Have you ever heard of guerrilla marketing? It comes from the term “guerrilla warfare” in which one side will use the element of surprise in order to defeat the other. Similarly, guerrilla marketing depends on highly unconventional and creative tactics to “surprise” or delight consumers.
1. Making Use of Shadows
During the day, this U.K. billboard advertising the BBC series Dracula merely appeared to have blood dripping down its front. But as the sun went down, the billboard used light and erected pegs to display a shadow of a vampire with fangs ready to bite. Unforgettable!
2. Astrological Signs … and Playlists?!
If you’re into astrology, you might read your horoscope on the regular. But how many times have you been able to listen to a playlist just for your unique astrological sign? Probably never. This is exactly what Spotify decided to do in January of 2019 when they teamed up with an astrologer to create playlists for each sign’s year ahead. I’m not saying whether I believe in this stuff … but either way, I’d probably check out the Scorpio playing, you know, just to see if I liked it 😉
3. The Bull of Wall Street Gets a Wardrobe Change
If you’ve ever visited NYC and happened to stroll around the Financial District, you most likely spotted the Charging Bull, also known as The Bull of Wall Street. But chances are if you did see him, he wasn’t – errr – wearing underpants. Unless, that is, you visited NYC during Fashion Week in 2010 when the GoldToe brand celebrated the release of a new underwear line by putting a pair on The Bull of Wall Street himself. And I must say, they look quite comfortable, don’t they?
4. Footprints … Very Big Footprints
When King Kong came out in 3D, someone had the genius idea of putting massive footprints alongside a smashed SUV at Santa Monica Beach in Los Angeles. You can imagine that people and their social media accounts took care of the rest. And who can blame them!
5. When People Become Fleas
This example just goes to show you that no matter what your company is, there’s a creative idea for you. The makers of Frontline flea & tick spray for dogs used the entire lobby floor of a shopping mall as the canvas for their advertisement. The ad, depicting a giant golden retriever trying to reach an itch with its hind paw, could be enjoyed from all the floors above. “Get them off your dog,” it read, as people in the busy shopping center walked all over it, not realizing they were appearing to be tiny fleas or ticks from high above.
In Closing
While obviously, the examples above require a certain amount of resources, when it comes to creative marketing ideas within your reach, the only limit is your imagination! If you can think outside the box, you never know what might come to mind.
