Polar bears wandering the streets of London and vending machines that dispense pizzas and balloon animals: these are just a couple of the wacky marketing tactics that fall under the umbrella of guerrilla marketing.
Despite it being over 30 years old, guerrilla marketing still feels fresh today and is constantly evolving, as technology and social media develops.
What is guerrilla marketing?
Firstly, guerrilla marketing has nothing to do with hairy primates!
The term was actually inspired by guerrilla warfare, where small groups of militants use unconventional tactics to win battles against stronger, better armed opponents.
With guerrilla marketing, brands use unconventional marketing tactics to beat the competition and spread a marketing message – usually on a minimal budget.
Guerrilla marketing can take various forms. Here’s our guide to three of the best:
Ambient marketing
Ambient marketing focuses on placing advertisements in places where they wouldn’t normally be found. Ads are integrated into our natural surroundings, and catch our attention in places we least expect – like this BIC razor billboard, which has nothing but a small logo on it, and a giant razor, seemingly cutting the grass. Oh, how powerful that razor must be!
Undercover/buzz marketing
Undercover marketing attempts to sell a consumer on a product or idea without them realising they’re being pitched to. Sales agents pose as members of the public and create scenarios that put the product directly in front of the consumer, in a way that seems natural.
This behaviour was first used in the 1950s, by Coca-cola, Morton Salt and various popcorn companies,’ who launched a subliminal ad campaign in American cinemas. A single frame saying “Hungry? Eat Popcorn” was spliced into every film reel and yep, popcorn sales sky-rocketed without anyone knowing why!
Experiential marketing
This is a highly interactive form of marketing that connects people with a brand through immediate emotional and sensory responses.
Take for example, our very own ‘Dr McStuffin’s check-up clinic’ campaign, for Disney Junior Channel.
Doc McStuffin’s is a popular program about a 6 year old girl named Doc who heals toys from her backyard clinic.
We brought Dr McStuffin’s Clinic to life in order to raise the profile of season 2 and boost merchandise sales.
Children were invited to take on the role of Doc and help diagnose and treat ‘Big Teds’ ouchie symptoms at our mobile clinic, which visited 20 towns nationwide and 3 core retailers – Tesco’s, Smyths and Toys R Us – giving kids a 10 minute immersive experience.
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.
