The Power of Guerrilla Marketing

Unconventional Tactics for Small Businesses

Navigating the raging sea of competition is daunting, especially when you're a small boat in the vast ocean of business. But with data & empathy-driven marketing and unconventional approaches to the mundane, you'll find your way to land, establishing a solidified presence critical to success.

One such powerful, unconventional strategy that I'm stoked to chat a bit about is Guerrilla Marketing. I can't wait to inspire some ideas in your eager, entrepreneurial mind because, trust me, this stuff makes marketing fun.

Guerrilla Marketing: An Unexpected Ally for Small Businesses

You'd be lying if you said you didn't love marketing strategies that cost very little but do a heck-of-a-lot. I know I do. And that's what's so cool about the concept of guerrilla marketing, the fact that it's one of those roll-up-the-sleeves approaches to getting things done.

This killer marketing style is less about big budgets and classic ad campaigns. Instead, it is more about challenging the mind to think well outside the box of the conventional, take risks, and put yourself out there in manners perceived by the public as nothing less than astonishing. Allow me the pleasure of expanding.

What is Guerilla Marketing?

Let's get acquainted with the man who coined this term, which initially seems blatantly militant but is a highly thoughtful, artistic, and unique take on enhancing brand awareness once you understand its true meaning. Expanded into great depth in his book Guerilla Marketing, Jay Conrad Levinson establishes this marketing tactic as one focusing on establishing a connection through imaginative and unconventional techniques versus the typical, costly marketing campaigns often relied on.

Back to the militant nature of the name, it does indeed gain its meaning from guerrilla warfare, where smaller forces use surprise and detailed knowledge of the terrain to fight larger, less mobile armies. It's a rough symbolism, but do take it lightly.

When you apply this metaphorical thinking to marketing, you may view the 'terrain' as your consumer's mind, aiming to capture it in the most unexpected and creative ways. The goal is to surprise your consumers, to make their minds go wild, and to create conversation that buzzes like bees. It's about harnessing the power of wonder, novelty, and emotion to reach people more personally.

To summarize Guerilla Marketing and a few of its significant characteristics in action, it:

Begins with high levels of innovative, empathetic, and even artistic thinking.
Often utilizes public spaces in unique ways as a medium for marketing.
Leans into human emotion and social trends.
Curate experiences that tell a story (and when done correctly, the meaning of the story relates to your brand)
Aims to achieve maximum results—like brand awareness, consumer engagement, and word-of-mouth promotion—with minimal resources.

The beauty of Guerrilla Marketing is that it can be as simple as a clever sticker on a lamp post or as complex as a city-wide scavenger hunt. It doesn't require big budgets; it just needs big ideas that break through the noise and capture attention.

Types of Guerilla Marketing

Let's focus on the primary types of Guerilla Marketing before moving on to how you might apply these principles to your budget-friendly marketing strategy.

Ambient Advertising:

Ambient advertising essentially means making the environment your billboard. This casual, natural placement involves using everyday spaces to promote your brand unexpectedly. Think of those creative ads painted on stairs or murals on buildings that make you stop, look, and remember. Or, more importantly, that makes you feel at random times throughout the day. If you were a cafe owner, your ambient marketing might look like coffee mugs painted on a park bench or coffee beans painted on the sidewalk leading toward your doors. The point is to surprise and engage passers-by in their familiar environment.

3 Killer Examples of Ambient Marketing

Need some more inspiration?

National Geographic's Shark Bus: National Geographic developed a creative campaign to promote its "Shark Week." The city bus was designed to look like a shark with its open jaws, creating the illusion of the shark "biting" whenever the bus doors opened. It was an eye-catching design that startled and amused passers-by, creating a buzz around the event.
Folgers' Maintenance Hole Covers: In a genius move, coffee brand Folgers converted New York City's maintenance hole covers into steaming cups of coffee. They painted the covers like an ariel view of a coffee mug with steam rising from the coffee brought to life by the real steam emanating from the underground system. This brilliant campaign turned an everyday city scene into an enticing coffee advertisement.
KitKat Park Bench: Nestle's KitKat nailed the concept of ambient advertising with a simple yet ingenious idea. They transformed regular city park benches into gigantic KitKat chocolate bars by painting the seats to resemble KitKat's distinctive four fingers, complete with the brand's logo on the backrest. This creative outdoor advertisement seamlessly blended into the environment while promoting the brand effectively.

