Guerrilla Marketing campaign

The guerrilla marketing which is used in the form of campaign experiences an increasing importance in the advertising wold, which stands for an surprising effect. Its aimed to create hype and awareness of a brand by using unique and original advertising techniques . It's popular because you can create a whole marketing campaign on a very small budget as long as the concept is good. It creates a buzz, attracting attention, promoting an interactive experience with customers and now through social media it has the potential to rival more familiar standard advertising. The strategy is used to raise money with amount of profit, and establish new relationship above and beyond sales as result in awareness for product and services. It does not necessary mean that companies with low budget have a disadvantage compared to financially strong competitors. The top priority of Guerrilla marketing is to use the capital efficient and focussing on local culture with its geographical, sportive, social network, its needs, habits, traditions etc.

Guerrilla marketing is a different form of marketing strategies, but it use the same channels to bring it message to its potential customers through advertising, sales promotion, direct mail etc. The pricing in the guerrilla marketing plays little role, although the companies can different themselves from the rest of the competition. For some companies this might play important role, but in overall 10% is focus on price. Distribution can tremendously increase the experience of the customers and increase the demand of the product. Harry potter books, is a great example of it. As well the product packaging and brand increase the experience. Kellogg’s introduced a drink crunch in which the cup with milk could make a snack, resulted in great experience.

Guerrilla marketing is a solution for companies of all sizes and all budgets. Little tricks and years of experience make a successful start for an each company possible. Even though the budget of the companies vary widely, there is always a way to get through to their customers. The main differences between the small size company and bigger firms companies can be maid the way Guerrilla marketing is used. Larger companies do not have to pitch on Guerrilla marketing like smaller companies sometimes have to. The guerrilla marketing can be successful with low budget if the campaign is used, creative and flexible with unexpected surprise effect.

Guerilla marketing in a digital age

Since the arrival of the digital age, the world of marketing has gone through a massive change. The art of online marketing has taken a raise in popularity and what can be noticed nowadays is that the original marketing techniques are combined, or in total taken over by the online marketing techniques.

The change in the importance of gaining online media attention due to the change towards the ‘digital society’ has been noticeable in the modern guerilla marketing campaigns. The campaigns still serve the same purpose of gaining additional brand awareness and media attention, but the change lies most of all in the aftermath of the guerilla campaigns.

Since the digital globalization a majority of the world population has access to the global news and information resources and the guerilla campaign media attention as conducted in one country, spread out over the world. When the campaign is conducted rightfully, the brand awareness and global attention is of high value to the company, but what could be the pitch falls of this world spread awareness?

The biggest pitch fall is the business ethics that should be taken in mind way more carefully in order to not offend anyone and generate bad publicity. As there is a global reach, there are also global ethical issues that should be thought of. Therefore conducting a little marketing research in order to prevent bad publicity is very much reasonable.

Also due to the global reach a major positive trend is to combine a CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility)  message with the guerilla marketing campaign. A good example is the Coca –cola campaign, as can be viewed below, where the message of connecting people through their product shines through.  

 

So what can be concluded is that since the rise of the ‘digital society’, the benefits of gaining brand awareness through guerrilla marketing is sky high. However conduct some research and take ethical issues in mind in order to prevent disaster.

McDonalds also goes to the “guerrilla”.

Lately an updated marketing strategy is acquiring new followers, the so-called “Guerrilla Marketing”.

The reason of its spreading is obvious. It makes an outstanding idea inside the consumers about what and how the products are, at the same time it does not imply high and unaffordable costs to the entrepreneurs who are tending to use it. Enormous effects at bargain prices, the success recipe.

For all of that, the American fast-food burger giant, McDonals, has not been able to reject its use and they initiated in 2009 two interesting guerrilla marketing activities for promoting two weeks of free coffee in their establishments:

• 1) First of all, they decided to install machines in some bus stops and advertising panels in order to create an attractive smoke inside. When sporadically some smoke began to pour out of the cup of coffee from the McDonalds brand, which was the poster inside of them, immediately appeared the core sentence; “Your free coffee is ready”

• 2) Also in the same direction, the redesigned some streetlights as huge carafes pouring a cup of coffee, which, by the way, was decorated with the same phrase; “Your free coffee is ready”.

Image source: http://gutenver.wordpress.com/2009/09/21/mcdonald%C2%B4s-cafe-gratis-free-coffee/

• 3) Finally, during the development of this strategy, they created some human size cups of coffee, where the same phrase was again highlighted. What makes it special? The fact that they, as the panels did, were sporadically pouring out some smoke from the McDonald´s cup of coffee. 

Image source: http://timekiller.cz/reklama/top10-guerillovych-kampani-od-mcdonalds/

This campaign was created by the Canadian Cossette company, helped by Dyna Graphics, achieving what McDonalds desired, an original and high effective way of being noticed, as all the guerrilla marketing campaigns try.

The purposes of guerrilla marketing

As soon as people hear "marketing" they are expecting big corporations trying to sell them stuff they don't need. Well that can be true but not only. Guerrilla marketing can be used for a good cause.

Guerrilla marketing is a way to get people to react at low cost and is used by many organisations.

And if it might not have a direct effect on your daily habits, as long as it gets your attention, it was worth it and is the start of something new.

Examples?

WWF changed the color of a football field during a game with big audience between Brasil and Denmark.
The message was: every 4 minutes the equivalent of a football field disapears in brasilian forests. The operation lasted  4 minutes and was a success. It raised the numbers of visits on the website by 73%.

And this is one of the many examples.

Guerrilla marketing was also used to warn about global warming: 

Unicef used it to raise funds to provide africans with clean drinking water:

And Israel cancer association conducted a campaign in Tel Aviv to raise awareness:

So now you know that guerrilla marketing can have a positive impact and serve non lucrative purposes.
Look around you, it can be everywhere!

Diet Coca-Cola and Tiny Distributor

Coca-Cola, and the slimmest drink automatic distributor. 
The best idea to make an impression on the consumers, Coca-Cola found it ! What is better than the finnest automatic distributor in the street: this distributor measures 7 inches in width.

"Oh, hey there, ladies. Feeling fat? Of course you are. Don't worry. I've got some advice ... Get delicious, trimming diet soda from me!" writes Adfreak.


The Huffington Post also reacted: "Thanks, Diet Coke, for reminding us all that it's always better to be thin — even if you're a vending machine."