In general, these types of campaigns have great potential to create a positive buzz on social media due to their innovative approach. Therefore, you can reach a lot of people with low-cost actions. After all, consumers themselves are responsible for promoting the actions. Cool, right?
Did you like the idea and want to know how to use guerrilla marketing to your brand’s advantage? Then keep reading because we’ve prepared a very complete article on the subject!
What is guerrilla marketing?
Basically, guerrilla marketing is a type of creative and unconventional advertising used to promote products or services.
We can even break down the term a little further so you can better understand the concept. How about that? Let's start with the meaning of marketing , which is nothing more than a set of strategies aimed at generating value for the brand.
The word guerrilla is derived from war, which expresses small-scale combat. In fact, the term was only associated with marketing because of the Vietnam War.
You see, the Vietnamese had many limitations, which put them at a disadvantage compared to American fighters. In this context, they needed to use guerrilla tactics that required more creativity and flexibility to generate high impact with low investment.
Inspired by the story of overcoming obstacles, an American advertising executive established the concept of guerrilla marketing. In other words, by applying strategies and creating creative campaigns, small businesses can compete on equal terms with the big players in the market, you know?
See also: Strategies for working on a brand’s branding .
Guerrilla Marketing vs. Traditional Marketing: What’s the Difference?
As we explained above, the objective of marketing is to generate value for a brand, product or service. In this context, there are several advertising strategies, such as paid media , advertising on social networks, billboards, TV advertisements and so on.
Likewise, guerrilla marketing also has the same purpose: to generate value. However, the big difference is in the approach, which is usually much more aggressive. This way, it becomes almost impossible to ignore, you know?
Let's imagine a hypothetical situation to understand better. Well, think about a bank advertisement. What draws more attention: a regular TV ad or a flash mob in public places? You don't even need to think much to answer, do you?
The fact is that we often watch TV on autopilot and don't even notice what's being shown on the screen. On the other hand, more incisive and creative campaigns are great for grabbing the consumer's attention and engaging them.
But look: this doesn't mean that guerrilla marketing is better than digital marketing and others, you know? In fact, it just has a different approach and can bring better returns in specific situations.
Worth reading: Influencer Marketing — How to Boost Your E-Commerce with Influencers.
Why invest in strategy?
As we’ve already explained, guerrilla marketing campaigns are italy business fax list imple but highly impactful. Imagine, for example, the cost of wrapping a bus. It’s not very expensive, is it?
The big thing here is that if the image is creative enough, it will be practically impossible to ignore the action. So, consumers who pass by the location will take pictures and post them on social media. Moral of the story: guerrilla marketing has a high potential to go viral.
Furthermore, the actions are much more focused on experience, you know? Therefore, in addition to attracting more consumers and generating engagement, it is possible to generate brand recognition and give more visibility to the company.
Check out another suggested reading: Does your brand think about the customer experience when providing service?
What are the main types of guerrilla marketing?
We must warn you in advance that there are endless options for guerrilla marketing. For example, you can invest in campaigns in public places, food courts, commercial establishments, online, and so on. The important thing is that the campaign is creative and engaging.
To better explain how the strategy works, we will show you the main types of guerrilla marketing and provide some successful cases . Check it out!
Outdoor
The name is pretty self-explanatory, isn't it? Jokes aside, outdoor guerrilla marketing is done in open spaces with a lot of foot traffic. For example: squares, parks, public roads, etc.
This type of action is cool because it attracts the attention of passersby. Many people even take their cell phones out of their pockets, film or take photos to share the experience on social media.
In addition, the company itself can secretly film the action to use in online campaigns. Want a practical example of outdoor guerrilla marketing? Well, below we explain a campaign by TNT — a subscription TV channel.
TNT Success Story: Your Daily Dose of Drama
TNT promoted a really cool action in Belgium, in a city in the countryside. The quieter location was chosen because, as extraordinary things don't happen in places like that very often, the outcome of the action would be more surprising. You'll understand why below.
It worked something like this: a large button with the instructions “press to add drama” was installed on the corner of a busy public road. This alone aroused the curiosity of people passing by.
However, the coolest part is yet to come. When I pressed the button, a live scene began to play. There were actors simulating shootings, fights, medical care and so on. There was even a girl in lingerie riding a motorcycle back and forth.
At the end of the campaign, a banner was unfurled from the top of a building with the phrase: “TNT: your daily dose of drama”. It’s impossible for an action like this to go unnoticed, right? Well, this is outdoor guerrilla marketing.
