Guerrilla marketing
Guerrilla marketing is an advertisement strategy con-
cept designed for businesses to promote their products
or services in an unconventional way with little budget
to spend. This involves high energy and imagination fo-
cusing on grasping the attention of the public in more
personal and memorable level. Some large companies
use unconventional advertisement techniques, proclaim-
ing to be guerrilla marketing but those companies will
have larger budget and the brand is already visible.[1] The
main point of guerrilla marketing is that the activities
are done exclusively on the streets or other public places,
such as shopping centers, parks or beaches with maxi-
mum people access so as to attract a bigger audience.[2]
Guerrilla marketing is a concept that has arisen as we
move from traditional media to more online and elec-
tronic media. It is a concept that was created by Jay
Conrad Levinson when he wrote the book ‘Guerrilla Mar-
keting’ in 1984. Traditional advertising media are chan-
nels such as print, radio, television and direct mail (Belch
& Belch, 2012) but as we are moving away from these
channels the marketers and advertisers have to find new
strategies to get their commercial messages to the con-
sumer. Guerrilla Marketing is an alternative strategy and
is about taking the consumer by surprise to make a big
impression about the brand (What is Guerrilla Market-
ing, 2015), this in turn creates a buzz about the brand
or product being marketed. It is a way of advertising
that increases engagement with the product or service,
and is designed to create a memorable experience for the
consumer. By creating this memorable experience for
the consumer, it also increases the likelihood that a con-
sumer, or someone who interacted with the campaign will
tell their friends about it and via word of mouth the prod-
uct or service being advertised reaches a lot more people
than initially anticipated, and means it has more of a mass
audience. This style of marketing is extremely effective
for small businesses to advertise their product or service,
especially if they are competing against bigger compa-
nies as it is inexpensive and focuses more on reach rather
than frequency. For guerrilla campaigns to be success-
ful companies don’t need to spend large amounts, they
just need to have imagination, energy and time (Bourn,
2009). Guerrilla marketing is also an effective way com-
panies who don’t provide a tangible service can advertise
their products through the non traditional channels as long
as they have an effective strategy. As opposed to tradi-
tional media Guerrilla marketing cannot be measured by
statistics, sales and hits but is measured by profit made. It
is designed to cut through clutter of traditional advertis-
ing and have no mystery about what is being advertised.
1
The message to consumers will be clear and concise, the
business will not diversify the message to the consumer
and focus will be maintained. This type of marketing also
works on the unconscious mind, as purchases quite of-
ten are decided by the unconscious mind. To keep the
product or service in the unconscious mind means rep-
etition is needed, so if a buzz is created around a prod-
uct and it is shared amongst friends it enables repetition
(Bourn, 2009) Two types of marketing encompassed by
guerrilla marketing are Viral Marketing and Buzz Mar-
keting. Unlike typical public marketing campaigns that
utilize billboards, guerrilla marketing involves the appli-
cation of multiple techniques and practices in order to
establish direct contact with the customers.[3] One of the
goals of this interaction is to cause an emotional reaction
in the clients and the final goal of marketing is to get peo-
ple to remember brands in a different way than they are
used to . The technique involves from flyer distribution
in public spaces to creating an operation at major event
or festival mostly without directly connecting to the event
but using the opportunity. The challenge with any guer-
rilla marketing campaign is to find the correct place and
time to do the operation without getting involved in legal
issues.
The different types of guerrilla marketing are: Ambient,
Ambush, Stealth, Viral and Street Marketing.[4]
1 Types
1.1 Ambient marketing
Ambient communication is a complex form of corporate
communication that uses elements of the environment,
including nearly every available physical surface, to con-
vey messages that elicit customer engagement.[5] It is a
compilation of intelligence, flexibility and effective use
of the atmosphere.
Ambient marketing, which can be referred to as presence
marketing can be defined as:
“The placement of advertising in unusual and unexpected
places (location) often with unconventional methods (ex-
ecution) and being first or only ad execution to do so
(temporal)"[6]
Ambient marketing can be found anywhere and every-
where from hand dryers in public bathrooms and petrol
pumps through to bus hand straps and golf-hole cups[7]
and can often interact with consumers.
2 1 TYPES

