12 Awesome Guerilla Marketing Ideas Your Business Needs to Try in 2019
The more unique you can get your advertising to be, the more likely you are to get remembered. Here are 12 awesome guerilla marketing ideas to try this year!
Are you sick of taking the easy way out by always going with traditional marketing methods? Are you tired of seeing your flyers in the trash? Do you wish you had more leads?
It's time to step up and step out [of the box].
When surveyed, 85% of companies reported that their biggest goal is generating more traffic on their sites. If this sounds like you then listen up.
If you're looking to make a name for yourself and think outside the box (or better yet, set the box on fire) you'll need to implement ingenious guerilla marketing ideas. To really stand out you, start implementing concepts that are highly unconventional and work on the element of surprise.
In this article, we're diving into the 11 most incredible guerilla marketing ideas you need to hear and implement this year.
Let's get started.
What is Guerilla Marketing?
You can't think of guerrilla marketing without thinking of guerilla warfare, rightfully so, since it's where it got its name. Guerilla warfare is all about sneak attacks, unorthodox methods, and ambushes, which is essentially what you're doing to your audience.
Guerilla marketing tactics work to catch your customers unexpectantly in their day-to-day lives. You want to stick in their head and make them think or share what they've seen.
If you're lucky a great campaign will go viral. This will happen for a few reasons, likely because its funny, emotional, or risky.
Wondering why guerilla marketing works? It all comes down to psychology. Our subconscious brain makes the decisions, and guerilla marketing targets just that.
The part we love most about guerilla marketing is the fact that it's budget-friendly. Put your checkbook away because these techniques won't require you to break the bank.
12 Guerilla Marketing Ideas That Demand Attention
Now that we understand guerilla marketing disrupts people's routines, you can start to plan your campaign accordingly. Use these ideas to inspire a little creativity and get ready to be the center of attention.
1. Creative Business Cards
If you're giving someone your business card, wouldn't it be best to not be boring about it? It's time to retire your paper card and opt for a business card that's creative.
Times are changing and so are the materials of business cards, from metal to wood to clear plastic stand out the next time you ask someone to call you.
2. Leave Props
If you walked through the city and came across a massive, larger than life popsicle melting on the sidewalk, would you take a second look?
Of course.
And that's exactly what Bounty (the paper towel company) was betting on. Next to the popsicle was a simple sign (that you absolutely would have overlooked if cherry juice wasn't melting all over the sidewalk) that read: Bounty. Makes small work of big spills.
Here are a few more great examples of using props:
- Save the Trees: A company placed cutouts of leopards sleeping on the top of street lamps insinuating if we continue to cut down rainforests, these animals will have nowhere to go.
- New Car Goals: Voltzwagen hung speech bubbles above cars in a parking lot that read "I wish I was the new GTI".
- Homeless Youth: A normal poster on the side of a wall you might walk right by, but when it's half on the ground, half on the wall, it begs for your attention. The organization Peace for the Streets by Kids from the Streets drew up posters that stated: If this poster were a homeless youth, most people wouldn't bother to look down"
Get in touch with your surroundings and think strategically.
3. Get Creative with Your Ad Space
Remember, your marketing doesn't have to be grand, it just has to get people talking. Let's go through another example of this, on a smaller scale.
Frontline, a company that makes products for eliminating fleas and ticks rented out a large portion of the floor in the center of a busy shopping mall. Even from the top floor, looking over the railing you could see their ad of a large golden retriever scratching itself.
Walking across the floor you might not notice it or even tell what it is but from the top floor, the people looked like ants (or similarly ticks) attacked the dog as the waltzed across the mall floor. Genius, we know.
4. Take Advantage of Landmarks
We're not saying this idea is always legal but guerilla marketing always tends to be pushing boundaries and crossing lines. It's what gets your names spewing out of people's mouth.
Take advantage of statues and landmarks in your area. It naturally draws attention and foot traffic and you'll undoubtedly be the hot topic of the moment.
Remember that time GoldToe, the undergarment company, put briefs on Wall Street's charging bull statue? Exactly. It's not the kind of thing you forget about.
It also piggybacks our next tip...
5. Go Where the Traffic Is
Let's go back to Gold Toe for a moment. Do you think it was an accident that this clothing company pulled a stunt happened to occur at the same time as New York Fashion Week?
If a tree falls in the woods, did it make a sound? You can have a brilliant marketing campaign but if not one sees it, did it even happen?
Going where the people are and disrupting their "normal" are the two big takeaways of guerilla marketing.
6. Temporary Graffiti or Chalk Art
Temporary graffiti and chalk art are great tools for guerilla marketing because they allow you to make your mark all over town without getting you fined.
You can use it to spread a hashtag or create your own ad like Jeep did.
Jeep's outdoor campaign in Copenhagen showed off all the places you could (but probably not legally) park through a chalk outline. The ad showed places like steps and curbs to show off the fact that a Jeep is great for all kinds of terrain.
7. Stickers. Stick Them Everywhere
If you think stickers are just for children who do their chores, then think again. They can be the secret to your next brilliant guerilla marketing campaign.
Think elevators, trees, light posts. Anywhere that disrupts people's daily actions.
Trying to save your park from corporate development? Flyers don't work and only annoy your audience. Rethink how you're conveying your message.
One company wrapped a decal around the trees in his park as if they were being actively cut down to show that if you don't take action, your park might not exist.
8. Utilize a Food Truck
Food trucks are brilliant because they're fun and mobile. You can easily drive to different events and your audience can come to you if you share your location through social media.
Don't think you need to sell food just to utilize a truck. Ditch the food and make it your own. You could easily give out haircuts beauty masks, dog washes, or product samples. Think outside the truck!
9. Creative Freebies
People love free.
To increase the hype for the Russian Olympic Games, a Moscow subway station gave away free tickets in exchange for squats. To bring the world closer, Coca Cola once gave out free coke for hugs.
Put your own twist on things and see how far your message (and product) gets spread!
10. Pop-Up Events
Everyone loves a pop-up event. They're new, exciting, and, if done correctly, they're placed right in the middle of your audience's daily commute. Who's not going to wander in?
If you're staging an even larger event down the line, you could design smaller pop-up events in the area to elicit the curiosity of your potential customers. Give them a taste of what could be. It's also the perfect place to give our your creative freebies.
11. Rethink Normal
You might go for a stroll or go out walking your dog in your neighborhood park. You might even take a seat on the park bench and watch the world go by; but the next time you go to sit down, keep an eye out for Nike's bench.
You probably know Nike's slogan, Just Do It but even more genius than that is how they display their message.
They once purchased a bench in a popular park but took the slates out of the bottom section. They placed it next to a normal bench, so when you went to sit down you'd realize it wasn't functional then you'd see the symbol. It might be subtle but it sticks in your head.
12. Aim for Specific Demographics
If you're targeting fitness and sports lovers, you're going to want to put on a charade outside a sports game or convention.
If you're targeting women who love makeup, get message outside the Hollywood Beauty Awards or attend a beauty Youtuber meetup.
It's just as important to aim for where you're advertising as it is, how you're advertising.
Get an Agency That Stands out with You
You'll notice that some of these guerilla marketing ideas require printing and for that, you'll need an agency that is just as creative and daring as you are. That's where we come in.
Print Peppermint is your breath of fresh air in a world full of drab business cards and boring t-shirt designs. Check out our site for innovative inspiration and let us help you with your next project.