What is guerilla marketing? Tips and advice to boost your strategy.

What is guerilla marketing?

Guerilla marketing is used to boost brand awareness and audience engagement by using unique marketing methods. The aim is to drive publicity by evoking powerful emotions – like shock or surprise.

The term was coined in the 1980s by Jay Conrad Levinson – a business writer who was inspired by the concept of ‘guerilla warfare’. Guerilla warfare is a military strategy based on the idea of surprise, or catching people off-guard. Guerilla marketing takes a similar approach, albeit with less extreme results.

Should you use guerilla marketing for your brand or business?

While the idea was created in the 80s, the marketing world looked much different. However, guerilla marketing remains important for brands today. In fact, with the rise of short, hook-dependent social media content, it could be more relevant than ever.

As an accessible marketing tactic, UK small businesses can use guerilla marketing to create memorable campaigns and boost brand engagement. Some practical benefits include:

• Low cost. Today’s guerilla marketing tactics rely on simple and effective methods, usually driven by virality. Using ‘unusual’ interactive tactics on social media means you can keep things cost-effective, while still generating great results.
• High-impact and memorable. Being experimental and creative means you’re more likely to stand out from the crowd. The result is often a memorable marketing campaign that can naturally snowball through word of mouth or online interaction.
• Tailored to specific audiences. As guerilla marketing is flexible, you can tailor campaigns to your audience as they develop. If you notice a change in attitude or engagement levels, you can tweak your approach with a creative solution.
• Ideal for building partnerships. An unexpected and delightful partnership with a local business could work well as part of a guerilla marketing campaign. Out-of-the-box thinking can inspire you to approach brands you may not have considered previously and build all-important local partnerships.

However, the unorthodox nature of guerilla marketing can mean a less structured approach with greater risks. Some disadvantages of guerilla marketing include:

• Risk of failure or controversy. If your guerilla marketing campaign is poorly executed, this could backfire on your brand’s public reputation. You could also encounter legal issues or negative publicity, leading to lost profits.
• Less likely to be approved. An executive may not approve a guerilla marketing campaign that’s deemed too unconventional or risky.
• May be seen as inappropriate. Guerilla marketing tactics can involve filming, ambushing or scare tactics that might annoy, embarrass or frighten members of the public.
• Difficult to track. Unlike traditional marketing methods, guerilla marketing relies on creating memorable experiences. This can make it difficult to measure a campaign’s success.

Types of guerilla marketing options to explore.

As with any marketing tactic, it’s important to tailor your guerilla strategy to suit your brand. What works for one business might not work for another – it all depends on your industry, your audience and the products and services you provide.

There are several guerilla marketing options to explore when looking for the approach that suits your business best.

Street marketing.

Street marketing is a common type of guerilla marketing that involves taking your campaigns to public places. You’ll often see this as face-to-face advertising, road shows and pop-ups. If you don’t think your audience would respond well to in-person tactics, artwork, posters and flyers are other street marketing alternatives.

Ambient marketing.

Ambient marketing uses visual methods that draw on the context of their environment to elicit a reaction. For example, you might place your logo or a poster somewhere people might not expect to see marketing materials. The purpose of the ad itself and the use of space are often thought-provoking or ironic. This could include places like bathrooms, buses and billboards.

Viral marketing.

Viral marketing relies on social media interactions to spread content and campaigns, which would have traditionally travelled through word of mouth. Brands utilise the rapport between themselves and their audience and lean on this to encourage further engagement outside of their usual target demographics.

Stealth marketing.

Stealth marketing uses subtle techniques to advertise products and services to people, without them realising they’re being advertised to. A classic example of this would be product placements in film or TV. Today, a more common use of this technique is influencer marketing, where people naturally discuss and recommend products they’ve been paid to promote. However, it’s important to adhere to the relevant ad regulations and disclosures within the content.

Guerilla marketing examples from the UK.