1.2 Ambush marketing 1.5 Guerrilla projection advertising

Ambush marketing is a form of associative marketing,
utilized by an organization to capitalize upon the aware-
ness, attention, goodwill, and other benefits, generated by
having an association with an event or property, without
that organization having an official or direct connection
to that event or property.[8] Essentially, a company or a
product seeks to ride on the publicity value of a major
event without having contributed to the financing of the
event through sponsorship.
It is typically seen at major events where rivals of offi-
cial sponsors use creative and sometimes covert tactics to
build an association with the event and increase awareness
for their brands. For example, Nike during the 2012 Lon-
don Olympics, Nike created 'find your Greatness’ spots
where they featured athletes from several locations called
London (but without showing the real London or referring
to the Olympic games) which helped in building a strong
association between London Olympics and Nike.[9] 1.6
1.3 Stealth marketing
Stealth marketing is a deliberate act of entering, operat- rather highlights a personal connection between the con-
ing in, or exiting a market in a furtive, secretive or im- sumer and the brand and builds a lasting relationship with
perceptible manner, or an attempt to do so.[10] People get the brand.[13]
involved with the product without them actually knowing
that they are the part of advertisement campaign. This
needs to be implemented with uttermost covertness be- 1.7 Wild posting
cause if the participants become aware of the campaign,
it will have a negative effect on the brand resulting in eth- Wild postings (also referred to as flyposting or bill post-
ical doubts about its use.
1.4 Viral/buzz marketing
Viral marketing describes any strategy that encourages
individuals to pass on a marketing message to others, cre-
ating the potential for exponential growth in the message’s
exposure and influence. Like viruses, such strategies take
advantage of rapid multiplication to explode the message
to thousands, to millions. Off the Internet, viral market-
ing has been referred to as “word-of-mouth,” “creating
a buzz,” “leveraging the media,” “network marketing.”
But on the Internet, for better or worse, it’s called “viral
marketing.”[11]
Similarly, buzz marketing, uses high-profile media to en-
courage the public to discuss the brand or product.[7] Buzz
marketing works best when consumer’s responses to a
product or service and subsequent endorsements are gen-
uine, without the company paying them. Buzz generated
from buzz marketing campaigns is referred to as “am-
plified WOM” (word-of-mouth), and “organic WOM” is
when buzz occurs naturally by the consumer.[7]
Guerrilla projection advertising is effectively a digital
billboard that is projected at night onto the side of a
building without permission of the governing bodies (i.e.
council permits), or the permission from owner of the
building.[12] The displays are projected on buildings in
high traffic locations (i.e. people on foot and in vehicles).
Guerrilla projection advertising is an effective addition to
campaigns of a considerable size, for example a product
launch, the release of a new film, retail promotions etc.[12]
As with several guerrilla marketing techniques, guerrilla
projection advertising may incur fines or penalties for ad-
vertising without the consent of the building owner. This
comes at a risk to the company and/or brand. The ad-
vantages and disadvantages of this form of guerrilla mar-
keting must be carefully considered before proceeding to
avoid unwanted expenses.[12]
Grassroots marketing
Grassroots campaigns aim to win customers over on an
individual basis. A successful grassroots campaign is not
about the dissemination of the marketing message in the
hope that possible consumers are paying attention, but
ing) is a fundamental guerrilla marketing campaign which
uses cost effective static poster campaigns where posters
are adhered without permission to high traffic urban ar-
eas such as the side of buildings, walkways or alleys,
shopping malls, lampposts, university campuses, on café
bulletin boards or skate parks etc.[14] Wild posting mar-
keting can encompass different varieties including paper
posters, tear-away posters, guerrilla cling posters (stat-
ically charged plastic posters which can stick to most
smooth surfaces), magnets, stickers and vinyl labels.[14]
There may be legal issues around wild posting however,
if the display is not posted on a paid advertising space as
it is illegal to advertise on private property without prior
consent.[14]
1.8 Astroturfing
Of all the guerrilla marketing strategies, Astroturfing is
among the most controversial and has a high risk fac-
tor for the company marketing the product or service.[15]
Astroturfing derives from artificial “turf”, often used in
stadiums or tennis courts – also known as fake grass.
Hence, fake endorsements, testimonials and recommen-
dations are all products of Astroturfing in the public rela-

tions sector.[15] Astroturfing involves generating an artifi-
cial hype around a particular product or company through
a review or discussion on online blogs or forums by an
individual who is paid to convey a positive view. This
can have a negative and detrimental effect on a company,
should the consumer suspect that the review or opinion
is not authentic, damaging the company’s reputation or
even worse, resulting in litigation.[15]
1.9 Street marketing
Street marketing uses unconventional means of adver-
tising or promoting products and brands in public areas
with the main goal to encourage consumers to remember
and recall the brand or product marketed. As a division
of guerrilla marketing, street marketing is specific to all
marketing activities carried out in streets and public areas
such as parks, streets, events etc. Street marketing is not
limited to areas as it also encompasses advertising out-
doors such as on shopping trollies, public toilets, sides of
cars or public transport, manhole covers, footpaths, rub-
bish bins etc.[16]
Street marketing isn’t confined to fixed advertisements. It
is common practice for organisations to utilise brand am-
bassadors who can distribute product samples and dis-
count vouchers and answer queries about the product
while emphasizing the brand. The brand ambassadors
may be accompanied by a bicycle kiosk which contains
the product samples or demonstration materials, or they
may be wearing a “walking billboard”. The physical in-
teraction with consumers has a greater influencing power
than traditional passive advertising.[17]
According to Marcel Saucet and Bernard Cova,[18] street
marketing can be used as a general term encompassing
six principal types of activities:
1.9.1 Distribution of flyers or products
This activity is more traditional and the most common
form of street marketing employed by brands.
1.9.2 Product animations
This form of operation consists of personalizing a high-
traffic space using brand imagery. The idea is to create
a micro-universe in order to promote a new product or
service.
1.9.3 Human animations
The goal of such actions is to create a space in which the
brand’s message is communicated through human activ-
ity.
3
1.9.4 Road shows
This form of mobile presentation is based on the devel-
opment of means of transport: Taxi, bike, Segway, etc.
1.9.5 Uncovered actions
These activities involve the customization of street ele-
ments.
1.9.6 Event actions
These activities take the form of spectacles, such as flash
mobs or contests. The idea is to promote a product, ser-
vice or brand value through organization of a public event.
1.9.7 Presence marketing
This is a guerrilla marketing type that goes along the same
lines as ambient marketing. Products are to maintain a
constant presence through product placements, street ads,
stalls at local festivals and markets.
2 Etymology and origin
The term “guerrilla marketing” is traced to guerrilla war-
fare, which employs atypical tactics to achieve an ob-
jective. In 1984, the term guerrilla marketing was in-
troduced by Leo Burnett's creative director Jay Conrad
Levinson in his book Guerrilla Marketing.[19][20][21] The
term itself was from the inspiration of guerrilla warfare
which was unconventional warfare using different tech-
niques from usual and small tactic strategies used by
armed civilians. It involves high imagination and energy
to execute a guerrilla marketing campaign. This kind
of marketing is purely focusing on taking the consumer
by surprise, creating a greater impression and eventually
leading to buzz through word-of-mouth or social media
platforms. Guerrilla marketing is perfect for any small or
medium size businesses to bring their product or services
to its consumers without investing more money on adver-
tisements. This has also been used by large companies to
show the difference from its competitors and to make use
of social media campaigns. Lately, individuals use un-
conventional methods of job hunting or to work more.[22]
As a result, the concept of street marketing was born. It
has evolved from being only the application of activities
on the streets, to be the development of innovative prac-
tices of promotion.[23] For example, one method used by
many enterprises to promote their products or services on
the streets is the distribution of fliers. This activity does
not focus on creativity, but on making publicity on the
streets. However, with the passage of time, companies
have developed more unconventional techniques to catch
the attention of the clients.[18]
4 4 TYPICAL PROCEDURE

