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What Is Guerrilla Marketing?
Guerrilla Marketing (Guerilla Marketing) – Coined by Jay Conrad Levinson in his 1984 book Guerrilla
Advertising (Guerilla Marketing), this unique style of alternative Marketing relies heavily on energy and
imagination, rather than big budgets and flashy effects. Guerrilla Marketing (Guerilla Marketing) makes
a far more valuable impression over traditional media, and achieves fantastic recall numbers by
interacting with consumers on a personal level.
Guerrilla Marketing (Guerilla Marketing) takes consumers by surprise, makes an indelible impression,
and pops up where and when people least expect it. By being a little cleverer and more unpredictable,
you challenge consumers who desire some fun in their products.
Guerrilla Marketing (Guerilla Marketing) is ideal for small businesses that need to reach a lot of people,
and for big companies that are looking for a grassroots component to their mass media campaigns.
Over the past month, WebUrbanist has explored the ins and outs of the weird world of guerrilla marketing.
What was once a fringe movement in the world of advertising has become much more popular and
mainstream since the 1980s, when marketing expert Jay Conrad Levinson introduced the concept to the
world at large.
But what is guerrilla marketing, exactly? If you’re still scratching your head about what this guerrilla stuff is
all about, step onto the tour bus as we take one more look around. Keep hands and feet inside the
vehicle at all times, please. We’ll review the highlights at each of our stops. Feel free to hop off and visit
any of the sections that interest you, then hop back on to navigate the rest.
1) The History of Guerrilla Marketing
In part one of our gmarketing series, we took a look at how advertising went from boring, educational, and
sometimes downright false ads to the entertaining spectacle we know and love today. Jay Conrad
Levinson, author of many books on the subject, is credited as the father of Guerrilla Marketing. His ideas
paved the way for small businesses to compete in the marketing arena with the big companies, ushering
in an era of innovative and sometimes extreme marketing ideas. But Levinson’s ideas aren’t just about
getting the customer’s attention: companies have to be ready and willing to back up their advertising with
excellent products and services.
2) The Origins and Evolution of Guerrilla Marketing
Have you ever wondered how guerrilla marketing got so popular? J.C. Levinson’s book was only part of
the equation. The main reason guerrilla marketing took off was its incredible effectiveness at breaking
through our advertising blinders. The first instances of guerrilla marketing were radical for their time, but
the techniques continued to develop. Girls convincing men to buy them drinks was suddenly more about
marketing than about flirting. Even rappers got into the game when Run DMC released a song called My
Adidas, sending sales of Adidas through the proverbial roof.
3) Major Corporations Go For Guerrilla Marketing
Although J.C. Levinson’s ideas were geared toward the small business evening the playing field against
bigger rivals, major corporations soon began using guerrilla tactics to sell their products. Their efforts
aren’t always rewarded, especially when existing customers feel like the big businesses are overstepping
their bounds or being deceitful.
4) Guerrilla Marketing Versus Viral Marketing
Advertising executives are under a lot of pressure to make their campaigns successful. At some point, it
occurred to some ad people that they could make ads so irresistible that they would actually be passed
around willingly by customers. The result: self-propagating advertising. Guerrilla marketing sometimes
takes the form of a viral campaign. The viral campaign happens organically and spontaneously; if it’s
pushed too hard by its creators there’s a pretty good chance it’ll never get off the ground. Some of the
most successful guerrilla marketing campaigns have taken the form of viral videos or websites.
5) Guerrilla Marketing for Social Causes
So far, our guerrilla marketing tour has focused on businesses and making money. Nonprofit
organizations need to spread their word, too, and today many of them are turning to guerrilla marketing
tactics to reach their target audience. The Red Cross has created some of the most ingenious and eyecatching socially aware guerrilla marketing messages.
6) 10 Different Types of Guerrilla Marketing
Did you know that guerrilla marketing isn’t just about putting up some posters or creating a rad short
video? It can take on nearly any form. From strangers chatting with people on the street to making a
product really hard to get hold of, marketers have lots of sneaky, amusing, and intelligent ways to get you
to want what they’re selling.
7) Is Guerrilla Marketing Right for You?
You don’t have to be a business (big OR small) or a socially conscious nonprofit organization to reap the
rewards of guerrilla marketing. You can use unconventional techniques to land a job, get a date, or
promote your talents. Of course, if you’re a small business owner you should know that guerrilla
marketing isn’t all about the flashy message. It’s essential to back up the advertisements and never
disappoint your customers. As quickly as guerrilla marketing messages can spread, negative feedback
spreads even faster.
8) The Future of Guerrilla Marketing
We can’t see exactly what is in the future for guerrilla marketing, its devotees, and the public who
alternately loves and hates the constant advertising. But as we become more commercially oriented, it
seems that advertisements are popping up nearly everywhere. Will we soon see ads on any and all
available surfaces? Will the forehead tattoo ad become mainstream? Perhaps, but one thing that’s sure is
that future advertisements will be even more difficult to tell apart from real life.
We’ve reached the end of our guerrilla marketing tour. We’ve seen some amazing sights and gained
some valuable knowledge about the world of advertising. You’ll probably find yourself looking differently
at ads now that you know the secrets that marketers use to grab your attention. We hope you’ve enjoyed
your tour, and you’re invited back to re-visit all of your favorite stops at any time. Please watch your step
as you exit the bus.
What Is Guerrilla
Marketing?
by Jay Conrad Levinson
The first Guerrilla Marketing book was published by Houghton Mifflin in l984. Today there are 58 volumes in 62
languages, and more than 21 million copies have been sold worldwide. The book is required reading in many MBA
programs throughout the world. The author taught the topic at the University of California, Berkeley Extension
Division. He lectures on it worldwide.
In the words of the Father of Guerrilla Marketing, Jay Conrad Levinson, this describes guerrilla marketing:
"I'm referring to the soul and essence of guerrilla marketing which remain as always -- achieving conventional goals,
such as profits and joy, with unconventional methods, such as investing energy instead of money.
"Guerrilla Marketing started out a single volume and has since acted biblically by being fruitful and multiplying into a
library of 35 books and counting, an Association, a lush website, an abundance of video and audio versions, an email
newsletter, a consulting organization, an internationally-syndicated column for newspapers, magazines, and the
Internet, and presentations in enough countries for us to consider forming our own Guerrilla United Nations.
The need for guerrilla marketing can be seen in the light of three facts:
1.
Because of big business downsizing, decentralization, relaxation of government regulations, affordable technology,
and a revolution in consciousness, people around the world are gravitating to small business in record numbers.
2. Small business failures are also establishing record numbers and one of the main reasons for the failures is a
failure to understand marketing.
3. Guerrilla marketing has been proven in action to work for small businesses around the world. It works because it's
simple to understand, easy to implement and outrageously inexpensive.
Guerrilla marketing is needed because it gives small businesses a delightfully unfair advantage: certainty in an
uncertain world, economy in a high-priced world, simplicity in a complicated world, marketing awareness in a clueless
world."