The term Guerrilla Marketing is often used in marketing textbooks and has become an extremely popular and successful in the marketing world.

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1 Guerrilla Marketing The term Guerrilla Marketing was invented as an unusual, non traditional promotion that heavily depends on time, energy, and lots of imagination as appose to a huge marketing cost. Typical Guerrilla Marketing campaigns and projects are shocking, surprising, and unconventional. If you are unsure about what Guerrilla marketing is exactly then this report will help you to understand where guerrilla marketing came from and the benefits of using it. Potential campaigns are often interactive for customers and normally take place in unexpected or unusual locations. The outcome of Guerrilla Marketing is supposed to be unique, engaging, and makes to consumer think. The projects normally generate a lot of buzz and discussion, and in the end often turn viral. The term Guerrilla Marketing is often used in marketing textbooks and has become an extremely popular and successful in the marketing world. Guerrilla Marketing often involves very extraordinary approaches to situations that the public would face. It is more often than not interactive for example giving away products, or encountering things in public places. Some techniques include huge PR stunts. Most marketers who use these approaches intend to get the maximum results from using minimal resources. Some other approaches to Guerrilla Marketing include using modern digital technology to engage the customer and create a memorable experiences and a memorable brand. Introduction to Guerrilla Marketing: Jay Conrad Levinson has developed hundreds of guerrilla marketing weapons which he outlines in his books. Marketers who use Guerrilla Marketing can be creative, and devise unique, unusual and unconventional methods to promote their individual products. Marketers normally make use of all of their contacts, professional and personal to look for excellent and wide sources of publicity. Many forms of Guerrilla Marketing can cost very little or can even be free.

2 Jay Conrad Levinson who claims he developed the term Guerrilla Marketing says that the tactics used can be any size. He also claims that small organizations and entrepreneurs can greatly benefit from using Guerrilla campaigns and can gain more publicity than larger companies, as they are closer to their customers. Levinson has written The Guerrilla Marketing Handbook as a guide for marketers who want to implement the tactics into their business. In his book he states that: "In order to sell a product or a service, a company must establish a relationship with the customer. It must build trust and support. It must understand the customer's needs, and it must provide a product that delivers the promised benefits." Foundation of Guerrilla Marketing Principles: The following are the basic principles that Levinson outlines for a foundation in Guerrilla Marketing: - Guerrilla marketing is designed for use by small businesses and entrepreneurs. - The marketing is based more on human psychology rather than experience, guesswork, numbers, or judgement. - Investments should be made from time, energy, and imagination rather than money. - You should measure your business in the amount of profits not the amount of sales. - Relationship development should also be measured on a monthly basis. - Focus on a standard of excellence rather than offering too many products or services. Don t spread yourself too thin. - Maintain a focus on existing customers and getting referrals, rather than getting new customers. - Don t get caught up with competition from other businesses, instead try to network and cooperate with other businesses.

3 - Guerrilla Marketers should combine a series of different methods to develop a campaign. - Use modern technology and digital technology to build your business. - Target in on small groups, and individuals. The smaller the better. - Focus on gaining permission from individuals to send them information rather than pressing them to make a sale. Building long term valuable relationships will lead to sales. Guerrilla Marketing Terms: Guerrilla marketing is often referred to as non-traditional methods. You may hear people refer to it as: - Viral Marketing through social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. - Grassroots Marketing connecting to other brands and combining efforts. - Reverse Graffiti advertising for clean pavements. - Presence Marketing marketing for just being present. - Wild Posting Campaigns. - Buzz Marketing word of mouth rumours. - Alternative Marketing. - Undercover Marketing very subtle, un-noticeable marketing. - Astroturf company news to copy grassroots popularity. - Experimental Marketing. - Product Interaction. - Tissue Pack Marketing hand on hand marketing. - Wait Marketing discovering when and where consumers are waiting for example medical offices and petrol stations. History of Guerrilla Marketing: The history of guerrilla marketing is the journey of how advertising went from being boring, educational and sometimes even un-true to being entertaining, interesting, and what we love to see today. Jay Conrad Levinson has written a series of books on the subject and has been credited as the leader and farther figure of Guerrilla Marketing. His new thoughts and ideas have lead people into new ways for small businesses and entrepreneurs to compete with larger companies. He has introduced businesses to a new era of exciting, innovative, interactive, and sometimes extreme methods of

