Tag: Guerrilla Marketing

5 Savvy Guerrilla Marketing Ideas for 0h 10

Posted on by Drew Neisser

ADWEEK published its special report on Guerrilla Marketing a couple of weeks ago including a few quotes from your truly on how marketers are capitalizing on empty retail spaces. These quotes were part of a larger conversation I had with ADWEEK on overall guerrilla trends and the kinds of things you might see in 2010. I’ve collected those thoughts into this piece that looks remarkably similar to an article of mine that appeared in MediaPost this week!

More DO, Less SAY
Guerrilla used to be about “hit and run” stunts that in the best case yielded on-message PR. Like other forms of marketing, guerrilla is evolving into more complex experiences that DO something for the consumer rather than simply saying something to them. The HSBC BankCab (yup, its still driving brand love after seven years!), the Samsung Charging stations and Charmin’s Times Square bathrooms are three examples of the DO versus SAY approach.

Expect a lot more of this in 2010 with new twists that integrate technology and/or social media. For example, Charmin added a search for Tweeters to supports its 2009 “pottie platoon” and HSBC added tweets to the BankCab program.

Meet Up meets Flash Mob
At the heart of the most effective guerrilla campaigns is a physical interaction. Social mobile technologies enable new interactions that guerrilla marketers will undoubtedly exploit. A well-connected marketer will be able to take the notion of a flash mob to new heights, gathering people of extraordinary commonalities at a moments notice. Think Meet Up meets Flash Mob. It is easy to imagine a kitchen appliance company gathering left handed vegan cooks for an “equal rights” march through Bloomingdales that turns into a party to celebrate a new “leftist” friendly product line.

Foursquare, Loopt and Google Latitude all represent interesting opportunities for marketers to connect with likeminded consumers in fresh ways. These tools all create the opportunity for customized micro-events that could make prospects feel a part of something special. For example, liquor brands should have a field day partnering with Foursquare and/or Loopt to create an entire nights worth of experiences.

Pop-up not Pooped Out
With commercial real estate still in the tank, expect guerrilla opportunists to exploit empty spaces in all sorts of new ways. Suddenly these windows could become touch screen displays that are customized ecommerce enabled eco-systems. Smart video technology would assess the people walking by (i.e. male, female, young, old, short, tall) and serve up a customized visual experience.

For example, the video window could display an avatar of the individual walking by and then transport it to sunny beach in the Bahamas for a travel company. The consumer could select their own destination and place their image into it. This image could be emailed to the consumer along with a discount for a cruise to that destination. Less tech heavy uses of storefronts will include live mannequins, video projections and printed posters that change on a daily basis for a reason (weather reports, news items, drinks of the day, etc.)

Taking Tech over the Top
Look for augmented reality to creep into guerrilla programs. For example, a girl could virtually try on a dress she’s just seen via a guerrilla encounter, share that “trial” with a friend, get instant feedback, figure out who makes that dress and then order it on Zappos. Smart phone apps could include components found via a real life scavenger hunt. The consumer would have to find the “clue” and take a picture of it which would help them reach a higher level in the app. The variations on this are endless but all involve integrating mobile technology with a physical experience.

Little Luxuries
Guerrilla marketers have long pursued random acts of kindness as a means of gaining attention for their brand. Look for these random acts to become less random and more upscale, providing little moments of luxury in 2010. Concierge service in unexpected places, free transport in unique vehicles and exotic food samples for passersby are but three examples you can expect to see this year.

Little luxuries are always welcome and can be delivered on an increasingly personal basis thanks to advancing technology. For example, GPS mash-ups can enable everything from customized messaging to personalized walking tours. This messaging could be educational—like how do you get the best shot of a landmark (that you happened to be at) to what’s the best thing to order at the restaurant across the street. This level of customization will endear brands to their prospects thus transforming them into card-carrying brand evangelists.

10 Olympic-Sized Ideas for 2010

Posted on by Drew Neisser

As Second City moved down to fourth in their failed bid to host the 2016 Olympics, President Obama elected to use a sports metaphor to soften the blow. Noted the First Chicagoan upon his return from Copenhagen, “You can play a great game and still not win.”

Looking ahead to 2010, marketers will be facing Olympic hurdles that will require steadfast agility just to stay in the game, much less to hit the finish line ahead of the competition. Here are 10 ideas, wrapped in Olympic glory that should deliver the gold.

1. Social Media: A Marathon, Not a Sprint
Hoping to become fast friends with their targets, a lot of brands rushed into Facebook and Twitter in the last 24 months without investing sufficient time or resources. In 2010, savvy marketers will increase their commitment to social media by first listening and then offering up a steady stream of engaging content that their fans actually want. This will be particularly true for B2B brands, only 38% of whom included social media in their 2008 marketing plans (vs. 71% for B2C brands). With one comScore study indicating that branded social media activities can have a multiplier effect on search results, there is even a quantifiable rationale for brands to up the social media ante in 2010.

