What is Guerrilla Marketing?

Guerrilla Marketing is an unconventional approach to drive publicity. The term “guerrilla” is borrowed from guerrilla warfare, emphasising elements of surprise to catch people’s attention in a memorable way.

Let’s explore some examples showcasing the application of the guerrilla strategy.

Barbie

Barbie went all out for the promotion of the Barbie film that came out earlier this year. The Barbie campaign has nailed every aspect of the guerrilla marketing strategy.

From a rentable Malibu DreamHouse to Barbie themed bus stops, they certainly generated a lot of buzz and captured people’s attention!

Maybelline

You might remember the viral video of a Maybelline ad where trains and buses were casually getting their eyelashes brushed by massive mascara bottles in London.

But… the whole thing was fake. The videos were CGI. Imagine TfL putting fake lashes on their trains?

Nonetheless, this campaign demonstrated how a creative out-of-home campaign can generate a huge impact.

Volkswagen

After noticing the favourability of using the escalator instead of the stairs in a Swedish metro station, a creative agency NORD DDB and a car manufacturer Volkswagen, they came up with a fun idea to encourage commuters to use the stairs.

This marketing campaign from 2009, focused on the idea of having fun and changing behaviours for the better.  The stairs were transformed into piano keys, with each step sounding a different note when stepping on it.

Jaguar

Jaguar’s “Outdoor Parking” campaign took over the streets of Copenhagen. The brand demonstrated powerful features of their vehicles – expert handling and city maneuverability.

Even though the practicality of the parking spots are somehow questionable, this is the exact idea of a successful guerrilla campaign.

PETA

A controversial stunt campaign “Could You Stomach This” by PETA, raised questions about dairy consumption. It pranked members of the public demonstrating how odd it is to drink cow’s milk.

The campaign generated waves of attention, media coverage and social interaction at no extra cost.

If you are looking for more examples of successful advertising campaigns, check out my previous post TOP 5 MARKETING CAMPAIGNS OF 2023.