What comes to your mind when you hear the word Guerilla Marketing?

Funny, different, out of the box?

If these are the words or thoughts that come to your mind when you hear the word Guerrilla Marketing, then you are very close to its real meaning. It is a form of marketing tactic to grab the attention of the audience. The term was initially coined by the late business writer Jay Conrad Levinson in 1984 when he published his first book “ Guerrilla Marketing”.

Guerilla Marketing centres around the main element of surprise. The main objective of this form of marketing is to create a buzz in the market about the brand or service. Such that people remember it for a long period and are emotionally attached to the brand due to its personal box touch

What do you mean by guerilla advertising?

 Guerilla Marketing is an unconventional marketing method used to promote a product or service in the market. It is really helpful when the objective of the brand is brand awareness. It is derived from the word “ Guerrilla War’ because even in the war, the warriors used box methods to achieve a victory which is very similar to Guerrilla marketing where marketers use a surprise strategy to grab the attention of the people. It is also referred to as the publicity strategy.

Their main intention is to present the product or service unexpectedly, at an unexpected time, and at a place where there is a huge public gathering to make it a memorable experience. It is the best marketing strategy for small-scale firms that want to compete with giant firms as it is a cost-effective strategy with the best return.

Benefits of guerilla advertising

If your strategy is different and creative, then you are bound to reap many benefits of Guerrilla Advertising. Some of them are:

1. Less Expensive

It is one of the best strategies one can implement as it is a less expensive tool compared to the other forms of traditional marketing. Here the main element is an investment of time, the use of creative ideas, and their application which is not so costly.

2. Wide Reach

It can reach a wider section of society because of the box thinking and also creative campaigns which do not fail to spread like a fire among people.

3. Make It a Memorable Experience

In this, you cannot switch off your TV or block ads. Here you receive a surprise at an unexpected time and an unexpected place. This leaves a long-lasting impression in the mind of the target audience. They will for sure not forget it, hence making it a memorable experience.

4. Word Of Mouth Marketing

The main objective of this form of marketing is to create some noise in the market about the product or service through its surprise elements. Anything different is for sure to be talked about by people the most. About 90% of consumers are more likely to trust and buy from a brand they hear about from people they know.

5. Build Brand Identity

It is one of the effective tools to create a good brand identity. When it is marketed differently compared to the rest of the competitors, it will for sure have a strong brand identity. Anything unique will always stand apart and be tall among the rest of them.

6. High Return On Investment

Although you spend very little in this form of marketing, the return on investment is always high which you can see in the form of an increased rate of conversion, sales, and high brand value.

7. Buzz In The Town

You must have received funny memes on your WhatsApp or Instagram which you cannot resist sharing with other people. The same is with Guerrilla marketing. The campaigns are so creative and stand out from the rest that you tend to post about it on social media or repost the brand page which makes it go viral in no time thus creating a buzz about the product or service.

8. Builds Strong Relationships

Having a strong connection with online social media platforms is necessary while at the same time forging a strong relationship with the local vendors, organisations and business officials can help to launch the campaigns more effectively. Furthermore, this strong relationship can be very useful in the future too.

How to make Guerilla Advertising work for your business

Since this form of marketing is more about thinking differently, there are many ways in which you can make it work for your business. Here are 7 ways in which you can incorporate guerrilla marketing tactics.

Make use of the space

The space can be used effectively to grab the attention of the audience. For example, you can use the front part of your store to display your products in a unique way where people would want to come and take pictures, use the window area to spotlight colourful and vibrant pictures of the product, or maybe the entrance can be used to display the product.

Hire Mascots

You must have seen many brands which hire people to stand outside the store to grab the attention. McDonald’s is a great example. Kids get excited whenever they see their favourite cartoon character and want to get their pictures clicked. The kid’s Parents also tag along, which is great exposure for the brand.

Wear Your Brand T-Shirt

Along with the employer, the employee should also wear the brand T-shirt. Wearing the brand T-shirt reinforces the brand name in the mind of the people when they see you in the store or even outside.

Paint The Walls With Your Imagination

Hire an artist and colour the town with your imagination. Pick a part of a place that is not great and make it look attractive with your brand name and graphic. It will for sure go viral. Because anything that is different people cannot resist but upload on the internet.

Distribute Free Gifts

There are a lot of famous brands which organise events and distribute gifts with their brand name and message. Also when you visit a store they give free products and services to spread brand awareness about the product.

Roadshow

This is a major attention-grabbing technique. Organise a Flash mob dance or do any other surprising element likewise in an area that is the central part of the town. This way people will be interested to know about the product and service and at the same time it has a higher chance of going viral among the mass audience.

Use Video

For this, you require a huge wall, a projector and an area where there is a good crowd at night. Play your ad campaign Video at night to grab the attention of people. At night people are in no hurry and if the video is attractive enough they will spend time watching the ad on the street.

Make use of Chalk art

Companies especially hire chalk artists to draw for their brand which is usually displayed on the sides of the store. This is a very famous guerrilla marketing technique. If it is done right, it will surely make some heads turn to your brand.

Conclusion

Guerilla Advertising is one form of marketing where a business can dive into the depth of creativity and need not stick with the trend set by the market. It can be a trendsetter if the strategy used by the brand is liked by the audience. 

This publicity marketing does involve risk, but business is all about taking the right amount of risk. Take the right amount of risk, add an extra factor to your marketing campaign and see for yourself the magic of Guerilla advertising.