2. Mash-Ups: Taking Inspiration from Biathlons
A few innovative marketers took a shot at mash-ups in 2009. E.P. Carrillo, a new cigar manufacturer, created a mesmerizing Twitter and Google Maps mash-up for its “coming soon” site that tracks cigar tweets from around the world. In 2010, these kinds of mash-ups will become smoking hot as marketers look to extend the value of their social media activities. Recognizing that tech-savvy consumers glide seamlessly between personal and business, online and offline, mobile and desktop, farsighted marketers will bring together formerly disparate elements into a cohesive and self-perpetuating social media experience.

3. App Happy: On Your Mark, Get Set, Go Crazy
Given the success a handful of marketers enjoyed with their “apps” in 2009, expect a blaze of new entries in 2010. iPhone apps that provide demonstrable utility like Kraft’s iFood Assistant recipe finder, Benjamin Moore’s color matcher and Zipcar’s GPS-based car finder will continue to gain traction. Expect more app’s that integrate with other social media like the Gap StyleMixer that allows you to mix and match clothes and share them with friends on Facebook. And don’t forget the non-iPhone universe. The steakhouse Maloney and Porcelli cooked up a humorous and somewhat deviant web-based app at Expense A Steak that extrudes faux expense reports with stunning verisimilitude.

4. Measure Up: Track Every Second
With more dollars earmarked for social media, marketers will undoubtedly use new tools to monitor the conversations that are happening with or without them. Radian6 and Scout Labs emerged in 2009 as two of the leading social media monitoring tools. MolsonCoors uses Radian6 to stay on top of all the banter about its major brands, allowing them to respond with remarkable speed to one of my blog posts about a Coors Light Twitter account that turned out to be unofficial. And while these tools are great, each requires a sizeable commitment by the marketer in time of staff, a commitment that can and does pay off. Just ask JetBlue who manages to enhance customer loyalty daily by responding to any and every customer Tweet within minutes, following 117,000 on Twitter, and in the process generating over 1.3 million followers.

5. POV Power: Don’t Just Talk the Talk
While lots of brands raced into social media in 2009, few established true connections with their targets. The reality is that consumers engage with brands that they like on a visceral level and that provide a distinct perspective on the world. Aflac’s Duck quacks up a gaggle of quirky content, including charitable requests that appeal to over 161,000 fans on Facebook and 3,000+ followers on Twitter. Meanwhile, Geico’s Gecko has been left in the social media dust due to its surprisingly dry (twitter.com/geico) and unresponsive (facebook.com/geico) online voice. Ironically, a brand by definition is a point-of-view that once clearly defined should guide all communications, social or otherwise.

6. Expose Yourself: Win the Crowd With Honesty
The emergence of several “tell all” consumer-created sites signals the arrival of a new era of honesty and transparency – especially for brands targeting those under 35. Sites like fmylife.com, textsfromlastnight.com and MyParentsJoinedFacebook.com reflect a generation willing to bare and share all without the least trepidation. Even the emergence of “Untag Mondays” speaks to the socially acceptable norm of posting embarrassing content that one might not want a parent or employer to see. Marketers that share this sense of honesty, that admit mistakes and address shortcomings in real-time will find a youthful army of comrades willing to do their bidding. As Comcast discovered, this kind of honesty can even transform a PR nightmare (comcastmustdie.com) into an industry-leading customer service (http://twitter.com/comcastcares.)

7. Hold the Presses: Major Comebacks are Possible
Though a 50% decline in ad pages certifies 2009 as the worst year in its history, don’t write off print as a viable media channel just yet. Over 80% of US consumers still subscribe to at least one magazine and 83% believe newspapers are still relevant. Experimenting with video in print pubs like Entertainment Weekly is but one of the ways certain magazine segments will hold onto their targets and satisfy their advertisers. Fashion magazines and enthusiast pubs continue to offer a visual showcase that is far superior to what most e-pubs can serve up. Models, both human and auto, simply look prettier in print. And while P&G shut down its 72-year-old TV soap opera Guiding Light in 2009, they are cranking up the presses with the custom published glossy, Rouge, which expects to reach a whopping 11 million North American households in 2010.

8. Go to the Video: Separate from the Pack
The emergence of viral video rankings in 2009 reflected the mainstreaming of this approach to audience engagement. While everyone and their branded brother aspired to cut through with a viral hit, surprisingly few found an audience. In 2010, marketers will undoubtedly crank out more of the same while a savvy few will worry less about mass reach and focus more on grass roots appeal, providing content that their core target really wants. B2B marketers in particular will find that using informative videos that transform the complicated into the comprehensible, like Commoncraft’s Plain English videos, will generate quality leads from grateful prospects.

9. Mobile Media: Catching Up at Last
Despite all the hype by this author and others, less than a third of marketers had a budget for mobile in 2009. In 2010, smart phone penetration should rise to at least 25% (from 17% in Q2 ‘09) making it a lot easier to deliver a rich mobile experience worthy of consumer attention. The blending of mobile and social apps like Facebook, Loop’d and Twitter has also created a new openness towards this medium.
Given the desirable demographics (18-34, HH income $75k+) of smartphone owners, at minimum, marketers should give strong consideration to creating a mobile friendly website, thus allowing prospects to engage whenever and wherever they happen to be.

