Each of us has been, at least once, an unaware spectator of this new advertising method; amazement, fun, involvement are the adjectives that best define “Guerrilla Marketing” , but what is it?
A real “guerrilla warfare” fought with the weapons of ingenuity and innovation, where victory is decreed by the ability to capture attention with ideas that are sometimes ironic and other times downright shocking.
This is “Guerrilla Marketing”, a different way of promoting your brand by breaking down ordinary marketing strategies to hit the consumer's attention in a direct and sudden way : “a set of unconventional ways to achieve traditional goals”.
Guerrilla Marketing: Less Time, Less Expense, Big Effect
These are the key principles on which this advertising campaign is based: to capture the attention of the passerby in an instant and remain imprinted in his mind for as long as possible.
Speed of action and improvisation as in every unplanned battle to disorientate the observer and "capture" him by making him a prisoner of the brand. Never underestimate the study that is the basis of every Guerrilla Marketing campaign because if it takes from the military world the style certainly does not take from improvisation: study, comparison of data, careful analysis and intuition are the basis of every successful campaign.
How did this marketing tool come about?
Even though today, especially in big cities, this method of advertising the product is increasingly used, its discovery dates back to the 80s. We owe its invention to Jay Conrad Levinson exactly in 1984 and this opened the possibility of advertising also to all those companies that did not have the economic capacity of the big brands.
In fact, in a period of explosion of advertising especially television, the only companies that could sustain the costs of such ordinary marketing tools were exclusively the big brands. For SMEs it became impossible to advertise their products profitably. Thanks instead to "Guerrilla Marketing" attention was captured with less expense and a great result from an involvement point of view.
Necessity is the mother of invention: the rules for a good Guerrilla Marketing campaign
So the starting points are: the greatest possible result at the lowest sustainable cost . Disconcert with nonconformism and genius and crumble the rigid world of marketing that guided the advertising of products.
Today the rules, or better yet the ideas, codified by Levinson are commonly followed by large companies and small/medium enterprises, proving that this method very often achieves results sooner and better.
The accurate analysis behind every Guerrilla campaign does not ignore a study of the message, of the results you want to obtain, of the target to reach, but it is the method to achieve all this that becomes innovative.
What, then, are the methods for running a campaign that hits the mark?
The battlefield : online and offline. Both scenarios can be the stage for our guerrilla warfare. The choice of social channels to carry out the online campaign is recent as digital has only taken hold in recent years. The real battlefield has normally always been offline by carefully choosing symbolic locations, very crowded, so that it could reach the greatest number of people possible . The location must be chosen based on the target you want to hit and obviously the product to advertise. The sudden shock effect leaves nothing to chance.
Relevance : we must capture attention in a very short time but we must also respect brand coherence . The history, mission and message behind each brand must also be respected in the choice of the guerrilla marketing tool. The consumer must be struck, but at the same time must rediscover the ideals behind the product in order not to remain disoriented. So we could say "external shock while respecting the basic ideals".
Right measure : it is important, according to the rules of Guerrilla Marketing, to catch the attention but without annoying the passerby. The feeling must be that of amazement and not irritation. In the same way, sudden variables must be considered, especially for those who adopt offline Guerrilla systems. Traffic, the greater influx of passers-by and adverse weather conditions must be considered in order not to create a "disturbance" effect that would turn against the brand itself.
Money : the cost must be lower than other consolidated advertising campaigns. The goal of this system is to capture attention and, not having pre-ordained channels (and therefore paid), free rein to the imagination. However, let's not confuse simplicity with simplification. At the base of every advertising campaign there is a great study of the brand and the objectives to be achieved. The simplest and most immediate system always has deep roots of knowledge.
Some examples
We have many examples around us and very often we do not recognize this advertising method. It is certainly suitable for small/medium companies ( it was born in fact to reduce advertising costs ) but even large companies have found their fruitful way to do Guerrilla Marketing. Let's take some examples:
- Coca Cola : even a company with an undisputed advertising success has used and uses this method. Emotionality, fun and a sense of belonging have characterized many videos published by Coca Cola in the last 10 years, videos made at low cost but punctual in the result obtained. The latest highly successful campaign is that of Christmas 2020 : the wonderful Coca Cola truck that passes through all Italian cities . Suddenly and for a very short time the strong music that recalls the brand and the attention on the "magical" truck that materializes and brings everyone, young and old, directly into the advertisement. Who hasn't felt part of the commercial as it passes by? I have!
- Generali Assicurazioni Group : amazing Guerrilla Marketing campaign created by this insurance group to bring attention to the importance of the pension aspect and on the occasion of the opening of a new branch in the city of Milan. A submarine takes over a square in the city, arousing the curiosity of all passers-by.
- McDonald’s : this very well-known chain has also chosen this advertising tool many times. How can we forget the pedestrian crossings in the shape of chips that come out of a classic McDonald's packaging!
The examples above concern large brands but also small/medium businesses have used Guerrilla Marketing well to promote ideas, products and services. The images below are an example; from now on each of us will be able to have fun recognizing this type of strategy in our cities. It really takes very little and, if the idea is brilliant, the effect will be guaranteed.
