Guerrilla Marketing

This is a type of promotion that uses atypical tactics to achieve the attention of a the general public but most specifically potential customers. This advertising strategy, gained its name by comparison with guerrilla warfare that also is unconventional and is designed to achieve a specific goal in a war or regional conflict.

The basic premise is to create an interactive or shared experience in typically unexpected places and times. These include intercept encounters in public places, street giveaways of products, public relation stunts, or any unconventional marketing intended to get maximum results from minimal resources. More innovative approaches to Guerrilla marketing now utilize social networking or other advertising platforms to engage the consumer and create a memorable brand experience.

Basic requirements to execute a guerrilla marketing event on the part of the creators are time, energy, and imagination and with little or no money. The goal is profits, not sales, and is the primary measure of success, with the secondary emphasis on retaining existing customers.

There are risks associated with this type of aggressive marketing strategy. In some cases these have caused the misrepresentation of a brand or in the worst case scenario have been perceived as a threat to national security. This happened in 2007 when the promoters of the Aqua Teen Hunger Force animated series magnetically attached boxes with blinking LED lights to subway stations, bridges, and at various points along Interstate 93 in Boston, Massachusetts. These were quickly mistaken for explosive devices and caused the closing of parts of the interstate while authorities systematically destroyed them.