I was recently intrigued by a marketing tactic used by Bounty paper towels to promote their new campaign message. In the cities of New York and Los Angeles, Bounty demonstrated their message by creating two big spills – ‘big’ being the key word. Busy commuters in New York couldn’t help but notice the six-foot-tall coffee cup spilling onto Seventh Avenue, and LA shoppers found a seven-foot-long, 550 pound Popsicle melting in the Third Street Promenade. Both spills were accompanied by a simple display sign reading, “Bounty makes small work of BIG spills.” The result? The guerrilla marketing tactic was picked up by multiple media sources, and inadvertently reached thousands more people than actually saw the spills in person.
The Salvation Army of Northern New England came up with another creative concept. Through partnerships with local businesses, ads were placed on every unlikely object imaginable – written on windshields of dirty cars, painted on rocks, and stamped on pizza boxes. These ads cost nothing, and yet they had the ability to educate the community about the Salvation Army and inspire them to donate. Brilliant.
Guerrilla marketing really refers to any kind of unconventional promotion that requires time, energy and imagination over a big marketing budget. And in the current economy, guerrilla is a great way to go; it can make a lasting impression on consumers and garner enormous media exposure. For some businesses, the “unconventional” aspect may be a bit scary – but, for those who are brave enough to go for it, the results can be, literally, priceless.
Need some inspiration to get started? Here are more innovative ideas.