When it comes to marketing, budget constraint is often a concern for small business owners and marketing managers. However, there are always innovative marketing ideas that transcend the limitations of budget and resources. Guerrilla marketing provides a creative and non-traditional approach to marketing, allowing you to make a big impact without the need for a big budget.
This guide introduces you to effective and low-budget guerrilla marketing ideas that can help you stand out without feeling desperate.
1. Sidewalk Art
Sidewalk art is a creative approach to guerrilla marketing. It is an innovative form of street marketing. It involves leveraging the power of high-traffic streets to create highly targeted advertising solutions. These artworks have the power to grab the attention of audiences in unexpected ways.
The advertising can add color and life to the space and provide enhanced brand visibility. While visibility is the big factor here, sidewalk media can also be used to drive engagement. For example, you can incorporate elements such as QR codes to better track your marketing campaign’s effectiveness.
You can also use sidewalk art to synergize with events. This can send out a signal that your brand is also related to the occasion. When you need a non-traditional and fresh approach to marketing, sidewalk art can just be the perfect cost-effective answer.
2. Street Marketing
Street marketing, including the above-mentioned sidewalk art tactic, is a relatively newer concept used for outdoor guerrilla marketing. It covers all the different outdoor marketing actions, as it brings different street elements into play.
Highly successful street marketing campaigns use street art to make a statement. For example, McDonald’s, in one of their campaigns, used street guerrilla marketing to capture audience attention and drive sales. The campaign involved creating a “chips crossing” and soon became a memorable street art campaign.
3. Creative Signage
Creative signage is more unconventional and can be more effective in captivating attention and promoting business. An eye-catching sandwich board is a good example. Such signage must have the following attributes:
- Visually appealing
- Unique
- Clarity of message
The message must create curiosity and encourage your audience to learn more about your business.
Here is an example of using creative signage for guerrilla marketing:
If you have a bookstore, you can place attention-grabbing book covers on park benches, covering different authors or genres. Whenever passersby pick a book cover, they will discover a new book. Such a guerrilla marketing strategy can increase interest and drive foot traffic to your store.
4. Viral Marketing
Viral marketing involves spreading info over the internet through your existing customers. It can prove to be a powerful guerrilla marketing strategy. It has the potential to increase a campaign’s reach exponentially, allowing it to reach a vast audience within hours.
Often shocking elements are used to increase the chances of a campaign becoming viral and gaining massive public attention. Some of the common techniques and platforms used for running viral marketing campaigns include:
- Email campaigns
- Mobile apps
- Web pages
- Videos
You can use the power of social media to encourage your followers to share your content. Thus, you can have your prospects and customers promote your brand or message on your behalf. A popular example of a viral guerrilla marketing tactic is Burger King’s 2004 ‘Subservient Chicken’ and 2014’s ‘Missing Chicken’ campaign. The original campaign featured a website with a man dressed in a chicken suit, performing all the actions commanded by the website’s visitors. The campaign generated millions of website visitors and attracted a lot of media attention.
An effective viral marketing campaign requires a compelling piece of content that connects well with your target audience. You can leverage the vast reach of social media and video-sharing platforms to generate buzz and boost visibility.
5. Ambient Marketing
Ambient marketing involves advertisement placements in unconventional and unexpected locations with the goal of creating the element of surprise. It also intends to create a memorable brand experience with the goal of driving high engagement levels and greater recall power.
In other words, ambient marketing involves promotional practices that interfere with the normal flow of things. BIC’s 2008 ambient guerrilla marketing campaign for its razor line of products surprised and intrigued passersby while increasing brand visibility.
The razor mowing ad campaign displayed a billboard in the background of a giant BIC razor that shaved a lawn. The objective of the campaign was to send a clear message that their razors were so good to be capable of shaving grass. It disrupted conventional advertising while increasing brand awareness.
6. Ambush Marketing
Ambush marketing, as the name suggests, involves making a surprise approach from a concealed position. For example, you can take advantage of an event by promoting your products or services without the knowledge of the organizers. In simple words, you will be trying to take advantage of the large crowd that an event attracts. However, the returns from the campaign can more than outweigh the consequences.
7. Experiential Marketing
Experiential marketing, also referred to as live marketing or participation marketing, is an effective guerrilla marketing idea. It involves the creation of immersive, pop-up experiences inviting the audience to “talk, live, and breathe” your brand. Adding a touch of fun element can make the campaigns more memorable and efficient.
While it is one thing to see or hear about a brand, it is another thing to ‘experience’ it. With experiential marketing, your customers will immerse themselves in your brand.
An excellent example of experiential marketing is how Paramount promoted its horror movie, Smile. As part of the campaign, the movie’s actors posed with expressions from the movie in the stands at many of the Major League Baseball games. Those visiting the games experienced the campaign in person and learned about the movie. The additional benefits from electronic and digital viewership were extra.
8. Sticker Marketing
Sticker marketing is an affordable and simple tactic to make your brand stand out. As the name suggests, all it will need is using simple stickers. It has the potential to create brand awareness, making your audience highly familiar with your brand.
There is a splendid example of the way Reddit used sticker guerrilla marketing to its advantage. The social media platform reached out to its audience with its alien logo stickers through its campaign to build brand awareness. Soon, its stickers started appearing on people’s cars, laptops, and other items. It is worth noting that the company spent no more than $500 on the stickers.
9. Give Away Samples
Everyone loves free stuff. You can leverage the power of ‘free samples’ to create a cost-effective guerrilla marketing tactic and grow your business. When you give away free samples, you will provide people with easy access to your products. It also means that you can be certain that you can use them.
When your prospects receive free samples, they feel obliged to return the favor. A good strategy is to contact a local event organizer and offer to give away your samples to their visitors. Setting up a booth can further allow you to interact with your audience.
While implementing these tactics, it is important to follow a few rules. You should try to grab your audience’s attention without annoying them. Instead of targeting everyone, try to target the right audience. Additionally, you should ensure there should be a complementing relationship between your guerrilla marketing strategies and your business goals.Every business is unique. This means your business will need a custom guerrilla marketing plan that works specifically for you. Clear Imaging, Inc. has specialized experience creating and implementing guerrilla marketing campaigns for businesses operating in different industries. Call us at 1(800) 380-6942 or write to us to discuss your goals.
0 responses