Make a (Marketing) Splash

Obviously, it doesn’t have to be summertime to make a splash in marketing.

But with two kids on swim team, we’ve logged many hours at the pool for practice and meets this summer so it’s got me thinking about one of my favorite parts of being a marketer: non-traditional, impact marketing.

Guerrilla Marketing

Guerrilla marketing done right can make an impact AND be cost-effective. You don’t need a multimillion dollar media budget to make a splash. I’m a big advocate of incorporating some unconventional, viral tactics into the marketing mix. This creates an impact cost effectively and generates word of mouth buzz. The Blair Witch Project was hugely successful at creating an impact and buzz long before the movie was released. Now with social media, you can even save on a traditional media budget. Companies can use their social media community to help spread the word.

Three Examples

Below are a few effective (and cost-effective) guerrilla-marketing campaigns, both new and classic:

1) Capture Euphoria: Ben & Jerry’s

Ben and Jerry’s recruited their fans to post pictures of euphoric moments. The contest was help on the company’s Instagram page using the hashtag #CaptureEuphoria. Winning photos were chosen and displayed in the fan’s local media via print, billboards and various other outdoor venues. They used social media to promote the contest, so the overall cost of the campaign was minimal (buying space for the winning photo to be displayed is the only major expense). This generated buzz and publicity for Ben & Jerry’s in a non-traditional way.

2) The Truth Campaign: American Legacy Foundation

This social norms campaign created a buzz when it was first introduced in the early 00’s with its hidden camera effect ads. The campaign was aimed at uncovering what Big Tobacco was hiding regarding the truth with cigarette smoking. The campaign used eye-catching visuals, on crowded city streets, to highlight the realistic effect tobacco has users. I understand the American Legacy Foundation had a substantial budget from the lawsuit winnings, but smaller companies can garner the same word-of-mouth by taking to the streets.

3) Do Not Buy This Jacket: Patagonia

We at Marketing Partners have referenced this campaign previously, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t include it here as well. Patagonia created buzz last year when they created a print ad involving one of their top-selling fleece jackets. They ran the ad, starting on Black Friday – one of the busiest shopping days of the year. This ad wasn’t about selling jackets; it was about hitting consumerism head on. The company wanted customers to think twice about what and how much they buy and the direct effective on our environment.

So whether you use online, traditional or take-to-street media outlets for promotion, creative, guerrilla/viral marketing can get people talking. It will add minimally to your overall budget, but can have a big impact on your results.