3 Street marketing a plan to get close to different media and the target
market.[5] In order to attract attention, street marketing
Street marketing is a subset of guerrilla marketing. Like events not only involve unusual activities, but use tech-
guerrilla marketing, street marketing has the character- nology as part of the events. The purpose is to increase
istic of being unconventional.[24] However, it is limited the value of the campaigns and get potential consumers’
to the streets or public places. Other forms of guerrilla attention.[30]
marketing use other media and processes, such as the In- Besides, the plans that companies develop take into ac-
ternet, to establish communication with the customers. count that guerrilla or street marketing involves global
Guerrilla marketing is indeed being understood more and communication and [31] interaction not only with the cus-
more as mobilizing not only the space of the streets but tomers or the media. They are also developed to iden-
also the imagination of the street: that of street culture tify opportunities and collect enough information about
[25]
and street art. The Y generation, broadly consisting of products, markets and competitors. For example, for
young urbanites (15 – 30 years old), is often put forth as business it is important that customers stay with them,
the most susceptible target for the campaigns due to its instead of choosing the competitors’ offers. They imple-
[26]
associations with the culture of the street. The success ment innovative strategies with which they will not lose
on any guerrilla marketing campaign lies on the relation- position in the market, and they consider supplementation
ship between advertiser and the agency. Both parties will with other advertisement through other mediums, [32] such as
have feel the need and work on it with same goals. The radio and television, when using street marketing.
desire for instant gratification of internet users provides There are various examples of strategies that are used in
an avenue for guerrilla marketing by allowing businesses guerrilla marketing. One of them is to provide offers to
to combine wait marketing with guerrilla tactics. Sim- increase sales. In many cases, businesses do not only sup-
ple examples consist of using 'loading' pages or image alt ply their products or services to be recognized, but they
texts to display an entertaining or informative message to also offer other things for free. Another instance is to
users waiting to access the content they were trying to get present a fundraiser offer. The point of this strategy is
to. As users dislike waiting with no occupation on the to help other organizations, such as schools, by offering
web, it is essential, and easy, to capture their attention them money. Most companies implement this method
this way. Other website methods include interesting web not only to increase their sales, but to improve their repu-
features such as engaging landing pages. tation and image among the community. Finally, there is
Street marketing, unlike traditional media like usual fly- a strategy called “team selling” that consists of conform-
ers or billboards, uses different techniques trying to get ing groups of people, the majority of them young, who
engaged with the target audience. This was born when go knocking the doors of different houses in a neighbor-
companies wanted to take steps to make customers at- hood. They do this in order to help companies promoting
tracted to the brand rather than waiting for them to and selling their products or services.[33]
come. This was especially the case with small and When doing guerrilla marketing or street marketing, or-
medium businesses.[27] Levinson, in 1984 mentioned that ganizations also consider focusing on the psychological
the guerrilla marketing can be executed in the street butapproach. For many companies, this implies if they are
street marketing itself was coined by Saucet in 2013. Thehaving success or not. Street marketing focuses on some
different types of street marketing types, according to the
psychological aspects to know costumers’ behavior and
model of Cova and Saucet are: Street/ Ambient; Am- preferences. For example, certain psychological areas
bush/ Parasitic; Stealth/ undercover; Viral / Buzz.[28] The
study how people’s brains are divided: 45% of people
difficulty with street marketing campaign is to plan, or- are left-brained, 45% are right brained, and 10% are bal-
ganize and execute the operation. The agencies or adver- anced. Left-brained persons tend to be logical, right-
tisers will always have to identify a unique and creativebrained ones tend to be emotional, and the rest combine
idea, integrate the message required by the advertisers in
the two. Then, according to the product or service that
the operation in such a way that most of the target audi-enterprises provide, and also the kind of costumer, busi-
ence understands it clearly and has the potential to get it
nesses decides the way they are going to manage their
viral. If the campaign’s intent is vague or abstract, thestreet marketing campaigns. Besides, almost all the enter-
viewers will fail to notice the effect and the message. prises base their street marketing campaigns on repeating
the messages they spread among their customers. Repeti-
tion is related to the unconscious part of the mind. This is
the one in charge of making decisions. It lets people know
4 Typical procedure what they are going to choose, as well as what they are
going to buy. Businesses follow the principle that estab-
First, enterprises identify the public places where the lishes that, the more people paying attention to the cam-
campaign can be developed such as beaches, cultural paign, the more possibilities that campaign has for being
events, close to schools, sporting events and recreation remembered.
areas for children.[29] Next, companies have to develop

