Why is guerrilla marketing effective and 3 steps on how to use it?

Banner blindness, or the failure of consumers to notice traditional ads, has forced companies to be more creative and find new ways to reach their audience. The core idea of guerrilla marketing is to surprise consumers, impress them and create some buzz. It is a form of marketing that questions and abandons traditional patterns and does not follow conventional strategies. It is both an effective and risky tool. Today we will consider why is guerrilla marketing effective and how to use it for promotional activities?

Why is guerrilla marketing effective and how to use it? – table of contents:

1. Guerilla marketing – how to be noticed by the audience?
2. When is guerrilla marketing best?
3. Unconventional methods for conventional goals
4. What to keep in mind when planning to invest in guerrilla marketing
5. Why is guerrilla marketing effective? Three steps of a successful campaign
6. Why is guerrilla marketing effective and how to use it? Summary

Guerilla marketing – how to be noticed by the audience?

The following statement primarily characterizes the book’s definition of guerrilla marketing: a method of achieving profits with minimal financial outlays by using surprising, even unconventional methods. What matters the most is a surprise, creating something moving that will strike directly at the recipient. It influences the mindset of people who do not want to participate in traditional campaigns. Guerrilla marketing enters a higher level and penetrates the subconscious of the recipients. For a campaign to work quickly and effectively it must use memorable elements. In this case, humorous and even controversial elements, which may even border on good taste, work best.

When is guerrilla marketing best?

Although it may seem that such a shocking form of advertising is aimed at open-minded young people, and in the case of the more conservative ones may even cause outrage, nothing could be further from the truth. Guerilla marketing consists of a variety of strategies, so advertisers knowing their target audience can choose the best one.

Guerilla marketing was originally intended for small businesses that didn’t have a big advertising budget. It was supposed to be a way to get a foothold in the market. However, large corporations have seen great potential in it, which is why they are adapting it successfully. It also works well to create effective social or environmental campaigns.

Unconventional methods for conventional goals

The main goal of guerrilla marketing is an effective promotion that influences sales and gains a group of trusted customers. It differs from conventional methods only in that it takes on non-obvious methods.

One of the conditions for the effectiveness of this means is careful observation of the environment. To create this type of content you need imagination and perceptiveness, thanks to which you’ll allocate resources appropriately. Remembered that the actions of guerrilla marketing in the perception of customers are spontaneous, but they require adequate preparation and thorough planning of each step. You should create the plan in such a way that the recipients do recognize it. They must have the impression that it is something introduced out of the blue, spontaneously. Without much planning and all the background. All the effort should remain unnoticeable.

What to keep in mind when planning to invest in guerrilla marketing

Guerrilla advertising needs recognition. It’s not about size, but about getting ahead of the curve, and standing out from the crowd. It also needs a breath of fresh air and the effect of surprise. At a time when consumers do not believe in the uniqueness of advertising and feel over-saturated with ubiquitous marketing efforts, it must attract potential customers. This is not an easy task and requires a lot of creativity. While creating this kind of content it is worth following the rule that they have to shock, but positively. It is not about the controversy but curiosity and evoking positive surprise in the audience. It is worth following the rule that less is more.

The risk in using guerrilla marketing is precisely the thin line of good taste. A wrong step means a huge image loss. To prevent this, it is necessary to carefully study the target audience and adapt the content to its specifics.

When creating content in guerrilla marketing, it is necessary to get out of the usual patterns and remember that the main goal is not to switch the brand, but to find a sticking point. An element that will be associated with it.

An example of this type of action is the famous jump from the stratosphere. Surely, it was not a cheap campaign. But nowadays, when you mention the jump you immediately think of Felix Baumgartner and the brand… Red Bull, of course. Videos of the event on YouTube have millions of views (47M on the official Red Bull channel and over 122M on the BBC channel). Not many people have heard about the fact that sometime later the record was broken by the vice president of the internet giant Google. The leap from the stratosphere and the record broken at the time was remembered as a success for Red Bull.

It was an example of a very expensive campaign. However, huge financial outlays are not always an indicator of success. What matters is the idea and unconventional approach. Social media echoed an unusual campaign, the idea of which came from the studio 20th Century Fox. The premiere of the film Deadpool fell on Valentine’s Day, so they decided to create a Tinder account for the main character. As a result, the account got a lot of publicity that carried itself around the web.

These examples prove that guerrilla marketing campaigns are both cheap and expensive. They can shock, surprise or entertain. Guerrilla marketing has many facets but all campaigns have one element in common – creativity.

Why is guerrilla marketing effective? Three steps of a successful campaign

• Know your audience and choose the right means – the phenomenon of the effectiveness of this method is based on the perfect targeting of the audience. This is only possible through proper preparation and identification of the target group. On this basis, decide whether provocative or humorous content is better. This will also help you choose the right medium.
• Plan your actions – even though guerrilla marketing looks like a spontaneous action, there is a solid plan behind it. Every action, even the smallest step is carefully timed. The key to success is to create the campaign in such a way that it looks light and the recipient has no idea about its background.
• Seize the moment – the success of a guerrilla campaign may be temporary and impossible to repeat. Therefore, this is where perceptiveness and quick action matter. The actions that follow the campaign require thorough planning and concrete results – converting the audience’s interest into sales.

Why is guerrilla marketing effective and how to use it? Summary

Guerrilla marketing proves that effective marketing activities do not have to cost a huge amount. Cleverly planned actions and strategies together with creativity are enough to win the hearts of the audience. However, in today’s world, such excitement can only be temporary and only long-term planning will help to turn it into sales success.

Read also: Guerrilla marketing examples – top ideas for small businesses

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