Looking to generate some buzz? Well, these guerilla marketing ideas should do just the trick.
True to their name, guerilla marketing ideas do not conform to the conventional way of doing business. These notions are largely dependent on original thought. As such, you need to ensure that your creative juices are at an all-time high before implementing them.
Once you combine ingenuity and imagination at just the right potions, there’s really no need for a big budget. If you’re curious about how to get started, we’ll be sharing a couple of actionable pointers in our breakdown.
Type of Guerilla Marketing Ideas
1. Street Marketing
Like the name suggests, street marketing focuses on outdoor spaces. This means that the marketing action usually brings street elements into play.
2. Ambient Marketing
Traditional marketing usually sticks to the tried and tested ideas. With guerilla marketing, the aim is to disrupt the status quo. What this means is that you can help promote your brand by interfering with the norm by placing ads at unconventional spots. That’s where ambient marketing comes in.
3. Event Ambush Marketing
This form of guerilla marketing happens when marketers use audience members to an event to promote their products. While this practice is perfectly okay, it may leave you open to legal complications. As such, you need to tread carefully when going this route.
4. Guerilla Projections
You can bedazzle people by installing hidden projectors onto high-rise buildings on streets awash with people. The use of clever imagery to get your message across is sufficient enough to get the conversation going. That said, there are a couple of legal risks that can arise from this action. To avoid litigation, be smart about how you execute the plan.
5. Experiential Marketing
The Live concept is all the rage in marketing today. By combining this idea with guerilla marketing, you can foster a platform for maximum engagement of the masses. People usually form close bonds with brands when they feel their voice is being heard. The onus is thus on you to invite people to chip-in whenever you host immersive, pop-up experiences.
These are only five types of guerilla marketing, there are tons more but these are the most common.
Powerful Guerilla Marketing Examples
Most start-ups and NGOs engage in guerilla marketing. This is because it’s the perfect avenue to run an effective, low-budget campaign with ease.
Still, it’s important to note that even the biggest of brands like to engage in guerilla marketing. It’s perfect for them to showcase their fun, creative side whilst maximizing on their resources. This playful take on things usually leaves a lasting impact on the minds of many consumers.
Given this background, it’s easy to comprehend why the concept is unlikely to face away from the marketing scene.
1. Be as outdoorsy as Jeep
Around the world, Jeep is renown as a maker of powerful automobiles. Their brand is associated with delivering both on-road and off-road experiences.
Fully cognizant of this, the marketing heads at Jeep decided to play out this ad idea with the general public. Effectively, they were able to showcase their creative element whilst promoting their powerful vehicles.
Their focus on parking over steep inclines and uneven surfaces can be construed to mean that their models can handle any terrain. While the same can also be ridiculed by critics to be a risky move, at the end of the day, the campaign was a success.
It garnered just enough public provocation and praise for the wittiness. Jeep smartly positioned the brand as an off-road giant without having to beak the bank. A smart guerilla tactic.
2. Announce yourself to the world like Snapchat
In a world full of giant social networking platforms, how do you announce yourself to the world stage?
Simple. Just turn on ghost-mode.
By advertising on giant billboards filled with nothing but their ghost-logo, Snapchat was able to make a scenic entrance to the game.
Predictably, many people googled the brand without knowing what to expect. Importantly, Snapchat was able to get the tongues wagging by revealing just a little bit of themselves.
Of course, they did have to first have to create an online profile which guided most of the search results.
This brilliant concept was so effective because even Snapchat’s competitors didn’t see what was coming. It’ the classic guerilla warfare move. There was no way they could stop them before they made forays into their target audience.
The buzz generated was sufficient enough for them to register a significant number of downloads. With momentum in their sails, the company made a couple of press releases and partnered up with influencers. Smartly, they hit the ground running on nothing but hype. Once they had a solid footing, they delivered on content. A clever ploy all-around.
3. Just do it like Nike
When it comes to formulating guerilla marketing ideas, embodying a brand value is of utmost importance. There are few brands out there that successfully do it like Nike.
With their “Just do it” slogan, the company has successfully been able to connect with many sports enthusiasts.
By applying the “Just do it” tagline on the abstract bench, the company was able to remind people about their motto.
Many of us are well aware of the whole rigamarole of exercising. Of course, there are countless benefits, both physically and mentally. That said, starting and sticking to a workout plan usually seems like the hardest bit.
With this smart play of words, Nike was able to suggest the benefits of hitting the road instead of taking a seat. We’re quite certain that a significant fraction of people who passed by the bench on their morning stroll was inspired to turn up the gears a notch.
This concept can also work fantastically well for those intent on making new commitments and resolutions. It’s just as effective as cliché words like “It’s the first day for the rest of your life”.
With “Just do it”, Nike reinforces the link between the brand and willpower. It perfectly aligns with their brand value of acting instead of procrastinating.