Ambush Marketing:

Envision yourself as a business owner riding the coattails of a significant event or trend without paying a dime for sponsorship. That's ambush marketing in a nutshell. It involves leveraging the popularity of major events to market your brand through the event's own publicity. There are some ethical concerns, but when it works, it does work well.

3 Classic Examples of Ambush Marketing

You never know when you’re being ambushed by marketing! Here’s a few of my favorite examples.

Nike at the 1996 Olympic Games: During the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Reebok was the official sponsor, but Nike made a massive impact sans the sponsorship fee. They built an impressive Nike center near the athlete's village and handed out flags with the Nike logo to spectators. Their logo was constantly displayed during broadcasts, giving them a significant share of the event's publicity. Savvy, eh?
Bavaria Beer at the 2010 FIFA World Cup: Dutch brewery Bavaria orchestrated a sly ambush marketing stunt during the 2010 World Cup. They had 36 women attend the Netherlands vs. Denmark match wearing orange mini-dresses, orange being associated with the Netherlands team, and the dresses were part of a gift pack sold by Bavaria Beer. The group eventually got ejected, but not before creating a media frenzy that generated massive publicity for Bavaria Beer.
Beats by Dre at the 2012 Olympic Games: Before the 2012 Olympics, Beats by Dre sent free headphones to several high-profile athletes seen wearing the headphones before their respective events, thus circumventing the official sponsorship deals. This guerilla tactic created considerable visibility for the brand during the Games.

Experiential Marketing:

This tactic goes beyond just telling consumers about your product or service; it immerses customers in a live, branded environment, thus allowing them to feel, touch, and connect with your product or service. A pop-up store that offers a unique shopping experience or an augmented reality app that brings your product to life are perfect examples of curating a resonating experience.

3 Exciting Examples of Experiential Marketing

Here are some crazy cool instances of this unique form of Guerrilla Marketing in action:

Ikea Sleepover: Back in 2011, Ikea UK hosted a sleepover event in response to a Facebook fan group called "I wanna have a sleepover in Ikea." The event allowed 100 fans to spend the night in an Ikea store, complete with manicures, massages, a movie screening, and of course, testing out Ikea's range of beds. The event generated tons of press for Ikea. For the consumers involved (as well as those living vicariously through them), it was a memorable hands-on experience, subtly allowing them to try Ikea products!
The Coca-Cola Happiness Machine: Coca-Cola is a creative experiential marketing maven. A famous manifestation of this would be their "Happiness Machine" — a vending machine placed in a college campus that didn't just dispense soda but dished out eye-widening surprises (like pizza and a giant sub sandwich!) to the astonishment and delight of students. The campaign video fast went viral, resulting in over 9 million views and showcasing the magic of experiential marketing.
Lean Cuisine's #WeighThis Campaign: Lean Cuisine's innovative campaign centered around a unique 'scale' installation at New York's Grand Central Station. Unlike traditional scales that measure body weight, this concept allowed women to 'weigh' their personal accomplishments. With this creative approach, Lean Cuisine aimed to alter the narrative surrounding dieting and align it with the brand's philosophy. The campaign provided an authentic platform for women to share their stories and accomplishments, thereby garnering much positive attention.

Viral Marketing:

Oh, the sweet allure of going viral. Although no simple task, creating content that spreads across social media platforms like a rumor in high school will enhance brand visibility like never before. Viral marketing involves creating share-worthy content that people can't resist talking about. An engaging video, a humorous meme, or a heartwarming story can reach far and wide in hours. Going viral is about following trends, sure, but it's also about being true to your brand and creating content that people don't just see but respond to.

3 Sensational Examples of Viral Marketing

Going viral is no easy feat, but great ideas like these help that to happen.

