Imagine that one morning you are walking down seventh avenue in New York on your way to work. Suddenly, you come across a six-foot tall coffee cup that is spilling coffee onto the sidewalk. Steam rises out of the cup and the smell of brewed coffee hangs in the air.
Sitting next to it is an ad for Bounty paper towels that says, “Makes small work of BIG spills.”
In 2009, Bounty placed their life-sized spills all throughout the streets of both New York and LA. Very little explanation is necessary and dozens of people stopped to look and take photos beside the displays. This is an excellent example of guerrilla marketing tactics at work.
What is Guerrilla Marketing?
Some people outside of marketing may cringe a little when they hear the term “guerrilla marketing”. It might sound a little aggressive and it certainly leaves quite a bit to the imagination.
Jay Conrad Levinson introduced the term guerrilla marketing in 1984. He used it to describe unconventional ways that businesses can stand out to their customers.
Fortunately, guerrilla marketing (when done right!) is anything but hostile. Guerrilla marketing tactics capitalize on the element of surprise. It is a way to think outside of the box and grab your audience’s attention in a new way.
Let’s look more closely at the four different types of guerrilla marketing outlined below: