Take a risk.

This is an example of something that may cause hype, excitement, disgust. I think it embodies guerrilla marketing, what do you think?

Trust me, you need it the most.

Entrepreneurs. Ya, you definitely need it. You are one of the most in-need groups when it comes to guerrilla marketing. As an entrepreneur, you don't have the money, man-power, or experience that the big guys have. You have an edge on the major corporations who have all the money in the world to do traditional advertising, because you know guerrilla. When starting your own business, you may flat out not have enough money to advertise, but you still must market. Marketing is how you are going to sell your amazing product or service, now do it guerrilla-style. When you are starting your adventure as an entrepreneur you don't have a lot of cash flow, but you have a brilliant product or service. You can solve all your marketing problems by taking on a guerrilla technique and have a minimum investment with maximum results.

Because of the state you are in as a new entrepreneur, it is important that you are flexible, yet efficient. This means that you need to be able to adapt to what the consumers want, and how you are going to get it to them. You don't have the money to do it in the ways we know work, so instead you bend the 'rules', do it differently, and get it to them fast.

Overall, it is essential to an entrepreneur to take full advantage of guerrilla marketing. Before you know it, you won't be that small-time entrepreneur with a amazing, unrecognized product... You will be rich, famous, and playing with the big boys.

Importance of Experience

This quote says everything about guerrilla and experiential marketing. One of the main objectives when doing these types of marketing is creating that positive brand experience. If done correctly, guerrilla marketing will give the consumer an experience they won't forget, partially because they can't. As mentioned in one of my previous blogs, guerrilla marketing really gets into the consumers head in a way traditional media can not. Just when the consumer thought it was safe, and they could bypass all advertising...BOOM guerrilla hits them and before they know it they are affected. At this point, it is up to the genius of the guerrilla marketing campaign to create the positive experience. It is important to promote who the brand is and what they stand for.

The second part of the quote about giving value to the consumer at every point of contact is also very important to guerrilla marketing. Although not all marketers use it, an incentive for purchase is key, and can be a cost effective way of guerrilla marketing to make sales.

If the brand does not make a positive impression in the consumers mind, and the consumer is getting nothing out of it, what is the point? So maybe this quote is more obvious than I thought. Just live by it. Create an excellent brand experience. Offer a relevant value.

Lets hear it from the man himself... Jay Conrad Levinson

Follow this link and get a few words from the Father of Guerrilla Marketing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idGj0FMZHN8

Hitting the emotions with some experiential

It's all in the senses...

This is where experiential marketing comes in. With experiential marketing it is very important that you are tapping into the senses of the consumer. When done properly, experiential really hits the consumers senses in a way that is almost subconcious. Not only does this form of marketing tap into the mindset of the consumer, but if done effectively should engage as many of the senses as possible. With the growing resistance to traditional forms of media, it is extremely essential that consumers are hit on a different level and the marketing makes an impact. We know that consumers have a short attention span when it comes to advertisements, so experiential marketing is a way capture their attention and really make an impact. Experiential marketing, if done effectively, will really connect with the consumer's mind on many levels including emotion, logic, and other general thought processes.

Inexpensive and Effective

This is an example of some guerrilla marketing that was extremely effective with very minimal cost. Virgin Atlantic's main message they want to communicate is the fact that your luggage is going to arrive to you safe without damage, because that is one of a traveler's main concerns. Now, what better way to do this then literally show your customers how careful you really are. This not only creates buzz and excitement around the company but also is a way to instill trust in the companies current customers and potential customers.

So what to do.. what to do??

You have all these great ideas, no money, and know your target is at the street level... sounds like Guerrilla, specifically wild postings. Wild postings are any type of poster that is plastered to a lamp post, brick wall, bulletin board, really any flat surface. It is important to know that these can be done on many scales; its not necessarily just a 11 by 7 poster. Based on your target, and where you are trying to reach them,different sizes and methods are used. Choose with caution in order to maximize your desired exposure. That said, in some cases its really not the size that matter, its what you do with these wild postings. All wild postings fall into two distinct categories: with permission, or without permission.
Wild postings without permission are for those that are true guerrillas at heart. That said, it is not always the method most encouraged. There are many risks with just going ahead and posting things where ever your heart desires. Some may think that the risk is worth the exposure, but is it worth tickets, fines, and written letters in your mailbox with less than appropriate language? It may be tempting to just post your material where ever you want, permission is a pain, but be aware that there could be some serious consequences.
Wild postings with permission on the other hand are the safe way to go for guerrillas that tend to take a little more caution. Permission is a hard thing to get. Although this method of wild posting is probably the best way to go, you may need help if you plan on getting permission. Sometimes the best way to do this is through an agency or wild posting vendor. The benefit of this is they already have locations that are pre-approved. By going through a vendor, a few painfully long steps trying to get permission yourself will be eliminated.

Wild postings are a very important part of guerrilla marketing. AND if used correctly you could use this street level approach to get in the face of your target market while getting a lot of exposure.

This form of guerrilla marketing costs virtually nothing to produce, yet will most definitely catch the eye of potential consumers. Just get your creative juices flowing and use resources readily available to get some attention and get people talking about your brand.

Why Guerilla??

So, after doing some research (because lets face it I'm not an expert on this stuff yet) I realized that there are three main reasons why a business should consider guerrilla marketing.

1. It's targeted. Depending on the the brand and the message, guerrilla offers a chance to speak directly to the consumer during their daily activities where traditional media may not reach them. Guerrilla marketing is a chance to get right in the face of the potential consumers making your message a lot more effective and buzz worthy.

2. It's good for the budget. This is where you use what you have to get noticed. Money does not grow on trees... especially not with the economy today, so there has to be a better way to get your message noticed. That's where guerrilla marketing comes in. The key is, you use the resources you have, with only the amount of money you have, and create an effective guerrilla campaign. Utilizing what resources you do have, and using them to capitalize on your message in an original way will get your product/brand noticed.

3. It's press-worthy. Reporters and journalists want to be where the action is, so give them a reason to talk about your brand. Guerrilla marketing is a chance to create excitement about your brand or company or product in a way that makes it newsworthy. Now not only are you getting noticed because of your unique marketing idea, but the word-of-mouth is expanded even more because now the press is giving you exposure. It's a win-win.

So, after reading these three points, it should be clear why guerrilla marketing is a necessary form of exposure you should utilize.

Another example of how an original advertising idea can really get noticed.

Guerrilla Marketing

This is an example of a sushi company and their innovative idea to get the word spread about who they are and what they do. Constant exposure. Smart.

Whhhat?

Experiential marketing. It's new. It's exciting. It's the future of marketing. But you do you know what it is?
On a grand scale, it is an all-encompassing term for thinking outside the box, doing things differently, and straying away from conventional forms of media. More importantly, in the tough economic times, experiential types of marketing such as guerrilla marketing, provide an extremely creative and innovative way to bring marketing to the streets so a company's brand gets noticed. Not to mention its A LOT more inexpensive in comparison to traditional forms of media. Bringing it to the street can also include event marketing, brand samples and trial purchases, tryvertising, and many many more. I created this blog to inform the marketing world, or anyone who cares, about this new age, up and coming, exciting way to make your brand a marketing success without breaking the bank.