Stuntin' like my daddy did- Guerilla Marketing

(courtesy of weburbanist.com)

Other than having an outside party sponsor your business 100 percent, I can't think of a more cost-effective marketing technique than guerilla marketing. With the economy gone to the crapper (hopefully not for much longer!) guerilla marketing techniques should be used by those businesses that need the publicity, the awareness, the following, and have a skinny wallet.  It has proved to work extremely well when budgets are low and goals are high.

Defined, guerilla marketing means any form of unconventional promotions that moves away from a dependency on budget and instead relies on time, thinking "outside of the box" and effort put forth. Most often these tactics are unexpected and unconventional. By catching the consumers off guard, the idea being marketed becomes memorable and a topic of conversation--- ultimately transforming into a viral campaign. 

This article from weburbanist.com lists 13 guerilla stunts that were deemed "extremely effective" by the authors.

While many convey a sense of humor-- something all of us could use in struggling times like these-- others use powerful images to evoke emotions that connect the viewer to the meaning of the message.

Like Amnesty International's humanitarian-awareness campaign. Amnesty is the world's largest grassroots human rights organization. And together with the arts and entertainment industries, the organization works to raise awareness about human rights abuses throughout the globe to motivate people to take a stand. In the ad featured in this article it shows two hands reaching over the bars of a sewer top in a street with Wrong printed on one hand and Faith on the other. This disturbing yet meaningful image created buzz and served the purpose for why it was created: to get people talking about human rights.

The article made a point to mention the reversal of guerilla marketing that can result. In New York City, a band of street artists worked together to replace corporate ads that used public space without license with "clever guerrilla protestations" against the assumed injustice. One of these ads was replaced by a giant "delete" computer button. 

Some larger brands that have used humorous guerilla tactics successfully include: Volkswagen that placed one of its vehicles parked beside a curb with a giant brick that eared to have split upon landing on the non-damaged vehicle; FHM who used a mini coop's curvy front frame to compliment a feminine body; or Careerbuilder.com covered the top of a truck trailer with "Don't Jump carreerbuilder.com" to be seen by people working in tall buildings or those contemplating suicide. 

The reason I chose this brief article to discuss is to mention the importance of guerilla marketing. Not only is it cost effective, but it's a great way to stand out in a very cluttered and polluted marketplace. The stats are remarkable regarding how much information we receive daily, and how much of that we actually remember. Unless we as marketers do something memorable, our ideas will not stand out or be recognizable.