Guerrilla marketing

The term guerrilla marketing was coined by Jay Conrad Levinson in his 1984 book Guerrilla Marketing as an unconventional system of promotions on a very low budget, by relying on time, energy and imagination instead of big marketing budgets. The term has since entered the popular vocabulary to also describe aggressive, unconventional marketing methods generically.

Introduction

Levinson's books include hundreds of "Guerrilla Marketing weapons," but they also encourage the guerrilla marketeer to be creative and devise his own unconventional methods of promotion. The marketeer uses all of his or her contacts, both professional and personal, and must examine his company and its products, looking for sources of publicity. Many forms of publicity can be very inexpensive, others are free.

Levinson says that when implementing guerrilla marketing tactics, small size is actually an advantage instead of a disadvantage. Small businesses and entrepreneurs are able to obtain publicity more easily than large companies; they are closer to their customers and considerably more agile.

Yet ultimately, according to Levinson, the Guerrilla Marketeer must "deliver the goods". In The Guerrilla Marketing Handbook, he states: "In order to sell a product or a service, a company must establish a relationship with the customer. It must build trust and support. It must understand the customer's needs, and it must provide a product that delivers the promised benefits."

Levinson identifies the following principles as the foundation of guerrilla marketing:

• Guerrilla Marketing is specifically geared for the small business and entrepreneur.
• It should be based on human psychology instead of experience, judgment, and guesswork.
• Instead of money, the primary investments of marketing should be time, energy, and imagination.
• The primary statistic to measure your business is the amount of profits, not sales.
• The marketer should also concentrate on how many new relationships are made each month.
• Create a standard of excellence with an acute focus instead of trying to diversify by offering too many diverse products and services.
• Instead of concentrating on getting new customers, aim for more referrals, more transactions with existing customers, and larger transactions.
• Forget about the competition and concentrate more on cooperating with other businesses.
• Guerrilla Marketers should always use a combination of marketing methods for a campaign.
• Use current technology as a tool to empower your business.

Associated marketing trends

The term Guerrilla Marketing is now often used more loosely as a descriptor for non-traditional media, such as:

• Viral marketing -- through social networks
• Ambient marketing
• Presence marketing
• Grassroots marketing
• Wild Posting Campaigns
• Alternative marketing
• Buzz marketing -- word of mouth marketing
• Undercover marketing -- subtle product placement
• Astroturfing -- releasing company news to imitate grassroots popularity
• Experiential marketing -- interaction with product
• Tissue-pack marketing

Guerrilla marketing was initially used by small and medium size (SMEs) businesses, but it is now increasingly adopted by large businesses.

Controversy

Aqua Teen Hunger Force

On 31 January 2007, several guerrilla-marketing magnetic light displays in and around the city of Boston, Massachusetts, were mistaken for possible explosive devices. Several subway stations, bridges, and a portion of Interstate 93 were closed as police examined, removed, and in some cases, destroyed the devices. The suspicious objects were revealed to be ads depicting the Mooninites, Ignignokt and Err, characters from the Cartoon Network's latenight Adult Swim animated television series Aqua Teen Hunger Force.

Messages On Hold Cricket

In December 2007, a staff member of on hold advertising company, took a life-size placard of cricket legend Shane Warne wearing a branded t-shirt and the company’s tell-tale ‘giant hand’ outside the West Australian Cricket Ground at the 3rd Ashes Test. The act of ambush marketing was noticed and the staff member issued a fine for ‘displaying a sign without a permit’, sparking a nationwide debate over wearing clothing with brand names.

With strategic positioning of logo banners and branded merchandise like within crowds of major events such as the Olympics, Grand Prix, AFL matches and celebrity visits, the Messages On Hold logo is often broadcast worldwide during the event’s media coverage. Paul Barry, presenter of Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s media watchdog show, [Media Watch] has noted, “Messages On Hold have been doing it for years... [They] lead the world in ambush marketing.”

See also

• Marketing
• Guerrilla marketing warfare strategies
• Customer experience management
• Marketing strategies
• Publicity
• Small business
• Viral marketing
• Undercover marketing
• Forehead advertising

References

• Haystack, Cor Hospes. "New Message, Remco Vroom: "Guerrilla marketing, new ways to reach your consumer" ISBN 978-90-77881-24-8
• Levinson, Jay Conrad. Guerrilla Marketing: Secrets for Making Big Profits from Your Small Business. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1984. ISBN 0-395-35350-5
• Levinson, Jay Conrad. Mastering Guerrilla Marketing. Boston : Houghton Mifflin Company, 1999. ISBN 0-395-90875-2
• Levinson, Jay Conrad. The Way of the Guerrilla. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1997. ISBN 0-395-77018-1
• Levinson, Jay Conrad and McLaughlin, Michael W. Guerrilla Marketing for Consultants. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2005. ISBN 0-471-61873-X
• Pfarrer, Don. Guerrilla Persuasion. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1998. ISBN 0-395-88168-4
• Levinson, Jay Conrad and Goodin, Seth. The Guerrilla Marketing Handbook. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1994. ISBN 0-395-70113-2

External links

• CNN.com news
• Wired.com article
• WebUrbanist.com images
• Messages On Hold Guerilla Gallery
• Mindurge
• Guerrilla Marketing Weekly Intelligence
• Bloguerrilla