Many of you might not have heard the term Guerrilla marketing but you must have come across this kind of marketing. So, in this article, we’ll explain to you what Guerrilla marketing is and why it is different and impactful in creating brand/product awareness.
Guerrilla marketing is a creative marketing strategy that raises brand awareness among large audiences, without any interruption. Nowadays most brands prefer to use guerrilla marketing strategies as it focuses more on the reach than frequency, and the real investment is creativity. And when people see something, they have not seen before, something which is cool, they naturally want to picture it and spread it across their social media platforms.
Now you may wonder if there are lots of other creative marketing strategies to attract the audience then why so many brands focus on guerilla marketing.
So, the idea behind brands going for guerrilla marketing is to create a buzz among the consumer through an element of surprise which helps to gain more profit. The main aim of this type of marketing tactic is to catch people unexpectedly in the course of their day-to-day routines and leave a lasting impression – this happens when marketers create surprising and memorable strategies and having created this memorable experience, the consumers are then more likely to share their experience and engage with the product or brand that is being advertised through word of mouth. And the great thing about guerilla marketing is that it is cost-effective which makes it easier for most of the small brands to indulge in this and get customers attention.
McDonald’s used a zebra crossing as a large bag of french fries and named it “Mcfries Pedestrian Crossing” as a way to advertise its product
KitKat converted ordinary benches into KitKat chocolate bars and added the brand message: “Have a break. Have a KitKat.”- Encouraging people to take a break and relax on the benches.
Types of Guerrilla marketing Strategies
Street Marketing strategy
The idea behind street marketing is to advertise the product or brand in public places to grab the user’s attention. Brands like Mcdonald’s, Nestle, Nike, Coca-cola, etc find street marketing to be the most convenient way to connect to their audience and spread awareness.
Ambient Marketing strategy
Ambient marketing is mostly done to make your product memorable; it’s about placing your ad in an unusual place that may eventually surprise people, these ads can be found anywhere around like on the streets, on buses, billboards, bus stops, etc.
Stealth marketing strategy
Stealth Marketing is the most commonly used marketing strategies, it is a way to advertise a product to the audience without them knowing they are being marketed to. This happens mostly in movies and tv-series. Well, the main aim is not to generate immediate sales but to create brand awareness.
Benefits of guerilla marketing
The main advantage of this type of marketing is that it allows you to play with the brand or product; you can build your brand’s image by making your brand look clever, outgoing and unique. Therefore, it can be opted by both big brands and small companies as it is cost effective and gains attention of maximum number of customer with a limited amount of resources.
The big takeaway
Guerrilla marketing is a very creative advertising method to introduce a brand or product, or to strengthen a market image or brand awareness. In the battle for consumer attention, guerrilla marketing targets to the audience when they are not expecting it and catching an audience unawares gives the brand a positive advantage over the competition. In guerrilla marketing, emotional triggers like humor are often incorporated, and such emotional experiences help consumers to notice the advertising and make the experience more memorable.