When a company decides to do a guerrilla marketing
campaign which could be anything out of viral, ambient,
ambush, street or stealth, the focus for them is to meet
the objectives. The main objectives for them are:
• To create enough buzz to serve in word-of-mouth,
helping the brand to establish well with its products.
• To touch most of the five sensory identities of the
customer/consumer enhancing personal experience
with the brand and building good reputation.
• To reach the target successfully by taking the brand
to them in their daily routine.
Through the experience and the ephemeral feelings
shared between the company and the target, advertisers
and agencies generate a feeling of intimacy that resonates
beyond the encounter. This feeling of nearness becomes
all the more lasting as the affected individuals relive this
encounter on the internet through social media.[34]
5 Strategy
The guerrilla marketing promotion strategy was first iden-
tified by Jay Conrad Levinson in his book Guerrilla Mar-
keting(1984).The book describes hundreds of “guerrilla
marketing weapons” in use at the time. Guerrilla mar-
keters need to be creative in devising unconventional
methods of promotion to maintain the public’s interest
in a product or service. Levinson writes that when im-
plementing guerrilla marketing tactics, smaller organiza-
tions and entrepreneurs are actually at an advantage. Ul-
timately, however, guerrilla marketers must “deliver the
goods.” In The Guerrilla Marketing Handbook, the au-
thors write: "...in order to sell a product or a service,
a company must establish a relationship with the cus-
tomer. It must build trust and support the customer’s
needs, and it must provide a product that delivers the
promised benefits...”[35]
6 Online guerilla marketing
The web is rife with examples of guerrilla marketing, to
the extent that many of us don't notice its presence - until
a particularly successful campaign arises. The desire for
instant gratification of internet users provides an avenue
for guerrilla marketing by allowing businesses to combine
wait marketing with guerrilla tactics. Simple examples
consist of using 'loading' pages or image alt texts to dis-
play an entertaining or informative message to users wait-
ing to access the content they were trying to get to. As
users dislike waiting with no occupation on the web, it
is essential, and easy, to capture their attention this way.
Other website methods include interesting web features
such as engaging landing pages.
5
Many online marketing strategies also use social me-
dia such as Facebook and LinkedIn to begin campaigns,
share-able features and event host events. Other compa-
nies run competitions or discounts based on encourag-
ing users to share or create content related to their prod-
uct. Viral videos are an incredibly popular form of guer-
rilla marketing in which companies film entertaining or
surprising videos that internet users are likely to share
and enjoy, that subtly advertise their service or product.
Some companies such as Google even create interactive
elements like the themed Google logo games to spark in-
terest and engagement. These dynamic guerrilla marking
tactics can become news globally and give businesses con-
siderable publicity.
7 Associated marketing trends
Guerrilla marketing for McDonald’s
The term, guerrilla marketing, is now often used more
loosely as a descriptor for the use of non-traditional me-
dia, such as or street art, graffiti (or "reverse graffiti"),
flyer-posting, ambush marketing, and forehead advertis-
ing. It may also be a strong component of promotions
involving associated strategies, such as:
• Grassroots marketing and astroturfing—disguising
company messaging as an authentic grassroots
movement;
• Street or “tissue pack” marketing—hand-to-hand
marketing;
• Wait marketing—presented when and where con-
sumers are waiting (such as medical offices, urinals,
or gas pumps).
• Internet marketing—having presence on sites, sub-
liminally encouraging its users (thereby creating
“buzz” through a combination of viral and under-
cover marketing);
• Viral marketing—through social networks.
6 8 EXAMPLES
• Publicity stunts- A publicity stunt is defined as a pre-
planned event that is designed to attract the public’s
eye and attention, to create hype about that topic,
event or service.
7.1 Undercover marketing
Undercover marketing (also known as “stealth market-
ing”, or, by its detractors, “roach baiting”) is where con-
sumers do not realize they are being marketed to. Buzz
campaigns can reach consumers isolated from all other
media, and unlike conventional media, consumers tend to
trust it more often, as it is usually coming from a friend
or acquaintance. Overall, the person doing the marketing
must look and sound like a peer of their target audience,
without any signs of an ulterior motive for endorsing the
item.
8 Examples
There are various organizations who have implemented
the guerrilla and street marketing strategies. The major-
ity of them are small companies, but there are also big
companies that have involved in the guerrilla and street
marketing environment.[36] Most of the examples of the
strategies that both small and big enterprises have put into
action include costumed persons, the distribution of tick-
ets, people providing samples, among others. As stated
before, one guerrilla marketing conventional method that
is used by many businesses is to provide fliers. The goal
is to create awareness on the customers about what the
enterprise is doing. One example of this took place in
Montpelier, Vermont, where the New England Culinary
Institute (NECI) sent a group of students to a movie the-
atre to hand out 400 fliers. Those fliers had coupons
in which NECI was inviting people to go to its monthly
Theme Dinners. Another company, Boston’s Kung-Fu
Tai Chi Club, chose the option of disseminating fliers
instead of placing its advertisements on the newspapers.
The purpose of the fliers was to promote the company’s
self-defence classes for women.
Other businesses apply the technique of sending disguised
people to promote things on the streets. For example,
Match.com organized a street marketing activity in the
“Feria del Libro” (“Book Fair”) in Madrid. It consisted of
a man dressed like a prince who was walking among the
crowd looking for his “real love”. He had a glass slipper
and even got to try the shoe on some people. A woman
behind him was giving bookmarks to the people which
contained messages such as “Times have changed; the
way to find love, too” or “You have been reading love sto-
ries all your life; experience yours on Match.com”. Also,
in Madrid and Barcelona, Nokia developed a campaign
called “Avestruz” (“Ostrich”) to promote the 5500 and
5700 mobiles. In the campaign, a group of real-size os-
trich puppets tried to interact with young people in or-
der to let them know these mobiles provide a high-quality
MP3 playback. The puppets were holding their own tele-
phones and listening to the music. When a young person
appeared, the puppet tried to catch his/her attention to
show him/her the quality of the mobile. The reason why
Nokia decided to use ostriches was that they are big ani-
mals, so people could easily look at them.[36]
There are enterprises that disseminate passes or tickets
to different events. For example, Sony invests on join-
ing promoters and tells them that they have to infiltrate
in public meetings. What they have to do is to distribute
free tickets to concerts and other musical events spon-
sored by the company . Another instance is the Spanish
company Clickair (an extension of Iberia airlines), that
developed a campaign in which a group of five people had
to walk through Barcelona streets dressed as Euros. The
group was supplying approximately 3,000 tickets to pro-
mote different Clickair destinations. The people who first
sent a text message with the required information would
get free tickets to go on a trip. In the end, the company
received a total of 3,390 messages. Along with these ex-
amples, there are other street marketing techniques that
are even more unusual. Lee Jeans, a French company
dedicated to the selling of jeans, promoted the opening
of their new store in rue des Rosiers in Paris. The method
they applied consisted of distributing denims, as well as
denim accessories, on the different streets of the neigh-
borhood. Furthermore, in Italy, the members of the com-
pany Nintendo put into action a campaign in which they
used post-it’s to promote the Wii console. They pasted
several post-it with the shapes of some characters from
different video games. Those images were placed as if
they were billboards on the streets. “Wii not forget”, the
name of the campaign, and a brief explanation of it, were
the words written on the post-its. In some cases, some
street marketing may incite the ire of local authorities;
such was the case in Houston, Texas, when BMW’s ad
agency (Street Factory Media in Minneapolis)attached a
replication, made from Styrofoam, of a Mini-Cooper to
the side of a downtown building.[37] For the cost of a small
city-issued fine, the company received front page adver-
tising on the Houston Chronicle.
Sony Ericsson used an undercover campaign in 2002
when they hired 60 actors in ten major cities and had
them accost strangers and ask them: “Would you mind
taking my picture?" The actor then handed the target a
brand new picture phone while talking about how cool
the new device was. “And thus an act of civility was con-
verted into a branding event.[38]
Guerrilla marketing is not just exclusive to small com-
panies. For big companies it is a high risk, high reward
strategy. When successful it can capture even more mar-
ket share, but if it fails it can damage the company’s brand
image. One successful guerrilla marketing campaign is
the Coca-Cola ‘Happiness Machine”. In January 2010,
Coca-Cola, with the help of Definition 6, filmed a reac-