4 marketing. Not only are his ideas successful, he has also encouraged companies to get customers attention then back it up with excellent products and services. Origins of Guerrilla Marketing: It wasn t only Levinson s books that lead to the success and popularity of Guerrilla marketing. The main reason that the tactics took off was the effectiveness of how the marketing broke boundaries in advertising that had never been seen before. Guerrilla Marketing was very new and radical for its time and the techniques and systems continued to develop to become what it is today. A group of girls getting men to buy them drinks in a bar has now become a marketing technique instead of just flirting. Everyone started getting on board and when Run DMC the rapping group released a song called My Adidas the sales of Adidas rocketed sky high. Large Companies and Guerrilla Marketing: Levinson s ideas were all targeted at small businesses and entrepreneurs but recently guerrilla marketing has become fair ground for all companies including large companies and corporations. These tactics are not always successful when it comes to large companies as they don t have such a close bond with their customers as small businesses do. Some consumers feel they are overstepping boundaries and find the advertising campaigns deceitful. Viral Marketing VS Guerrilla Marketing: Executives who work in advertising are constantly under pressure to make specific campaigns work well. At one point in time advertising execs discovered that they could make ads so successful that they would be passed around to friends and colleges willingly. The result of this was self-propagating advertising. Guerrilla Marketing is often compared to viral marketing and is in a lot of ways very similar. Viral marketing happens spontaneously and organically and is never pushed or genetically generated. Some very successful Guerrilla marketing campaigns have been in the form of viral marketing such as websites and online videos. Social Uses for Guerrilla Marketing: Businesses use Guerrilla marketing to bring in sales, profit, and money but it can also be used for non profit organizations to spread information.

5 Today many charities and organizations are turning to Guerrilla marketing to reach out to their target audience. The Red Cross organization has used many shocking, eye catching, and genius advertising campaigns to get their point heard. Different Types of Guerrilla Marketing: Guerrilla marketing is not just about putting some posters up or giving out some flyers to people. It can be seen in a huge variety of forms. From strangers talking about a product on the street to making a product almost impossible to get hold of. Guerrilla marketers use interesting, undercover, funny, and clever ways to make you want what they are selling. Key Elements of Guerrilla Marketing: - Creativity When using Guerrilla marketing the world is your blank canvas. Whether it s a billboard ad, a TV spot, or an ad in a newspaper, guerrilla marketing campaigns begin with your creative thoughts. Try to develop unconventional techniques that no one has seen before. Get your creative ideas flowing and experiment. The main part of every successful guerrilla technique comes from a good creative idea. Without it then your campaign will be normal or conventional and won t work. - Unexpected Don t choose any marketing ideas that you may have seen before. For example every day you are on your way to work and you see big billboard advertising. It is an expected form of advertising that people see day in day out. An example of an unexpected campaign would be the German company Miele who make household items. Their campaign transformed a normal flat billboard into a 3D advertisement showing an actual hot air balloon draped over the billboard being sucked into a giant vacuum cleaner. The advertisement demonstrated the power of the vacuum cleaner and was an interesting and unexpected site to see. No one imagined they would see a giant hot air balloon on a billboard. - More with less When you are brainstorming different ideas for guerrilla techniques then it s very easy to become carried away with fantasy ideas that are impractical and expensive. If you own a small company with a budget then certain

6 expensive ideas will be impossible and unreasonable. You need to be responsible for your budget whilst being inventive. Let you creativity and imagination develop a campaign that fits your budget. This can be challenging but let your creative initiative flow. You don t need a lot of money to get have a successful campaign. For example a superman company came up with the idea to paste small posters on lampposts giving the impression that they were tied in knots. This gave people the idea that the strength of the company bent the lamp post but it was in fact a very inexpensive idea with a huge impact. - Use your surroundings to your advantage Make sure you maximise your surroundings to your advantage. If you decide to fill up a street with coffee cups this is not smart, intelligent, and can be an inconvenience to anyone who needs to get down the street. Use the environment in an unexpected way, and utilize it with your intelligence. You will make more meaningful impressions this way. - Use Interaction Interactivity is not an essential key to all guerrilla campaigns but it does bring the business relationship to another level. For example the Swedish furniture store IKEA demonstrated the benefits of their products by turning a bus into a living room. The successful campaign showed an unexpected place where a couple would relax and eat meatballs. They transformed the bus into a beautiful, cosy, and very much interactive display. Is Guerrilla Marketing For You? Guerrilla marketing is not just for business or non profit organizations. You can benefit from the rewards of Guerrilla marketing in everyday life. Including unconventional techniques used for getting a job, getting asked out on a date, to promoting yourself and your talents. If you have a small business then it s important to realise that guerrilla marketing is not just about flashy advertising. It is very important that you can back up your marketing efforts with an excellent product or service as negative feedback can spread even faster than positive feedback.

7 What s The Future of Guerrilla Marketing Look Like? It is impossible to predict the future of guerrilla marketing. It is up to the public to decide what they love or hate when it comes to advertising. People are becoming more and more used to being surrounded by commercial advertising; they seem to be appearing all over the place. Many people predict that the future of advertising will make it very hard for people to tell the difference between real life and advertising. You will probably find yourself looking at advertising in a very different way now that you know what Guerrilla marketing is. You have gained some excellent insights into advertising and how it works. Now you know the secrets of using Guerrilla marketing and the effective results it has you can be sure to integrate it into your lifestyle whether for business or personal use.