Guerrilla Marketing Tactics

Guerrilla marketing got its name for the stealthy, surprise tactics it uses. The term was introduced by Jay Conrad Levinson in his 1984 book Guerrilla Marketing. A year later, Al Ries and Jack Trout developed the concept even further in their best-selling book Marketing Warfare.

Now, the reasonable question is — do these principles still work forty years later and in a world that relies so heavily on digital advertising? They do! The ground principles are as effective today as they were in the 1980s.  And even though new unconventional strategies to accommodate the phygital sphere have developed over the years, the essence of guerrilla marketing remains largely unchanged.

Below, we will explain the main types of guerrilla marketing campaigns, provide examples of creative advertising examples that have generated buzz in the past years, list the pros and cons of this marketing strategy, and offer some actionable tips on how to make ambush marketing work.

Types of Guerrilla Marketing Campaigns

Guerrilla marketing is mostly associated with outdoor advertising, but it can also be very effective indoors and in the phygital sphere — everyone carries a camera in one’s pocket today, so your physical ads will eventually get onto social media sites. The classic examples of guerrilla warfare in marketing include:

• Ambient marketing: a type of ad that uses a surrounding area to surprise the audience, i.e., sidewalks, street graffiti, creative outdoor installations, and so on.
• Ambush advertising: these ads build an association with an event or place without directly mentioning the brand. Major sports events offer multiple opportunities for ambush advertising. A good example is when Red Bull placed free drinks with branded colors near the FIFA World Cup stadiums in 2014.
• Flash Mobs: street performances that discreetly promote a brand can generate a lot of attention, and today, flash mobs are not limited to the streets alone.

In the digital sphere, guerrilla marketing can imply:

• Surprising partnerships with influencers or other brands that promote funny or unexpected messages;
• Interactive campaigns that require users to take action — submit their pictures, videos, etc. Today, TikTok is one of the best marketing platforms for all sorts of digital challenges and flash mobs, especially if you get TikTok influencers onboard;
• Social media challenges and stunts — anything new and surprising that catches attention and can inspire shares works as a digital form of guerrilla marketing;
• And any other creative content ideas that can result in user-generated content or viral spread.

Bold Examples of Guerrilla Marketing Campaigns

Now that we’ve set our theory straight let’s jump to practice. Below are some great examples of effective guerrilla marketing campaigns that have surprised unsuspecting audiences and generated a lot of buzz in the process.

GoldToe Brand Dressing Wall Street Bull

In 2010, T-shirt and underwear brand GoldToe started one of the most controversial campaigns to mark the launch of its new product line — dressed the symbol of Wall Street in a pair of oversized boxers. The campaign made also use of another event happening at the time — New York Fashion Week. All in all, it was both bold and risky because there was a huge chance many would disapprove or become outraged by such use of a public icon. But GoldToe pulled it off!

Deadpool’s Tinder Profile

Deadpool movies are some of the most controversial in the Marvel Universe, known for their dark humor and bordering-on-adult content. Obviously, the marketing tactics had to be chosen appropriately — before the movie launch, Deadpool got ‘himself’ a Tinder profile that continued the franchise’s dark, provocative humor tradition and helped Deadpool become one of the most successful movies in the Marvel universe, with millions of devoted fans.

Burger King’s Moldy Ad Campaign

Another great example of provocative advertising that could have gone wrong but didn’t. The brand used ‘the opposite’ of a fancy-picture approach and placed multiple billboards with moldy burgers instead. Burger King’s Moldy campaign series showed different stages of decay and emphasized a very important message — the beauty of no artificial preservatives. The unusual images showing burgers ‘past their prime’ caught a lot of people’s attention. And let’s agree — how could it not?

Bonus: Budweiser’s Reunited with Buds Video Ad

‘Reunited with Buds’: Clydesdales in Budweiser ad will tug at your heartstrings

Creative advertising that draws attention and engages the audience is not always about ambush attacks or shocking surprises — and this funny, relatable Budweiser video is a perfect example. The brand launched this ad right after some Covid restrictions were lifted. The different buddies rushing to the pub to be reunited with each other and their beer-tasting buds is a great example of a perfectly timed message that is both sweet and surprising.