Dove's "Real Beauty Sketches": This inspiring campaign used an FBI-trained sketch artist to draw women based on their own descriptions of themselves and then on strangers' descriptions. The sketches representing the strangers' descriptions were far more flattering, emphasizing Dove's message about improving self-confidence and challenging conventional beauty standards. This powerful campaign evoked emotion and sparked a worldwide discussion about beauty standards, racking up more than 114 million views in the first month.
Old Spice "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like": When Old Spice launched the "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like" campaign featuring the charismatic Isaiah Mustafa, it became an overnight sensation. The blend of humor, surrealism, and engagement (Mustafa responded to fans' comments in real-time videos) made the campaign hugely popular, boosting sales by 107% and setting a new bar for viral marketing.
ALS Ice Bucket Challenge: While a business didn't initiate it, the Ice Bucket Challenge was a powerful example of viral marketing. Worldwide, people of all cultures dumped buckets of ice-cold water on their heads to raise awareness for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and encourage donations towards research. The campaign quickly went viral, with celebrities, athletes, and everyday folk like you and me participating. It raised significant funds for ALS research and created massive disease awareness.

Becoming a Guerrilla Marketer

So, with all this information in mind, how exactly do you become a guerrilla marketer and apply it to your business?

With a sprinkle of creativity, a dash of innovation, and a good dollop of risk-taking, you have the essential ingredients required to experiment with new recipes. But to really harness this marketing strategy's potency, you must be willing to venture into the unknown, color outside the lines, and shake things up a bit. The unconventional path is risky, but it's also where the potential for differentiation lies, and overcoming risk is where the magic happens.

Shaking Things Up With Surprise

It's no surprise that the element of surprise is a crucial component of effective Guerrilla Marketing. It's a beautiful domino effect where unexpectedness triggers curiosity, curiosity leads to engagement, and engagement leads to brand loyalty.

To best take advantage of surprise, give your audience what they didn't know they needed or wanted; disrupt expectations while providing unique value to the moment and beyond. Take advantage of the unexpected, instill curiosity, and in doing so, commence engagement- you've got this.

Empathy: Understanding Your Audience

Any successful marketing strategy begins with understanding the audience; Guerrilla Marketing no different. But beyond common understanding is empathetic understanding. Be the consumer, feel their needs and desires as your own, understand their wants and needs, and respond accordingly. By doing so, your campaigns become an experience inspired by emotion, emotion then inspiring the action.

I love this example of empathetic Guerrilla Marketing: IKEA's subway makeover, where they transformed stark, cold subway stations into warm, cozy living spaces, resonating with the commuter's desire for comfort after a long day.

Authenticity: Crafting a Genuine Brand Image

In an era where consumers greatly value authenticity, Guerrilla Marketing is instrumental in portraying a genuine brand image. You can create a relatable and trustworthy image by creating campaigns that reflect your brand's unique identity and values. Take, for example, the Dove Real Beauty campaign, which eschewed airbrushed models for beautiful everyday women, effectively communicating the brand's commitment to celebrating natural beauty.

Mindful Use of Resources: Balancing Creativity with Budget Constraints

Budget constraints are often the Achilles' heel of small businesses, but Guerrilla Marketing turns this perceived weakness into a strength. It's all about getting the maximum bang for your buck through creativity and cleverness.

This isn't paying for clicks and hoping your ads convert well or costly sponsored posts. It's your shot to think beyond the mundane, beyond the typical practice of marketing, and without the need for considerable investment.

Creating a Guerrilla Marketing Environment

Cultivating a culture of creativity and innovation is vital to pull off effective Guerrilla Marketing campaigns consistently. Encourage your team to think creatively, take risks, and innovate- and ensure they're confident in sharing their ideas, regardless of how bold!

Look at Google, known for its unique, playful, and innovative culture, which regularly delivers out-of-the-box campaigns. What better way to connect to the human experience than by treating their employees as the real, creative, and fun humans they are?!

What Will You Do Next?

There you have it. Guerrilla Marketing is a powerful weapon for small businesses, offering a real chance to punch above their weight. So USE it!

We've only just scratched the surface of the vast potential Guerrilla Marketing holds. Feel free to reach out if you're curious to explore more, need some advice, or wish to work together on your next creative marketing campaign.

Leave your thoughts, ideas, and questions in the comments below to continue the conversation. And remember that there are no such things as bad ideas, only unexplored ones!