Dion Digital
Guerrilla Marketing. What Is It?

Businesses go out of their way to attract attention, spending big money to engage with their potential customers. Meanwhile, consumers are so overwhelmed by advertisements bombarded their way in varying forms that it is rarely memorable.

The main idea of guerrilla marketing is to use an element of surprise to get wide-spread publicity and personal interactions.

What is guerrilla marketing?

Traditional marketing, such as print, radio, or TV ads, is proving to be ineffective for brands that are looking to achieve immediate results for their product or brand’s awareness. They are also very expensive – a few tens of seconds of radio or television airtime can cost thousands of pounds.

A good guerrilla marketing campaign does not create negative emotions, but it is usually pleasantly engaging and evokes good feelings. It also puts the brand at the centre of attention rather than the product or the service. This is the main idea behind guerrilla marketing. Another advantage of guerrilla marketing is that it is often low cost, but it requires imagination and creativity to capture consumers’ attention.

According to the founder of guerrilla marketing Mr Levinson, a guerrilla marketing strategy is characterised by 3 components: low budget, non-traditional form and high return. Guerrilla advertising can also be aggressive and interactive.

How does guerrilla marketing work?

Guerrilla marketing is a form of advertising that takes you by surprise.

Guerrilla marketing does not require a specific plan as well as there are no guidelines that can easily be used to create promotions. If a company wants to promote its brand in this way, it must be willing to make mistakes and take risks. A company must be creative and open to innovation.

Often, guerrilla advertising is not aimed at promoting a specific product but is more about building brand awareness. It’s also about encouraging word-of-mouth.

Because the campaigns are so cheap to run, they are often used by small businesses that do not have a big budget for marketing, nor they are known to the public. One successful guerrilla marketing campaign can bring a completely unknown brand name to the most discussed brand.

Guerrilla marketing is also often used by organisations that tackle social issues. Their advertisements rarely evoke positive emotions, but quite opposite, they shock people with their “brutality”.

Pros and cons of guerrilla marketing

Guerrilla marketing has certain advantages and disadvantages. If you are considering incorporating guerrilla advertising into your marketing strategy, you need to weigh up its advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages of guerrilla marketing

Cheap to run. Whether your ad is a billboard ad or a giant sticker on the bench in the park, guerrilla marketing is usually much cheaper than traditional advertising. It can also give you free advertising on social media as social users would be sharing your creative ad with other people.

Social channel sharing. Guerrilla marketing relies heavily on word-of-mouth advertising or social sharing, which is considered by many to be one of the most powerful weapons in a marketer’s arsenal. There is nothing better than getting people to talk about the business for free!
Global recognition. Some particularly noteworthy advertisements may be picked up not only by the local press but also by national or even international reporters.

Cons of guerrilla marketing

Cryptic messages. Well-thought-out and cryptic promotional messages can be misunderstood. Guerrilla marketing campaigns are often shrouded in mystery and can be subjected to misinterpretation.

Require permissions from public bodies. It is important to remember that any advertising has to be approved by the authorities or third-party companies.

Unpredictable obstacles. Before launching a guerrilla marketing campaign, it is important to consider whether it could create a negative public reaction or damage the environment.

Negative feedback. Failed guerrilla advertising can provoke a public backlash. It is therefore important to prepare for negative reactions and potential anger on social media.

To sum up

Whether you wish to create a memory around your brand on a small or large scale, we hope you will be inspired by this article.

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