tion video of a Coke vending machine dispensing ‘doses’
of happiness to unsuspecting students in St. John’s Uni-
versity. A seemingly normal vending machine surprised
students by dispensing items that were more than they
bargained for. The students received goodies ranging
from extra coke, pizza, flowers, to even a twelve-foot hero
sub. “Coke’s goal to inspire consumers through small,
surprise moments of happiness” said Paul Iannacchino
Jr., Creative Director, Definition 6. With a budget of
only $60,000, the video generated 500,000 views in the
first week. It now has over 7 million views to date. The
campaign was so popular that a 30-second edit of the
footage was featured during American Idol’s season fi-
nale. The Coca-Cola “Happiness Machine” also went on
to receive the CLIO’s prestigious Gold Interactive Award
at the 51st annual awards dinner held in New York City.
After the campaign’s success, Coca-Cola decided to con-
tinue with the ‘Happiness’ theme and has released similar
videos since then.[39]
9 Strategic risk
Because of the nature of guerrilla marketing, the message
and objective must be clearly defined in order to avoid
being misunderstood. Misinterpretation by the targeted
audience of the message intended to be promoted is a
risk. Word-of-mouth advertising does not always stay
focused enough to present the intended message. The
rumor-like spread of word-of-mouth marketing is uncon-
trollable once released, and can result in a misrepresenta-
tion of the message or confusion about a brand.
Another risk involves wrongly timed (or wrongly placed)
events, which may actually be perceived to be against
the interests of the consumer. For instance, in an ill-
conceived promotion which took place on January 31,
2007, several magnetic circuit boards—each with an
flashing LED cartoon figure—were attached to metal sur-
faces in and around Boston, Massachusetts to promote the
animated series, Aqua Teen Hunger Force. The circuit
boards were mistakenly taken for explosive devices. Sev-
eral subway stations; bridges; and a portion of Interstate
93 were closed as police examined, removed, and (in
some cases) destroyed the devices.[40]
Some guerrilla marketing may incite the ire of local au-
thorities. Then risks are assessed and may still be consid-
ered worthwhile. Such was the case in Houston, Texas,
when BMW Auto's ad agency, Street Factory Media, at-
tached a replica of a Mini-Cooper (made of Styrofoam),
to the side of a downtown building in January 2013.[41]
For the small cost of a city-issued fine, the company re-
ceived front page advertising in the Houston Chronicle.
Another problem presents itself if marketers fail to prop- sizes strongly on customer follow-up rather than ignor-
erly execute an undercover campaign. They run consid- ing customers after their purchase. Focusing on customer
erable risk of backlash. An example of this can be found follow-up is a cheaper strategy because the cost of selling
in Sony Entertainment's on-line debacle with Zipatoni. to a new customer is six times higher than selling to an ex-
7
The company attempted to promote Zipatoni through a
stealth marketing campaign, which was quickly detected
by the internet community, resulting in Sony immediately
experiencing a backlash from video game enthusiasts.[42]
Street art is thus a subversive activity, hijacking public
places and inventing rather paradoxical forms of expres-
sion that reformulate ways of communicating,[43] all of
which inform street marketing practices. Thus market-
ing in the street, given that it is inspired by the work
of such artists, brings with it constraints and statutory
risks for which agencies and advertisers are generally not
prepared.[44] The main problem is that, by definition,
street mobilization campaigns require the use of public
space, and that use must be authorized by government au-
thorities to be legal. This is just as true for simple opera-
tions like distributing flyers as it is for mobilizing products
or people and, of course, for a disguised campaign.[45]
The authorizations necessary to carry out such a cam-
paign are often very difficult to obtain within the time
allotted for bringing the plan to fruition. Numerous po-
tential operations have failed to obtain authorization for
safety reasons, and in certain urban areas it is even ex-
pressly forbidden to undertake a guerrilla marketing cam-
paign. In such cases, many agencies and advertisers will
simply go ahead with the operation, meaning that they
choose to act without authorization.[36] How is such a
choice reached, and on what bases? How is it justified?
What impact does this choice have on the performance
and costs of the operation? What transformations does
this choice bring to the agency–advertiser relationship?
These are the main questions posed in the development
of street marketing operations today.[36]
10 In tough times
In a declining economy, guerrilla marketing is an increas-
ing solution to giving companies the comparative edge
over others. During times where companies are downsiz-
ing and cutting costs, companies look to guerrilla market-
ing as a cheaper strategy than conventional marketing. In-
stead of investing money in the marketing process, guer-
rillas invest energy, time and creativity.[46] If done suc-
