Guerrilla Marketing: the White Ghost

Guerrilla marketing is still something of a white ghost in the advertising industry. Sightings of effective guerrilla ads are talked about constantly, but you rarely see them for yourself. So, why is this? Well, I believe it’s because, in the grand scheme of things, there really aren’t many exciting forms of guerrilla marketing out there. This is why there is a lot of talk when a piece of truly brilliant guerrilla marketing enters the marketplace. Many marketers and consumers alike often perceive guerrilla marketing as sporadic and intrusive forms of advertising such as bluejacking, spamming, and littering handbills everywhere. These negative perceptions, along with poorly planned publicity stunts, such as the recent terrorist scare that surrounded Cartoon Networks outdoor marketing campaign in Boston, have led to marketers and companies being very hesitant to the ideas of new and untraditional forms of communication.

One of the biggest problems that guerrilla marketing faces, is that marketers are under the impression that since it is an abstract form of communication, there doesn’t have to be a strategy behind it. This is where many guerrilla marketing campaigns go wrong. As marketers, we have to remember that the goals should be the same as traditional forms of advertising. Campaigns should be presented in a way that catches the consumers attention, and in successful cases creates buzz (which is a topic all it’s own). Guerrilla marketing should be a part of the overall campaign and branding process, not an altogether separate campaign.

Below are some great examples of what I consider very well planned and executed forms of guerrilla marketing:

Watch Around Water Campaign: