands choose local sponsorships or simply rely on word-of-mouth service. However, there are plenty of ways to break the hustle and bustle to bring a spotlight onto a win-win-win situation.
KFC, in the midst of its "re-freshen" movement, decided to forgo a segment of their traditional advertising to pursue a cheaper and interactive route: repairing potholes. This had a profound effect on the community - as potholes are a major issue to frequent drivers - as well as KFC's image. Not only was this a buzz-worthy execution, but it worked to provide solutions to more than one problem.
4. Catch them during their "routine"
Advertisements have become so numerous that we see thousands upon thousands of them just in a day's work, the majority of which we simply process and forget. However, using unconventional material or an unusual presentation can halt people in their tracks, causing them to take a step backward and ask themselves, "what was that?"
A good example is an ad for Crisis.org.uk, which required no durable ad space or use of Photoshop to create a stunning effect. Instead, a little bit of realism and hard-hitting copy did the trick just fine.
There are several other great examples of cost-effective marketing that depend on the product's purpose, but even when a product can "sell itself," marketing can strengthen the brand's overall dominance in the consumer arena. Unfortunately, with advertisements shot at us from every angle, we have become almost 'immune' to certain mass media executions. A movement to quality instead of quantity has slowly taken over the advertising and marketing spectrum, while every brand wants to know exactly where their consumer leaves footprints. With data collection and an increase in information availability, we will see various, strategic guerilla campaigns that will strike a chord at the hearts of their brands' core consumers.
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