cessfully, companies will be able to reach conventional
goals for profits and growth with a smaller marketing bud-
get. One such example is the Blair Witch Project. A group
of film students filmed an amateur horror movie. By set-
ting up an internet campaign devoted to spreading rumors
about the fictitious 'Blair Witch', it created a lot of inter-
est for the film. With a budget of $50,000, the movie
grossed $250 million worldwide.
According to Jay Levinson, guerrilla marketing empha-
8 12
isting customer. During a tough economy, it is important [8] Simon Chadwick And Nicholas Burton. “Ambushed!".
to focus on building relationships rather than sales, and
aiming at individuals instead of groups. This promotes
repeat sales, referrals and increased size of purchase. The
use of telephone as a follow-up tool is helpful in improv-
ing customer relationships. Email is also another inex- [10] Ekin Pehlivana; Pierre Berthonb; Mine Üçok Hughesc;
pensive tool for maintaining relationships. Emails can be
used to direct people to the company website. The site
can be then used to provide information and to advance
[47]
sales.
Honesty is an important attribute when marketing to cus-
tomers during tough times. When companies show that
they are fully aware of the economic situation and why
they have priced their products accordingly, this earns the
customer’s respect. Explaining the current situation and
the risks and the steps the company is taking to the cus-
tomers will give the customers assurance and also main-
tains their trust. One example is the Las Vegas tourism
board. During the 2008 recession, Las Vegas was one of
the cities that were hit the hardest. They released an ad
campaign showing people they were fully aware of the re-
cession yet, in a dramatic way, showing 'that regular peo-
ple are coming here and having a blast'. This piqued a lot
of interest which in turn led to an increase in tourism to
Las Vegas during the recession.[48]
11 See also
• Customer experience management
12 References
[1] http://www.creativeguerrillamarketing.com/
what-is-guerrilla-marketing/; Jay Conard Levinson,
1984
[2] Lena G. Goldberg, Marcel Saucet and Christine Snively,
Taryn Rose Launches Dresr:2014;http://www.hbs.edu/
faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=48201%20
[3] Bernard Cova & Marcel Saucet, “The Secret Lives of
Unconventional Campaigns: Street Marketing on the
Fringe”, Journal of Marketing Communications, 2014;Jay
Conrad Levinson, 1984
[4] Marcel Saucet, Street Marketing™, Diatéino, Paris, 2013
[5] Rossella Gambetti. “Ambient Communication: How to
Engage Consumers in Urban Touch-Points”. Research-
Gate. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
[6] Luxton, S., & Drummond, L. (2000). What is this thing
called 'Ambient Advertising'. In Proceedings of ANZ-
MAC (pp. 734-738).
[7] Solomon, M., Marshall, G., Stuart, E. (2008). Marketing,
Real People, Real Choices. Upper Saddle River, New Jer-
sey, United States of America: Pearson Education.
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Jean-Paul Berthond. “Keeping up with The Joneses:
Stealth, secrets, and duplicity in marketing relationships”.
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[11] http://webmarketingtoday.com/articles/viral-principles/
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tion. Retrieved from http://www.altterrain.com/
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[13] Baker, M. & Hart, S. (2008). The Marketing Book. (6th
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[14] Alt Terrain. (c2016). Wild Posting. Re-
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[15] Jacobs, J. (2012). Faking it – how to kill a business
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[16] Berman M. (c2007). Street-Smart Advertising: How to
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[17] Marketing schools.org. (c2012). Street Market-
ing. Retrieved from http://www.marketing-schools.org/
types-of-marketing/street-marketing.html
[18] Bernard Cova & Marcel Saucet, “The Secret Lives of
Unconventional Campaigns: Street Marketing on the
Fringe”, Journal of Marketing Communications, 2014
[19] Josh Sanburn. “The 25 Most Influential Business Man-
agement Books”. Time, Inc. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
[20] 'Guerilla marketing' gives small firms the edge
[21] Greco, Susan. “30 Seconds with Guerrilla Marketing’s
Guru”. inc.com. New York City: Inc. Retrieved 26 June
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[22] Marcel Bernard Cova & Marcel Saucet, “The Secret Lives
of Unconventional Campaigns: Street Marketing on the
Fringe”, Journal of Marketing Communications, 2014
[23] Jay Conrad Levinson, 1984
[24] Pikke Allen. ""Takin’ it to the Streets” – Dr. Mar-
cel Saucet’s TOP 10 STREET MARKETING ™ TIPS”.
ARTIFICE ATELIER. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
[25] Borghini, Stefania, Luca M. Visconti, Laurel Anderson,
and John F. Sherry Jr, (2010), “Symbiotic postures of
commercial advertising and street art: Implications for
creativity”. Journal of Advertising 39, no. 3: p 115–28.
[26] Black and Neville, (2009), “Fly-Posting: An Exploration
of a 'Controversial' Medium”, Journal of Marketing Com-
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[27] Marcel Saucet. 2013
 9