Pros & Cons of Guerrilla Marketing

The primary benefits of guerrilla marketing include:

• High impact: creative advertising can result in truly viral campaigns that engage new audiences and amplify the brand’s message;
• High engagement levels: even street marketing can result in thousands of social media shares, and audience response to unconventional strategies is often higher;
• Flexibility: guerrilla marketing is a very adaptable channel that has the potential to engage new audiences and leave a memorable impression;
• A chance to rebrand: if necessary, you can make use of guerrilla marketing to create a totally new brand message;
• Cost-effective: for large brands, guerrilla marketing can be surprisingly affordable in comparison to traditional advertising, especially if the company achieves a viral effect.

On the other hand, marketers should understand the potential dangers of this strategy and, if possible, work their way around these risks:

• Risk of offending: this is the biggest drawback of surprise marketing, but you can mitigate the danger by carefully considering your target audience;
• Legal challenges: this risk is location-based, so before launching any controversial campaigns, it is important to study the laws and regulations in a given area;
• Lack of control: once the campaign is up and running, brands have little control over the message spread, so it is important to consider different development scenarios before launch;
• Short-term impact: even though ambush marketing often has very high engagement levels, the impact is also short-lived. But this can also be a plus if something goes wrong;
• Hard to measure: unlike social media campaigns with their transparent stats on likes and shares, the reach of guerrilla marketing can be very hard to measure;
• Reach limitations: creative advertising usually works for major brands or small local businesses. The first ones have already gained some attention and can gain more with creative techniques. Small businesses can advertise right on the spot – for example, by placing funny sandwich boards next to their cafe entrances.

Anything in between large and small scale can be more challenging to master, but the tips below should help — these unconventional strategies can also work for mid-size businesses.

Tips to Make Ambush Marketing Work

According to Al Ries and Jack Trout’s Marketing Warfare, guerrilla marketing will work if:

• You find a market segment small enough to defend
• You do not act like a market leader
• You are ready to quickly move elsewhere when necessary.

These basic principles perfectly align with actual guerrilla warfare. In practice, we can add a few more actionable tips to remember in the 2020s:

• Carefully research your audience to address the customers’ pain points instead of creating new ones;
• Align the message with brand values, especially when targeting GenZ, a generation of consumers that prioritize consistency;
• Aim for sharable content because everyone with a smartphone can help spread your message on social media;
• Create unique hashtags and place them on street ads — this way, your campaign may spread further and will be easier to track on social media;
• Get influencers on board — TikTok and Instagram are the major platforms for influencer marketing, but you can explore other channels as well;
• Consider building mystery and intrigue — for example, billboards with the countdown to some mystery thing (a product launch, an event, etc.) can help build suspense and draw way more attention to your message;
• Get a legal advisor to review your campaign — not knowing the laws does not exempt you from bearing the responsibility, but understanding legal regulations can help navigate around dangerous pitfalls;
• Plan for contingencies — guerrilla marketing can go wrong, but if you plan for contingencies in advance, you can quickly respond to any challenges and alleviate most of the consequences, if not entirely avoid them;
• Stay positive and creative — this tip may seem obvious, but positivity is probably the top thing to aim for with guerrilla marketing because humor is one of the primary elements to ensure the spread of truly viral campaigns.

Conclusion

Leveraging the pros of guerrilla marketing while navigating around its pitfalls can generate a lot of buzz and boost awareness about your brand or product. Creative advertising also has the potential to expand your audience reach and, if you define your target market correctly, can win you a lot of loyal customers who will keep spreading your message further.

In the digital marketplace, collaboration with influencers can also boost the success chances of guerrilla marketing campaigns. In our previous posts, we have already listed actionable tips for finding the best influencer for your brand — so give it a look to establish meaningful connections with creative people who can amplify your brand’s message.