Indoor
Unlike outdoor campaigns, indoor campaigns are carried out in closed locations, but with high traffic, such as shopping malls, restaurants, movie theaters, among other environments.
Next, we will show a success story from Frontline — a brand focused on the pet market that sells topical solutions against fleas and ticks, such as pipettes and deodorizing sprays.
Frontline Success Story: Get Them Off Your Dog
It all started with the installation of a gigantic image in the central hall of a shopping mall in Indonesia. Those who walked by didn't see anything different and walked normally under the image.
On the other hand, anyone who saw the photograph on the second floor could identify the image of a dog. Interestingly, seen from above, the people walking beneath the image looked like fleas — so the animal was scratching itself.
What’s more, next to the photo, you could read the words: “Get them off your dog.” That is, by using the solution, your pet would be free of pests. Cool, right?
Worth reading: Reclame AQUI Survey — how do pet owners buy?
Major events
Music festivals, sporting events and even film productions become the stage for guerrilla marketing campaigns. In this context, campaigns can be more discreet — such as inserting products naturally into scenes in a film — or much more aggressive, like the ones we will show below.
Oprah's Success Story: Flash Mob with Black Eyed Peas
The launch event for the 24th season of Oprah Winfrey's TV show—the famous American presenter—had a special appearance by the group Black Eyed Peas. The show took place in Chicago, in the United States, and was attended by around 21 thousand people.
The singers were called on stage to sing a version of the song “I gotta feeling” adapted for the occasion. Then, the flash mob began.
First, a single fan danced in front of the stage while the rest of the crowd remained silent. As the song progressed, the action escalated with more and more members of the audience joining in until the entire audience was engaged with the choreography. The presenter, unaware of anything, was surprised by one of the biggest flash mobs in history.
See also: Boca Rosa Case — marketing strategies that work.
Interactive
You see, interactive guerrilla marketing has great engagement potential because it requires the audience to interact with the action in some way. That TNT action we explained here, for example, can also fall into the interactive category because it requires an action from the audience to get started.
In any case, we brought the example of BIS — that wafer biscuit covered in chocolate — that engaged students at a college in São Paulo.
BIS Success Story: Zuêra Machine
First, an automatic BIS machine was installed at a private college in São Paulo.
However, instead of paying for the chocolates, students need to interact with the machine to get the free candy. But don't think it was that easy, okay?
Named “Zuêra Machine”, the machine was controlled by a comedian who would issue challenges to unlock the benefits. There was a game of being the undead, animal imitations, tongue twisters, dances and several other games that made everyone laugh.
Phew! Did you see how many possibilities there are for guerrilla marketing? In this context, it is worth noting that creativity is the basis of campaigns. In fact, this is precisely why it has such great potential to go viral.
Learn more: Creative Economy — A Complete Guide for Your Business.
After all, how to do guerrilla marketing?
If you've made it this far, you're already convinced that investing in guerrilla marketing is a good opportunity to boost your brand while spending little, right?
So, it’s time to understand, in practice, how to use guerrilla marketing to your company’s advantage. Below, we’ll give you some tips on how to do this. Check it out!
Know your audience
We really like to emphasize this because this knowledge is essential to guide all of the company's actions, including guerrilla marketing. After all, by studying consumer behavior, it is possible to identify consumption habits, tone of voice, preferred channels, etc.
Think about it: it doesn't make sense for a brand with a more serious approach to invest in actions similar to that of the encore, you know? In fact, this lack of alignment between the campaign and the brand's purposes can harm the business's reputation, instead of helping.
Therefore, start your planning by studying consumer behavior. In this context, it is also worth creating a persona — a semi-fictional character that represents your ideal customer — to increase the efficiency of your campaigns.
It's worth checking out: Do you know the main changes in consumer behavior?
Use your creativity
First of all, do you remember the success stories we showed above? Well, don't copy those strategies, okay? If the consumer has already seen actions like that, they are no longer surprising, you know?
Therefore, it is essential to use creativity to create authentic and engaging campaigns, as this will be decisive for the success of the action. In addition, it is good to think about interactive resources to increase engagement.
In any case, it is worth remembering that any guerrilla marketing action awakens feelings in the consumer. Therefore, the campaign needs to be very well thought out so that it awakens good feelings and creates positive memories in the customer's mind.