[28] Cova, B. & Saucet, M, 2014 13 Sources

[29] Marcel Saucet & Bernard Cova, 2014
• Serazio, Michael (2013). Your Ad Here: The Cool
[30] Bernard Cova & Marcel Saucet, 2014;http://papers.ssrn. Sell of Guerrilla Marketing. New York, New York:
com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2411026 New York University Press. ISBN 9780814724590.
[31] http://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num= Retrieved 26 June 2015.
48201%20
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rad; Godin, Seth; Mariner Books; November 1994; ISBN
0395700132; accessed March 2014.

[36] Bernard Cova and Marcel Saucet, Unconventional Mar-

keting: from Guerrilla to Consumer Made,” in Rout-
ledge Companion on The Future of Marketing, Rout-
ledge, September 2013

[37] en.actu-cci.com/videos/
293-street-marketing-by-marcel-saucet

[38] The Hidden (In Plain Sight) Persuaders; Walker, Rob;

"The New York Times Magazine;" December 5, 2004;
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[39] “Small Agency of the Year, Campaign of the Year: Def-

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[41] Houston Tickets Mini-cooper; BmW blog; accessed .

[42] Krotoski, Aleks (2006-12-11). “New Sony viral market-

ing ploy angers consumers”. The Guardian (London). Re-
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[43] Borghini, Stefania, Luca M. Visconti, Laurel Anderson,

and John F. Sherry Jr, (2010), “Symbiotic postures of
commercial advertising and street art: Implications for
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[44] Douglas West, John Ford, (2001), Advertising agency

philosophies and employee risk taking, Journal of Adver-
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[45] http://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/jul/31/
dr-dre-beats-olympic-brand-police

[46] “How to Pull Off a Guerrilla Marketing Campaign”. En-

trepreneur. Retrieved 2016-03-31.

[47] Levinson, Jay Conrad. “Guerrilla Marketing in a Tough

Economy”. Entrepreneur. Retrieved 2016-03-31.

