Guerilla marketing is basically an art. You all remember the “IT” movie that was released in 2017. Especially the advertising work you see in the picture before the movie. How creative, isn’t it? Not only that, but you’ve seen shocking, engaging advertisements that you see and say “wow!” on billboards, bus stops, parks, graffiti, or online viral videos or posts.
Today we will take a look at one of the most entertaining and exciting topics of recent times, “Guerilla Marketing”.
What is Guerilla Marketing?
Guerilla Marketing basically involves doing big things with a small budget. The word guerilla comes from “Guerilla Warfare” the struggles of small troops against large armies with extraordinary war tactics. These troops fight by using environmental conditions like geographical conditions and climate to their advantage, analyzing their abilities correctly and observing their enemies thoroughly. Shortly they pull a rabbit out of a hat.
These are exactly what guerilla marketing requires, to make a big impact with a limited amount of time and budget. No matter how fun guerilla marketing may seem, the main goal is not to entertain people. The main purpose is to create awareness for your brand. This is not a situation that can only occur by entertaining people. Guerilla marketing entails imposing your vision on people in the most effective way. There are a few ways you should follow for effective guerilla marketing. The most important of these are your good command of the sector, knowing your audience, and playing your cards well.
Guerilla Marketing Strategies
Guerilla marketing is not about sending meaningful messages with huge posters all around the world. It should be suitable for your budget, sometimes even a sticker or a magnet. The important thing is it should have a message, a message from you.
Tell people a story, tell your story, what you want to change, and what makes you different, and make it creative because, before the content, the cover makes people curious. Here is what you need for an effective guerilla marketing plan.
1. Analyze your audience
It is important to know your audience. Knowing why they prefer you, what they like, in which regions they are the majority, a segmentation to be made in this direction both helps you strengthen the content of your ads and creates a reduction in your spending.
2. Remember who you are
When the content of a book whose cover is magnificent, fails, the dose of criticism can be even harsher. SWOT analysis is important for a guerilla campaign.
Determine your strengths well and use this as your weapon for your guerilla marketing plan. Reveal your weaknesses and act with this awareness, this will minimize the problems you may encounter in the future.
See the opportunities and evaluate them, this will enable you to implement your guerilla marketing campaign in the best possible way. And finally threats… Know your enemy. Try to anticipate the dangers you may face so they don’t get in your way.
3. Involve people in your campaigns
Try to organize an interactive campaign as much as possible. People love to be a part of things, so your memorability increases.
By permitting your intended interest group to participate in your campaign, you make them feel like adding to something more prominent.Especially for guerrilla campaigns promoting a good cause, interactivity is the alpha and the omega of success.
4.Do not let the expectations upset you
Don’t think of being a phenomenon or going viral overnight. Setting out with this goal can cause you to miss the important points.
Remember that your priority is with your target audience. Guerilla Marketing is an effective method but difficult to implement.
The important thing here is to use the feedback you get from your campaigns in the analysis of your next campaign. Each attempt will be more successful, but this may take time.
5. And Show Time!
Determine the time, place, and platform well. Be creative. Make an engaging message from unexpected places, at unexpected times. The stage is yours and you are the star of the show. Now you know your mass, you know yourself and you have a story to tell. Be effective, fearless, and creative, and let the game begin!
The Types of Guerilla Marketing
In fact, Guerilla Marketing does not have specific concepts or types. When you search on online platforms, you can find many titles on this subject, but don’t let that confuse you. However, to get an idea in mind, you can find a few types below for you.
1. Outdoor Guerilla Marketing
It is called guerilla marketing work that is carried out outside and bringing street elements into play.
It could be graffiti, or bus stops, even garbage containers. The main point is that it is unexpected and interesting and contains a message. Here is a magnificent example of outdoor guerilla marketing;
Well played, right?
2. Ambient Marketing
The specialty of Ambient Marketing is that it comes across people in unexpected times and unexpected places. It knocks the socks off people.
Ambient marketing tactics is about placing your ads on an unusual object that may surprise people who are seeing those ads. No ambient ad needs to be placed inside any shopping mall or on billboards, it can be found anywhere and everywhere.
The main motive is to surprise the consumer by the placement of ambient ads.
3.Experiential Marketing
Yeah, ambient marketing is cool but this one is a bit cooler. Here is not a limit. The main point here is the connection with people. You invite them to have time with you, no matter what your services are.
Here you have the opportunity to make your move more comfortably, you are free and the more “experimental”, creativity and fun factor can become more important here.
But again, don’t forget to strategize.
4.Viral Marketing
To help create buzz around the third season of Mad Men, AMC launched Mad Men Yourself, an avatar creator that allowed you to make a stylized ’60s version of yourself.
Probably the strongest but hardest form of marketing under Guerilla Marketing. Everyone is online now, and strong and well-planned viral marketing turns all the lights on you.
However, everything happens really fast in the online world and it’s very difficult to be permanent, come and gone, fait accompli. You need to analyze and follow the trends, observe people’s behavior and you should be smart, everything has credits if it’s smart.
Don’t forget, every social media platform has its own personality, even people change their behavior from platform to platform, that’s why you need to be also open-minded.
Some of Best Examples for Guerilla Marketing
Before the examples, there’s something you need to know. Not all fun, surprising or unexpected advertisements you come across are included as guerilla marketing.
This one from Windows for example, while doing some research on the internet, has been given as an example of guerilla marketing in some sources. it’s funny and unexpected, isn’t it? But this is not a guerilla ad, this is just smart marketing.
In Guerilla marketing, you try to get high efficiency with a low budget. You turn environmental factors in your favor and unexpectedly appear and suddenly attract attention. You empathize with your audience. That’s why we shouldn’t confuse smart marketing ideas with guerilla marketing.
Now let’s see some examples;
1)KitKat: Art of using environment
This is exactly what we meant when saying the use of environmental factors in your favor.
What an art!
2)McDonald’s: how to make someone hungry
Creative, smart, and surprising! A delicious example of guerilla marketing.
3)Raising the Roof: They have a message!
Perfection! People don’t really listen to you when you stop them and trying to explain what happens in the world.
Raising the roof gave the beautiful message they wanted to give in a creative and thought-provoking way.
4)The ALS Association: ALS Ice Bucket Challenge
Some campaigns go viral because they have a heartfelt and loving purpose.
Ice Bucket Challenge went viral in July and August 2014, using social media as a platform to reach a worldwide audience. More than 17 million people posted videos online, including Bill Gates and former president of USA George W. Bush. Over two years, the money raised through the challenge helped fund research and development of treatment drugs.
The challenge was to dump a bucket of ice water on your head, challenge three other people, and make a donation to the organization.
Is Guerilla Marketing Illegal?
By its nature, Guerilla Marketing can be a little more unusual and idea-driven. However, sometimes the idea you want to reflect on can be misunderstood. Or there may be problems where you advertise, for example, it is illegal to advertise without permission or paying on private property.
Shortly, If you act under the law, if you know your audience, if you do not send messages that humiliate or insult people, it will not be illegal.
Advertising laws vary from country to country. That’s why you should be familiar with the laws of the country where you will be advertising.
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