Most brands understand by now that traditional advertising simply doesn’t get the same amount of attention as it once did.
Now, brands are being forced to think more carefully about creative ways that they can interact with their audience. As shareable content and social media becomes more popular, it seems that guerrilla marketing campaigns with the power to spark conversation might be essential.
Unfortunately, we all know that guerrilla marketing can be a tricky concept. It needs to be unique, surprising, and exciting or it runs the risk of being forgotten.
However, if you go too far, then you might find that your business is remembered for all the wrong reasons. So how do you go about creating a truly successful guerrilla campaign? Bizarrely enough, the Christmas season might be able to offer a few lessons about this subject.
Lesson 1: Make it Creative
Nobody cares about everyday events, so if you want to generate a buzz, then you need to be creative, shocking, and surprising. At Christmas, your aim is to surprise your loved ones with the gifts that they wanted, and even some extra treats that they didn’t know they had been craving.
In the world of experiential and guerrilla marketing, your ambitions should be very similar. Look to create an event or experience that gives your audience everything they didn’t know they were looking for. Surprise them – but in a positive way.
Lesson 2: Bigger is Better
Although we’re all polite enough to thank our friends and family for the smaller gifts we get in our stockings each year – the truth is that it’s the big gifts that get our attentions.
You’re not going to write a post on Facebook about a candy cane that you got on Christmas morning, but the chances are that you are going to make a fuss if you receive a 60-inch 3D Television.
There’s a great deal of difference between “Wow!” and, “Oh, that’s nice”. When you’re planning a guerrilla marketing campaign, you can’t afford to test the waters with something small. Go big or go home.
Lesson 3: Use Real Emotions
During the festive season, the meals and gifts we share with our families and friends are made all that more important because they tug at our heartstrings. After all, it’s the thought that counts.
A gift that speaks to your heart is more important than all the other more expensive presents under the tree. Similarly, the key to engaging with digital marketing is to make an emotional connection. If you connect with real emotions, then your audience isn’t going to forget you any time soon.
Hotcow is a non-traditional creative agency that specialises in experiential marketing that goes viral. Our campaigns generate buzz through crowd participation, PR and content sharing. Contact us on 0207 5030442, or email us on info@hotcow.co.uk.
