Wild Card

  The use of Guerrilla Marketing 

    In a world where brands are constantly fighting for societies attention it is very hard to create a campaign that stands out above the competition. Guerrilla marketing and unconventional publicity is one tactic that brands can use to help make their campaign stand out to consumers. Guerrilla marketing uses unconventional and creative strategies to catch consumers attention and to create buzz around the brand. There are several different types of Guerrilla marketing: outdoor guerrilla marketing, indoor guerrilla marketing, event ambush guerrilla marketing, and experiential guerrilla marketing, stealth marketing, along with other strategies. 

    Outdoor guerrilla marketing adds to an already existing environment that sticks out to the public. This strategy is mainly used in an area where there is plenty of foot traffic and potential media coverage. An example of this is the Las Vegas Sphere creating buzz around their fully immersive showing of The Wizard of Oz . In June of 2025 those visiting the sphere could see 50-foot legs complete with stripped socks and the iconic ruby slippers on display with the venue's exosphere showing the scene where Dorothy's house lands on the Wicked Witch of the East. This helped to create excitement around the upcoming event and show people that the spheres showing of The Wizard of Oz will be unlike any other. 

    Opposite of outdoor guerrilla marketing is indoor guerrilla marketing where brands use frequently visited indoor spaces as a setting for their campaign. One example of this is Frontline Flea and tick "Get them off your dog " campaign. In a mall in Jakarta, Indonesia Frontline used a big open floor space in the mall where the placed a giant image of a golden retriever itching. Shoppers on the upper levels of the mall would look down and see fleas moving around on the dog and the longer they looked at the image they would realize that it was not fleas at all but shoppers on the floor level of the mall. This campaign used shock value and interactivity to help leave a lasting impact on consumers and to create media buzz around the campaign. 

    

Another strategy that brands can use is event ambush guerrilla marketing. This is the promotion of a product or service at an event that already has media buzz surrounding it. This tactic is usually done without permission and comes as a surprise to attendees. An example of this would be how Fiji water Photobombed just about every celebrity on the 2019 Golden Globes red carpet. Armed with a dark blue dress and a tray of Fiji water Canadian model Kelleth Cuthbert won an honorary award from E! News for "Best Supporting Actress on A Red Carpet." Cuthbert strategically placed herself and the Fiji water bottles in the background of the celebrities photos, she even posed and smiled for the camera a few times. The stunt went viral on social media and Cuthbert became known as the "Fiji Water Girl."

The final strategy to be discussed in this paper is experiential guerrilla marketing. This strategy can take place anywhere and is designed to get the public involved with the campaign. Coca-Cola used this tactic when they placed non-traditional vending machines called the "Happiness Machine."  In 2010, Coca-Cola placed one of the "Happiness Machines" on the campus of St. Johns University. Not only did the machine dispense cokes but it also dispensed things such as flowers, pizza, gifts, and even a 12-foot sandwich. Since Coca-Cola's campaign generally are associated with happiness, relationships, and comfort the "Happiness Machines" helped to build on the brands association. This campaign also helped to reach young adult audience members and create social media buzz and was later made into a commercial. The campaign has since been recognized as one of the greatest example of guerrilla marketing.

    On of the most controversial of the guerrilla marketing strategies is stealth marketing. Stealth marketing is when a brand advertises an item without the consumer realizing that they are actually being marketed to. American Guerrilla Marketing states, "Stealth marketing unearths ingenious ways to make your brand noticeable without appearing too obvious." One of the main ways that brands use stealth marketing is through product placement in TV shows, movies, ads and more. This could be as simple as E.T. eating Reese's pieces. What consumers may not have realized is that Reese's Pieces were only released a couple of years before the movie E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial was released. The film helped to significantly boost sales of the candy as well as cultural recognition. Recently brands have shifted to using influencers in their stealth marketing tactics. Brands may send free products to influencers with the hopes, or sometimes the requirement, that the products will be posted on the influencer's social media platforms. 

    However, the Advertising Standards Authority has seen some ethical issues concerning stealth marketing. This especially seen in stealth marketing concerning influencers. In Britian several influencers have been accused by the ASA for not disclosing ads. It is very important for brands to understand the ethical lines they could be crossing with stealth marketing and to avoid crossing those lines. 

    

    In conclusion, there is several different strategies that brands can use to catch consumers attention. While some brands stick with traditional campaigns that stays true to the brands identity sometimes brands will use tactics such as guerilla marketing to catch consumers attention in a brand-new way. However, with every campaign that a brand does there are certain ethical and legal barriers that they must be aware of to ensure that the campaign is helpful and not the companies downfall.