Guerrilla Marketing and the Internet

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Guerrilla marketing is a strategy that uses creativity and the use of few resources in order to surprise the public, impacting them in unconventional ways.

Moving away from traditional marketing channels, such as TV, radio, newspapers and magazines, guerrilla marketing uses various tools to attract attention, with the aim of making a big impact and having viral effects.

In this article, we will understand a little more about the concept of guerrilla marketing. Let's see its origins, as well as understanding its importance within the internet world.

And, of course, see some cool examples of its use.

What is guerrilla marketing and where did it come from?

The name guerrilla marketing was created by the American writer and publicist Jay Conrad Levinson. The term was created in his book Guerrilla Marketing, originally released in 1983, and which is now in its 4th edition.

The author's concept was inspired by the Vietnam War, which saw North Vietnam using strategies with few resources, but with great impact and results on its adversaries, South Vietnam and the United States.

Guerrilla marketing is generally a strategy focused on public, high-traffic locations. Big cases are usually associated with external media, but in recent years, other strategies such as flashmob gained prominence.

To identify a guerrilla action, we generally observe a few points, such as:

• high impact, surprise and creativity;
• use of unconventional channels or use of conventional channels in an original way;
• use of different formats and low-cost actions.

Guerrilla marketing and the web

In his book, Jay Conrad argues that guerrilla marketing's main characteristic is dialogue with the public. Interactivity and relationship building, as well as Internet, are the basis of this strategy. This concept, as he points out in the book, goes in contrast to traditional marketing, which is a monologue.

Currently, an important feature is the convergence with the web. With the use of creativity, both can be low-cost strategies and can be used by small entrepreneurs. Therefore, it is not just a universe of big brands.

But where the web and guerrilla marketing really meet is in the high power of viralization. The web even serves as a complement to disseminate great and successful guerrilla marketing campaigns.

This goes against the most current marketing concepts, where the tripod “inform, convince and motivate” is no longer enough to attract the consumer. Surprising, engaging and sharing are part of everyday life on the web and guerrilla marketing allows us to strengthen this relationship with the public.

Therefore, it is possible to combine the two strategies, taking the guerrilla marketing audience to the internet. As both allow interaction with users, it is possible to create a database to be used later on the web.

Furthermore, the social media can be used to boost the results of guerrilla marketing campaigns. These, in turn, can be used to boost social media results.

Why invest in guerrilla marketing

The first point is the low-cost impact. The strategy can be used by brands of all sizes and budgets and gives the opportunity to bring the public closer to your product/service.

This is an important step to think about. In today's marketing, the public wants much more from brands. Being present in the consumer's mind today requires authenticity and creativity.

Creating an immediate impact and taking this consumer to social media is a way of not needing to “borrow” your audience from Facebook or the Instagram. In times of decreasing reach on networks, guerrilla marketing can be a great way to surprise and generate engagement on social media.

Some examples of guerrilla marketing

The actions of flashmob have already become famous on the web. We have separated two actions that went viral on the web a few years ago and were very successful. The first, from 2011, is on the Stockholm metro. The second is Tic Tac tablets, from 2012.

A very cool action, carried out in 2006 by the recruitment and selection website Jobsintown.de, used external media to impact the public (high impact, by the way).

And how about this really cool action from a German dental implant insurance company?

These few examples we have shown show the power of a good guerrilla marketing campaign. Good humor, great insights and a lot of creativity can make a small effort a great success. But we cannot forget the power of taking these campaigns to the web, where reach and sharing will certainly make a good campaign take off.

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