The word
“guerilla” means “little war” in Spanish.
The concept itself is inspired by the guerilla warfare and tactics.
Guerilla marketing is used when the opponent has large sum of resources and
established reputation. It is a game where the opponent is bigger and more
powerful than the player. The strategy dwells on the element of surprise
attack. As a player, you have to catch your opponent off-guard and surprise
them with an unexpected move.
Last February
9,2012, I attended a talk conducted by Professor Emerito Pascual, from Salt and
Light Ventures. Then on February 18, I attended another talk conducted by Ms.
Tracy Camarillo from McCann WorldGroup, a world-renowned advertising agency.
Let me share two important principles they both shared during the seminars:
1. Everything can be media.
The
idea of using the tri-media (television, radio and print ad) does not mean
having to use a large budget. Ad agencies who work with the brand marketing
managers recognize the need to work smart and utilize the resources wisely. One
good example given by Ms. Camarillo is the Skelan marketing campaign.
The
idea was to use a jingle that will reiterate the brand message—that is, living
life with enthusiasm and vigor, despite old age. Skelan is an anti-arthritis
drug by Unilab. The jingle was introduced just like a song launch popularized
by a famous local celebrity, Vhong Navarro. The jingle became a hit as it
played many times in radio and used as music in an instructional exercise
video. A morning show also used the music to accompany the instructional
exercise they conduct every morning for the televiewers to imitate. The result
was increase in sales, and very good brand awareness among the target market.
2. Generate buzz.
Guerilla
marketing catch people’s attention the way a wildfire spreads fire from a
single bush to the whole forest. It must be viral and to do that, marketers and
advertisers must target key influencers.
This
idea is related to some key points from the famous book “The 22 Immutable Laws
of Branding” by Al Ries. The book states that the birth of a new brand is achieved through
publicity. As I have learned from my Integrated Marketing Communications class,
influencers are 2.5 times more likely to use social networks to meet new
people, 4 times more likely to use discussion boards and 3 times more likely to
blog. Imagine the rate of speed of information dissemination they could do to contribute
buzz for your brand.
One
good example of a guerilla marketing tactic that was able to generate huge buzz
is the Coca-Cola Living Billboard. The billboard is comprised of Fukien tea
plants that could absorb pollutions. The billboard was strategically located in
Metro Manila, a city where more people pass en route to work or school and where
pollution rate is the third highest than any other city in the Philippines.
The billboard was able to bring the point home—the Corporate Social Responsibility of Coca-Cola. More people were able to appreciate the brand and its efforts to contribute in making the world a better place to live in, even in at least one city.
Another
good example of this is Coca-Cola Happiness Truck and Coca-Cola’s The OFW
project. The video obtained a lot of advertising awards. These two examples
emphasized the essence of showing the authenticity of the story to the people.
Consumers are easy to detect fallacies and fake emotions. Presenting them real
stories that revolve around universal truth such as the value of family and
life is better to provide something that could add more meaning to their lives.
The company and the ad agency also made sure that it ran on social networking sites as viral video instead of displaying it as TV commercial. Though it could have generated more attention, the firm's intention will be compromised as it will appear to be just another promotional stint, when in fact, the company just want to live up to its Happiness slogan.
Check out the delight in the people's faces as they enjoy Coke's gift from the Happiness Truck in the video below:
The company and the ad agency also made sure that it ran on social networking sites as viral video instead of displaying it as TV commercial. Though it could have generated more attention, the firm's intention will be compromised as it will appear to be just another promotional stint, when in fact, the company just want to live up to its Happiness slogan.
Check out the delight in the people's faces as they enjoy Coke's gift from the Happiness Truck in the video below:
Ms. Camarillo advised that marketers should be able to look for the universal need or truth that pervades across different market segments and socioeconomic categories. "Busy consumers have a soft spot," she added. Finding that soft spot is crucial (by the way, Coca-cola's Project OFW is an instant tearjerker, trust me).
It's the truth that spells the success when it comes to executing a good guerilla marketing strategy. It is important to deliver something relevant apart from catching their attention. And yes, it makes a huge impact on the bottomline.
Credits:
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiu9PcEyQ5Y&feature=relmfu>
<http://www.forbes.com/sites/eco-nomics/2011/07/05/coca-cola-unveils-living-billboard/>
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