Guerrilla Marketing: understand what it is and how to do it.

Is marketing a combat tool? In a sense, it can be. Let’s explore Guerrilla Marketing and how to use it in your strategy.

In a market as competitive as today’s, with increasingly demanding consumers and a multitude of solutions emerging every day, it is common for marketing efforts to be diluted in a sea of ​​offers. However, there is a strategy that aims to break the premises of this scenario: guerrilla marketing.

In this article, we will explore the concept of guerrilla marketing, its advantages and challenges, and tips for successfully implementing this strategy. Follow us and check it out!

What is Guerrilla Marketing?

Guerrilla marketing is an unconventional marketing strategy that aims to attract the public’s attention creatively and unexpectedly, using innovative resources and techniques. The idea is to create a unique experience for consumers, generating engagement and strengthening the brand’s connection.

This approach is inspired by war tactics, where soldiers seek to surprise more powerful enemies with limited resources. Guerrilla marketing focuses on creating campaigns that have the potential to go viral, which generates famous buzz.  

Finally, guerrilla marketing aims to break with the monotony of traditional advertising campaigns, which are often forgotten (or not even noticed) by the public amidst the excess of information in the digital environment.

Guerrilla Marketing Examples to Inspire You

Below are some surprising Guerrilla Marketing actions taken by major brands.
Check them out and get inspired!

Red Bull Case

In 2012, Red Bull sponsored Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner’s jump from a stratospheric capsule at an altitude of over 39 km. This extremely radical and disruptive action is in keeping with the brand’s identity, further strengthening the initiative.

It is also worth mentioning that the event was broadcast live worldwide and generated extensive media coverage, creating a huge buzz around the brand.

Dove Case

Dove is already a well-known supporter of diversity causes, especially when it comes to female empowerment. With this in mind, the brand created a campaign called “Portraits of Real Beauty,” in which an artist drew portraits of women based on their descriptions and those of others. 

The result was that women tended to describe themselves more critically than other people described them, showing that we are often our own harshest critics. The campaign generated a positive response on social media and helped reinforce the company’s positioning.

Burger King Case

The dispute between Burger King and McDonald’s often attracts media attention, as guerrilla marketing actions, in which one rival takes a dig at the other, are quite common. In 2019, for example, BK created a campaign called “Whopper Detour”. 

The idea was to encourage customers to visit McDonald’s, a direct competitor, and use the Burger King app to unlock an exclusive Whopper offer for just $0.01.  The campaign succeeded on social media and increased the brand’s sales.

Why invest in Guerrilla Marketing?

As we mentioned, guerrilla marketing has been increasingly used by companies looking to differentiate themselves in the market and gain greater visibility with a low investment.

Investing in guerrilla marketing can bring several benefits to a company, such as increased engagement and interaction with customers, expanding the brand’s reach and increasing sales. Let’s check out some reasons to invest in this strategy:

Increased engagement and interaction with the target audience

Unlike regular advertising, guerrilla marketing can capture people’s attention in unexpected, surprising and creative ways. This way, the brand can establish a closer relationship with the target audience, increasing interaction and customer loyalty.

This unusual approach can even generate spontaneous media coverage for your brand. This means social media posts about your actions or even press coverage of consumers interacting with your brand.

Expanding brand reach

The creative nature of guerrilla marketing campaigns has great potential to generate buzz on social media and other media, which expands the brand’s reach. 

Shares, comments and likes can make the campaign go viral and reach a large number of people without the company having to invest in paid advertising. This increases the brand’s visibility and strengthens its image among the public.

Read More: What is Social Selling? A Guide to How it Works

Low cost and high impact

One of the main advantages of guerrilla marketing is its low cost compared to traditional campaigns. Instead of investing large amounts of money in advertising, you will focus on aspects such as creativity, planning and execution. 

The idea is that, with this change in perspective, your action will generate more results and impact more people than with traditional advertising. A successful guerrilla marketing campaign can generate a much higher return on investment than a conventional campaign.

Strengthening brand identity

Successful guerrilla marketing campaigns convey the brand’s identity clearly and consistently. By investing in this strategy, the company has the opportunity to reinforce its image among the public, which can strengthen its identity and create a positive and memorable image.

Increased sales and ROI

Finally, investing in guerrilla marketing can generate a significant increase in a company’s sales and, consequently, in its return on investment (ROI). Creative and unusual campaigns can attract the public’s attention and encourage the purchase of products or services. In addition, the buzz generated by the campaigns can increase brand visibility, attract new customers and consolidate the existing consumer base.

Read More: What is Performance Analytics?

7 tips for implementing the strategy efficiently

Know your target audience

The first step to creating a guerrilla marketing campaign, as with any other marketing or sales strategy, is to know your target audience well. 

Only by knowing the demographic, behavioural, and psychological characteristics of your consumers will you be able to create an effective and relevant campaign for the public, increasing your chances of success.

Set clear goals

Once you know your target audience, the next step is to define the campaign’s objectives and plan its execution. These objectives may include increasing sales, strengthening the brand image, or expanding the campaign’s reach. With defined objectives, the company can create a focused and efficient strategy, concentrating its efforts on what really matters.

Be creative and innovative

Don’t forget: guerrilla marketing is a strategy that relies on creativity and innovation. That’s why it’s important to think outside the box and create campaigns that are unusual and surprising. Originality and impact are essential to the success of this strategy, so you need to invest time and resources to create something truly different and memorable.

Use technology to your advantage

Digital platforms allow you to create interactive, personalised campaigns with great engagement potential. In addition, technology allows you to measure and monitor campaign results in real-time, which helps you assess the success of your strategy and make adjustments when necessary.

Read More: Sales Prospecting: How to Find the Right-Fit Customers You’re Looking For

Be aware of trends

Guerrilla marketing is a strategy based on always being one step ahead of market trends. Therefore, it is important to be aware of new developments and changes in audience behaviour. 

Campaigns in tune with trends are more likely to attract the public’s attention and generate buzz on social media. Just don’t forget your target audience! There is no point in running an action on TikTok if your audience is not there!

Integrate with other marketing strategies

Guerrilla marketing should not be seen as an isolated strategy but as part of an integrated marketing plan. The campaign must be aligned with other company initiatives, such as branding, sales, content marketing and customer relations. This will increase the campaign’s effectiveness and produce a more consistent and long-lasting result.

Measure results and make adjustments

Finally, measuring the campaign’s results and making adjustments when necessary is essential. This involves monitoring audience engagement, campaign reach, return on investment, and other relevant metrics. Based on this data, the company can assess the strategy’s success and make adjustments to improve its performance.

If your action occurs outside of social media, in the real world, a good tip is to prepare a team to produce content with the participants! 

Ultimately, guerrilla marketing is an increasingly important strategy for companies that want to stand out in the market and build customer loyalty. With creativity and innovation, it is possible to create impactful and memorable campaigns on a small budget.

Did you enjoy learning about guerrilla marketing?

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