4. Raise awareness on environmental issues
With each passing day, the forest cover in wooded areas continues to diminish. In a bid to prevent the entire world turning into a concrete jungle, it’s important to use your brand name to raise awareness about this.
There’s a high chance you’ve spotted volunteers and environmentalists camped outside shopping spaces. Their message? Help conserve the environment. For most of them, the aim is to engage members of the public for just a brief moment.
This strategy was well implemented in the Netflix show, the Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. In a stroke of genius, Kimmy was able to avoid all the media attention she was getting outside the court. All it took for that to happen was for Titus Andromedon to pose a question for reporters to spare a minute to talk about the environment.
As you can tell, most people don’t like discussing the gory details of that subject. To better resonate with people about conservation efforts, it’s best to paint a vivid picture.
This is depicted well in this treeless park version. The visual engagement about the need to act now pushes home the message about why the environment is so important.
Unlike the Kimmy concept, this makes people aware that their opinions were not consulted in the first place. Suggestively, it prompts passersby to take rapid action and stop the menace of deforestation.
5. Draw attention to your brand with powerful imagery
Naturally, people love looking at pleasant things. When out on a stroll, most of us gaze at exhibition displays for a glimpse of something we want.
Well aware about this window-shopping trait, one NGO set about to highlight a societal construct that it felt needed changing. Indeed, many people tend to ignore the plight of homeless youth. Many people just give them a glimpse and stroll on. By pinpointing this trait, the campaign smartly promoted empathy towards the disadvantaged.
This sensitization was very effective and we consider it one of our favorites. By using plain posters situated at specific points where the homeless usually sit, the NGO made great use of guerilla tactics to discuss an issue.
6. Save the trees with Sarova
This ad targeted drivers on the highway to think for a moment and ponder about the environment. Of course, for many people, the initial reaction at seeing a big cat lying atop a pole is to call Wildlife services.
It’s only after a moment or two contemplating what to do next that the message hits home…we can all do more to conserve the forests.
Sarova has an expansive group of hotels, resorts, and game lodges around the world. Given their involvement in the hospitality industry, it makes sense for them to hold nature conservation campaigns. This is especially true once you consider the fact that some of their top performing establishments host tourists and guests fresh from safari. Thanks to Mother Nature, they have a steady stream of visitors.
The integration of social and environmental agenda is a masterstroke on their part. Not only does it raise awareness on the need to protect the environment, but it also serves to promote their business interests.
7. Redbull’s publicity stunts
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past couple of decades, you’ve probably heard that “Redbull gives you wings”.
True to their brand, Redbull likes to host publicity stunts every now and again to showcase just how potent their drink is.
They’ve become well adept at holding publicity stunts that pack some wow factor over the years.
In one ad campaign, they used extreme-sports athlete Felix Baumgartner to break the sound barrier. While at it, he was able to set the world record for highest jump, at 20 miles above New Mexico, for a good number of years.
Even before he embarked on the jump, Redbull made a point of generating some buzz to the event by using a specially designed quasi-space ship. On their website, they aptly called the event, “to the edge of space”.
Thanks to the internet, the event was able to garner more than 44.7 million views on YouTube, an impressive feat by itself.
8. A pint with Tyskie Beer
Tyskie beer creatively marketed their product to beer lovers with customized door handles. This simple and creative concept acted as a clarion call for revelers to grab a pint once they were ready to kick back.
By shaping the handles to represent something akin to a mug of beer, the company smartly promoted their brand.
9. Brush with Colgate
Colgate creatively came up with the concept of inserting toothbrush shaped wooded popsicle sticks in creamy chocolate delights. This way, they were able to remind children (and adults), on the essence of brushing after a sweet snack.
More specifically, the reminder suggested Colgate was the best option.
This ad strategy is a guerilla approach since it uses a cheap and simplistic concept. Usually, Colgate advertises by issuing product samples during annual events like the Oral Health Month. Having noticed that many consumers don’t follow through with the message after such campaigns, the creatives at Colgate decided to solve the issue.
Conclusion
These Guerilla marketing ideas present a great way to enhance your customer base by using innovation. When smartly applied, you can attract new customers and create a loyal following.
Compared to traditional forms of advertising, guerilla marketing ideas are a low-cost venture. While that may sound unimpressive, the results yielded are just as bountiful as any other high-budget campaign, if not more.
Before embarking on your guerilla marketing strategy, you need to do your homework. Ideally, you need to be aware of which strategies resonate best with audiences. By studying how your competitor have dabbled in ad campaigns and the benefit they were able to reap, you stand a better chance of developing engaging content.
With a clear visual concept, you’ll be able to map out the key brand values you want to stick to. This will inform how you position your company as you plan for growth.
As a parting shot, you need to ensure that the message you send out to clients through your guerilla marketing campaign doesn’t lack in clarity. Instead, come up with a brilliant campaign that surprises your customers, and is impressionable enough to leave a lasting impact.
