In the first part of this article, we saw how ordinary situations can be flipped upside down by guerilla marketers to elicit highly visceral responses from consumers, and how these incidents can be condensed into video format to boost awareness of the brand once they go viral. In this second part, we will see how guerilla marketing can be used to create a massive impact without making a huge investment, and what can happen if the marketing campaigns backfire.
The Blair Witch Project
In keeping with the grassroots definition of guerilla marketing, a few film school students demonstrated that you don’t need a big budget to create a smash at the box office. Having shot The Blair Witch Project on a budget of $50,000 with no script or star actors, one of the creators used the film’s tagline to propagate the rumour that the film was actual documentary footage from a group of students who had disappeared in the woods some three years earlier. A website was subsequently set up to add fuel to the fire, advocating that a supernatural being was living in the woods and had been abducting trespassers.
With the help of some craftily designed ‘missing’ posters, the internet was soon buzzing with the rumour that the Blair Witch was real, which led to a mass procession of movie goers paying their admission to see if the rumours were really true. The movie eventually grossed over $250 million, all thanks to a low-budget guerilla marketing campaign – extremely impressive if you consider the huge marketing budgets that normally go into promoting Hollywood feature films. It would have been inconceivable for a film that was recorded on a camcorder to become a national blockbuster, but with thanks to the creative endeavours of a few students they were able to turn this disadvantage into a selling point by marketing it as real footage!
But what if it backfires?
Guerilla marketing can be risky, which is why it was initially regarded as a strategy for smaller businesses to make an impact in a hostile market. For instance, if a small company or start-up runs a guerilla marketing campaign that backfires, it’s just regarded as a failed publicity stunt, but for big companies that use the same tactics, the damage to reputation and sometimes revenue can be substantial.
Positive testimonials are one of the greatest ways to demonstrate that your product or service is as good as you declare it to be. Social proof is a huge factor in marketing; people are unlikely to spend money on your product unless they have concrete evidence that other people have done the same and are happy with their decision- it’s one of the quickest ways for a consumer to discern between a legitimate provider of value and a charlatan. So when Nvidia was accused of hiring stooges to talk up its products on internet forums, people were justifiably less than pleased.
However, arguably the worst backfire in the history of guerilla marketing became known as the 2007 Boston bomb scare. The plan was that a series of LED placards resembling characters from the TV series Aqua Teen Hunger Force would be placed at random locations around Boston, and at night time they would be illuminated to promote the show. Unfortunately, these placards had certain similarities with improvised explosive devices, leading to Boston Police Department bomb squad being called in to investigate when one of the suspicious looking placards was reported by a passerby. Interference Inc., the marketing organisation behind the stunt was eventually ordered to pay $2 million to Boston Police Department and to Homeland Security.
Plan thoroughly
While it comes with some risks, guerilla marketing is still one of the most impactful ways to raise brand awareness. So long as you plan thoroughly for all eventualities and don’t behave in a way that can compromise your brand’s reputation, there are big rewards to be gained from using unconventional marketing tactics, particularly because people are so de-sensitised to the normal channels of advertising and promotion. Even in the incident where Vodafone paid a streaker to run onto a rugby pitch wearing only the company’s logo, one could argue that the publicity Vodafone gained significantly outweighed any costs that were incurred, both financially and in reputation. It brings us back to that old marketing adage: “Any publicity is good publicity!”
(Photo: Ingy The Wingy)
Tags: guerilla marketing