UK brands continue to use guerilla marketing in their campaigns thanks to its significant viral potential. Whatever the business size, these techniques can be incredibly useful when building brand momentum – especially online. Let’s take a look at a few effective guerilla marketing examples used by UK organisations.

Specsavers.

Specsavers often play on their tagline of ‘Should’ve gone to Specsavers’ by using it to design funny and ironically placed posters and billboards. They often utilise ambient marketing techniques to create public campaigns that elicit an immediate humourous response.

For example, one of their billboards was a large advertisement placed at a 90-degree angle intentionally leaving part of the poster out of the billboard frame. Meanwhile, the poster simply reads ‘Should’ve gone to Specsavers’, though you have to tilt your head to see it. There’s no need to advertise any products – the brand pulls on its established audience rapport and ‘inside joke’ to further build overall brand engagement.

These types of guerilla marketing campaigns create something different and appeal to a British sense of humour. They play on the shared ironic laughter of an ‘accidental’ brand blunder.

Urban Tandoor.

Urban Tandoor is an independent Bristol restaurant whose TikTok musical parodies have taken the platform by storm. They’re a great case to illustrate the power of viral marketing for small businesses. These low-budget videos tap into a shared sense of humour that spans multiple demographics and utilise classic guerilla marketing techniques.

They don’t take themselves too seriously, which creates shock and delight as people engage with their chaotic and haphazard music videos. One of their most popular TikToks – a parody of John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John’s ‘You’re the One That I Want’ – or, as they say, ‘You Got the Naan That I Want’ – has over 3.7 million views. Their DIY style shows that you don’t need a budget to go viral: it was filmed on a phone with a few pink wigs just outside their restaurant.

The proof is in the pudding with this tactic. Urban Tandoor is currently rated 4.7/5 on Google out of over 2.8k reviews, with people travelling across the UK to visit them.

ALDI

ALDI has always liked to get experimental with street marketing. They aren’t afraid to get a little cheeky and are known for their expert placement of street ads. For example, their ‘Colin all cake fans’ trailer ad referenced M&S’ Colin the Caterpillar cake, while advertising their own Cuthbert the Caterpillar. They parked the trailer outside an M&S for extra buzz.

They’re also known to develop this technique with viral marketing. Their social media accounts are direct and tongue-in-cheek, encouraging shares and virality. As an example, they paired their well-placed bus stop ad for their Big Stack burger (located outside a McDonald’s), with a bold tweet that said, ‘All we need now is an ice cream machine that never works’.

Guerilla marketing tips for your strategy.

Guerilla marketing is a unique way to boost your business and engage with your audience – but there’s an art to it. If you want to include guerilla marketing techniques in your strategy, here are some tips to strike the right balance.

Understand your target audience.

You’ll already have a good grasp of your target audience. But, due to the interactive nature of guerilla marketing, you need to form even deeper connections. Rather than focus on reach, study your audience to determine:

• What their interests are
• How they communicate
• What their daily routine includes
• How they spend their free time.

This information will help you to decide what type of guerilla marketing technique to use and how to better connect with your target audience.

Think outside the box.

Being original is easier said than done, but the beauty of guerilla marketing is its eccentricity. The aim is to evoke authentic emotion from your audience – whether using a quirky billboard or interactive pop-up. Consider how to appeal to your target audience while ensuring your idea stays true to your brand identity and values.

Run a trial campaign first.

Before you bring your guerilla marketing ideas to life, it’s worth testing them first. It may seem like a great idea on paper, but the execution could backfire. Run a mini-campaign to a small group and ask for their thoughts and opinions. This will allow you to make informed decisions based on their feedback. It can also allow you to gauge how a larger audience might react to your campaign.

Prioritise value, not virality.

While virality and engagement are a major component of guerilla marketing, it isn’t the main goal. A viral campaign can reach many people, but you also want to reach the right people. Always focus on adding value to your target audience first and foremost.