[48] “Too Far? Alluring Ads Entice You to Travel”. ABC

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10 15 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

15 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

15.1 Text
• Guerrilla marketing Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guerrilla_marketing?oldid=724465944 Contributors: Rickyrab, Liftarn,
Lquilter, Zanimum, Ronz, Darkwind, Vzbs34, Lommer, Mydogategodshat, Omegatron, ChrisG, Jenmoa, Ruakh, Jason Quinn, Gad-
fium, Andycjp, Kjetil r, Andrew Kanaber, Kevin B12, Small business, Amygdala~enwiki, Rich Farmbrough, Cacycle, Maurreen, Po-
larscribe, CyberSkull, DreamGuy, Barryap, Versageek, Drbreznjev, Ringbang, Woohookitty, Camw, JeremyA, Zzyzx11, Liface, Ste-
fanomione, Mandarax, Descendall, Rjwilmsi, Yamamoto Ichiro, Kolbasz, Mrschimpf, Bgwhite, YurikBot, Kafziel, Monito, Shell Kinney,
Bachrach44, BPI1959, Irishguy, DAJF, Jeremy Visser, Tarma 2002, GraemeL, Lordmac, PeteinBrum, Fourohfour, NeilN, SmackBot,
Jerdwyer, McGeddon, Onewhale, Tterrag, JKapust, Stifle, Kintetsubuffalo, Ohnoitsjamie, Rmosler2100, Afa86, SchfiftyThree, Deli nk,
Nbarth, Mothball, Downtown dan seattle, Marketingcomet, Usenetpostsdotcom, Arnoutf, Valfontis, Soap, Kuru, Robofish, Sir Nicholas de
Mimsy-Porpington, Jellonuts, Iridescent, Blehfu, Linkspamremover, Danlev, CmdrObot, Wafulz, Sir Vicious, Melodymkt, OMGsplosion,
Cydebot, Treybien, Gogo Dodo, Myscrnnm, SpamBilly, Bethlynn, Zachary, Heroeswithmetaphors, Natalie Erin, I already forgot, Dead-
beef, Rkaminsky, PhilKnight, Cbdesign, Magioladitis, Jackpot321, Rugops, Cmontero, JdeJ, R'n'B, Mindgames11, Svetovid, Swifty880,
Igrowyourbiz, Err0r 1, Gec118, DorganBot, VolkovBot, Simplyfabulous, Dico cph, TXiKiBoT, Oshwah, PiemanTheGreat, SCriBu,
JustN5:12, Canaima, Hkim43, Pchapmanny, WJetChao, MMTbureau, Panfakes, SieBot, Mikemoral, Motorracer, AS, Malcolmxl5, Plinkit,
Tataryn, Habichtshorst, Sbowers3, Zacplaysgames, Thelmadatter, Denisarona, ImageRemovalBot, ClueBot, SummerWithMorons, Rus-
tic, Henslee57, Cobo1981, Torsodog, LizardJr8, Mr.Z-man.sock, Eeekster, Millennialleaders, XLinkBot, Lu Wunsch-Rolshoven, Stafix,
Stafixltd, Addbot, WantLess, MrOllie, Download, Tyw7, Yobot, Themfromspace, II MusLiM HyBRiD II, Amirobot, Freikorp, Sungamed,
1oddbins1, AnomieBOT, Rjanag, Jim1138, Bluerasberry, Arjwiz, Unight Party Community, Alphabettyjen, Jeffrey Mall, GenQuest, Ar-
cadisAlex, U664003803, FullAccessExp, Mcstubble, D'ohBot, Marekting, Guerrillamktg, I dream of horses, Farbal9999, Globe.explorer,
RedBot, Abevicman, Full-date unlinking bot, Llevanloc, Starfounder, VitHorky, Lucozadejade, EMToronto, Pinnygold, Mean as cus-
tard, Ryeoman, WikitanvirBot, GoingBatty, Qrsdogg, Scgtrp, Holdcube, Dcirovic, Pacjac777, Matthewcgirling, Aborelli, ClueBot NG,
Giulzgia, Jay M. Kusombi, Ryanscottlum, Zachseamon, BG19bot, JohnChrysostom, Martina.kocijan, Psoreide, Hina.agarwal, Gurriel-
laMarketingGuru, BattyBot, Wolkengucker, Fsaf aogh sioafhsaio, Dimeboxaggie, Allhailchester, Minecraftkingz, Sneha.Sheshadri.Iyer,
Masalasp, Brittneymemphis, Me, Myself, and I are Here, Rupert loup, GuerillaUK, Loverthehater, Kahtar, Hallmit, Pkordiasz, Lagoset,
Pufflepets, Andrei Marzan, Safranek-interia.eu, ETBlogs, PhilOra, Events360, Ch3ls3aB3nt, Heart Norway, Jacbizer, EoRdE6, AndyB-
Volcom, LowLevel73, Hansa Tandel, Marquee222, Simariya, Chloélca, Aparajit123, Aparajit12, Myskull, JeremiahY, Srednuas Lenoroc,
Distle, Mosdstud, Meepwn53, KimJongSkill, IsArtReal, Adanma Onuoha, GitanaPG, FixCop, Longhonnhien, DonDanzo, Livliv48 and
Anonymous: 238

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