10. Be Positive: Attitude is Everything
While honesty is a worthy friend to marketers, don’t forget that almost no one wants to date a Debbie Downer. A recent poll by Adweek/Harris found “relative little enthusiasm and lots of indifference for ads that refer to the downturn.” Even if the economy is slow to recover in 2010, find the silver lining for your customers and prospects with both words and actions. Like the athletes whose positive outlooks and superior skills propel them to victory, so, too, can marketers find success with an upbeat message and an unimpeachable value proposition.

May 2010 Serve You Well
While 2009 hasn’t been much fun for most marketers, there are many reasons to be optimistic about the approaching year. There are more ways than ever to engage with consumers and a new willingness from consumers to engage with brands. Marketers are showing a renewed desire to listen to their customers and offer “marketing as service” that favors the dissemination of meaningful value over disruptive messaging. So here’s to serving your customers but serving up some great marketing in 2010!

Heavy Weight Guerrilla Bus Stops

Posted on by Drew Neisser

I’m not sure how America at large will feel about being weighed at bus stops, but I think it definitely tips the scales as a not so heavy example of Marketing as Service. Here’s what the folks at Cool Hunter had to say about it:

No more living in denial about the size of your waist line, thanks to this fantastic albeit terrifying guerrilla marketing initiative from the health club chain, Fitness First. Unsuspecting commuters in the Netherlands are faced with viewing their body weight in bright lights – quite literally – when they take a seat at this Rotterdam bus stop. Scary to say the very least, but extraordinarily clever and likely to increase membership numbers at the local Fitness First. The brainchild of Netherlands’ agency N=5, the initiative takes the concept of guerrilla marketing to a whole new level.

Assuming the news about one’s weight is not always welcome, it will be interesting to see how the Dutch weigh in on this one. Guess we’ll have to weight and see.

Wait No More

Renegade on Guerrilla Marketing

Posted on by Drew Neisser

Today’s issue of BRANDWEEK provided a rather scaled back overview of 2008 Guerrilla Marketing which included a short and sweet quote from yours truly. Given the brevity of the article, I thought I’d post my full interview notes.

BW: Can you see the current economic downturn as having a direct effect on guerrilla marketing either how it’s done, its frequency of use, or anything else?

DN: Here’s the good news, our phone is ringing off the hook from clients looking to gain more impact out of limited resources. The bad news is that when they say “limited” they really mean next to nothing so its getting a lot harder to manage expectations! One huge change is the number of clients requesting “social media” and/or viral marketing programs. There is a clear perception in the marketplace that these non-traditional approaches could have exponential impact for the dollars invested. Undoubtedly, when dollars get short, clients will look for innovative ways to cut through.

BW: Aside from the recession, are there any big trends affecting guerrilla marketing that you’re seeing?

DN: Several. Consumers are increasingly savvy and resilient to street team activity. Unless you are offering a clear value proposition (like cool free stuff) or have a truly entertaining “show,” consumers will simply ignore your efforts. Today more than ever, guerrilla marketing needs to deliver a demonstrable exchange of value. The same holds true for online guerrilla efforts. As many wishful thinking viral video producers have discovered, very few videos actually get discovered and most of those are consumer generated versus corporate creations. In the “wild west” of viral, slick messages rarely cut it. Consumers find the genuine, the raw, the crazy, far more appealing than the slick, the packaged or the profound.

BW: In the age of the iPod, with people so shut off from normal streetawareness, is guerrilla marketing less effective than it used to be? I mean, not too long ago, a pedestrian might be wearing a Walkman, but in general he or she was pretty plugged in to the street landscape. But these days, thanks to digital devices like cell phones and iPods, you can hermetically seal yourself in a world of your choosing, even as you walk around. Does that theoretically render guerrilla marketing less effective?

DN: First, let me note that we consider guerrilla marketing to be broader than street team stuff. Like the man who first defined the term, Jay Conrad Levinson, we consider guerrilla marketing to be a mindset that overcomes a lack of funds with resourcefulness and innovation. Under that definition, guerrilla marketing is constantly evolving, addressing the realities of changes in consumer behavior. To be effective, guerrilla marketing has to be more than disruptive. It has to be appealing enough that someone in a walking cocoon actually wants to stop and engage. Ironically, guerrilla approaches actually have an advantage these days over traditional TV advertising which are getting zapped before they even get a chance to be seen. Guerrilla marketers are figuring out how to engage consumers with all their devices, such as having billboards that interact with mobile devices, etc. Also, for many “too hip for ad” brands, the guerrilla medium is the message. These brands can’t be seen as selling out by doing mainstream advertising and instead present themselves in ways that are as fresh as the brand and the target themselves. Street art, viral videos, widgets and on-premise stunts all fall into the “we’re cool cats” category.

All that said, consumers are more savvy about all types of marketing these days. The bar is higher for everyone. True engagement requires a fresh idea regardless of the medium. If people are wearing headphones, guerrilla marketers need to offer music to their ears, literally or physically.