Why Small Businesses Should Use Guerilla Marketing

In my Senior Design class, we just finished a project on Guerilla Marketing. This is a type of advertisement that many companies are starting to use because the ideas can be so simple with little cost but very effective in gaining more consumers.

What exactly Is Guerilla Marketing?

“Guerrilla Marketing is an advertising strategy that focuses on low-cost unconventional marketing tactics that yield maximum results.” – Creative Guerilla Marketing

Originally the term was introduced by Jay Conrad Levinson his in book titled Guerilla Advertising. The purpose is to create an imaginative solution to how to represent a company. Guerilla Marketing should surprise consumers, create a memorable impression and create a large amount of social buzz.

Sending creative messages

The importance of Guerilla Marketing is not only the aesthetics and appeal of the design but the concept behind the idea. The message conveyed to the audience needs to be clear and effective. If the consumer does not understand the message in a short amount of time then the concept should be re-evaluated.

A good idea does not need to be expensive. As designers we have to find ways to create something visually effective without having a large budget. So if your company has a creative solution it can be an interesting way to interact with the community and your brand.

In this Hunger Awareness advertisement, Feed South Africa uses emotions and guilt to speak to the audience. Although most Guerilla Advertisements we will see are witty and humorous, some can really touch the audience on a more serious subject.

Keep more money in your pocket

A lot of companies spend large amounts of money on promotional marketing, direct mailing, commercials, and other various forms of marketing. In Alexandra Bruell’s article on AdAge, she notes that direct-mail response rates decreased from 4.37% in 2003 to an average response rate of 3.40% in 2013. Many of these items will not be opened if the envelope does not attract the viewer to open it. Guerilla Marketing can be more functional than these forms of marketing; depending on the location you can attract a broad range of people or a specific target market.

For example, Colgate is targeting young children and their parents. They are telling kids to brush their teeth with their products because it prevents cavities. The parents also become aware of the effects of sugary foods to their children’s teeth.

Making your advertisement memorable

Guerilla Marketing can help your brand become memorable. Guerilla advertisements are known to be shocking and all-consuming, so most people who encounter these ads will most likely remember the brand and become familiar with their essence.

Understanding the culture of the target market can help you narrow ideas for a guerilla advertisement. For example, Bounty places their guerilla advertising in the middle of New York streets that are full of locals and tourists. This is a perfect photo op and for people to interact with the brand.

This can be good for both small and large business to really grab the audience’s full attention to their specific brand. It is a way to bring the product out of its normal context. Bringing it outside of a store shelf can help consumers focus on just one brand and not its competitors, building brand loyalty.

It works for companies selling products and services

Guerilla Marketing does not necessarily mean that your company has to sell a product. This can also work well with a company that provides intangible services.

Here a dentist used Guerilla Marketing in a very inexpensive way by displaying gums and teeth made out of cut paper. As people walk by they tear off a “tooth” with the phone number and address of the dentistry.

More examples of Guerilla Marketing

• 80 Best Guerilla Marketing Advertisements Ever
• Creative Guerilla Marketing
• 15 Creative Guerilla Marketing Ideas