Feature: Guerrilla marketing: Breaking the rules

Guerrilla marketing has been part of the marketer’s lexicon for nearly a quarter of a century, since it was coined by Jay Conrad Levinson in the title of his 1984 book. What was for a long time an unconventional maverick “weapon” has become increasingly just another part of the marketing mix, says Lucy Pearce, experiential director at Wax Live. “It started out as being quite edgy and used by leftfield brands, but it has now become much more mainstream. It was seen as a bit of an add-on, but you have to look it as part of the whole marketing mix now.”

Neil Survilla, director of experiential agency Kreate, notes that guerrilla techniques have been transformed “from the back-of-the-van style of yesteryear”. “Guerrilla initiatives are increasingly built into brand planning, with brand owners expecting to see tangible results,” he adds. “Forthcoming events such as the 2012 Olympics will see a proliferation of site opportunities that appear on the surface to be guerrilla but are, in fact, fully costed authorised forums.”

Guerrilla marketing has come into its own in the sporting arena where big-spending brands control all the marketing messages associated with events. “Many marketers have increasingly viewed direct promotional links with major sporting events as too expensive and not worth the hassle,” points out Graham Howarth, director of P&MM Sales Promotion. “With this in mind, guerrilla marketing techniques often offer the opportunity for brands to effectively make the most of the hype that surrounds large-scale events while avoiding any legal issues with the brand owners.”

However, promoters need to be creative to avoid these legal issues, with ever-growing protection of sponsors’ rights, most notably enshrined in legislation relating to the 2012 Olympics. Ben Reed, head of experiential at brand activation agency Woo Communications, says: “Brands wishing to avoid traditional sponsorship and partnership routes but want to piggy-back on the huge appeal of a major sporting or music event will need to be ever-more innovative in their planning to break down stringent barriers from media agencies, sponsors and local authorities,” he says.

However, while guerrilla marketing can be cheap to activate in the short-term, Reed warns that there are risks that can make it an unexpectedly expensive option. “Experiential project managers need to ask themselves whether avoiding site fees is outweighed by ever-increasing fines for parking, littering and generating a nuisance.”

Outdoor media companies have identified solutions to this challenge. For instance, London Pedicabs offers advertising space and sampling through its mobile bicycle-drawn vehicles, while Look Media has developed new mobile billboards, called Look Walkers, that are light enough to be carried by promotional staff. With one illuminated LED poster on the back and one on the front, they are suitable for use outside events.

Hugh Treacey, managing director of Euro RSCG KLP, agrees that the decision to breach, bend or ignore the rules has become tougher than ever, with the consequences of breaking them ever-more severe. “For some non-partner brands, they may face swift removal of all infringing communications. This is arguably a small price to pay for a relatively low-budget guerrilla campaign that has done its job by the time removal is enforced, but for others the consequences are far greater, not least the doomsday scenario of removing product from shelves – and potential future de-listing – a risk many brands are just not prepared to take.”

Guy Hepplewhite points to even greater risks at this summer’s Olympics. “There’s no doubt that, among all the major sporting events, the Olympics imposes the tightest of restrictions,” he says. “Holding it in China doesn’t exactly create a bastion of opportunity for non-partner brands either. I find it difficult to see how any non-partner brand will be able to implement a successful, unofficial guerrilla campaign in the likes of Shanghai, Fengtai and Laoshan without the risk of their marketing directors spending rather longer than they might have expected as ‘guests’ of the welcoming Chinese government.”

But Hepplewhite notes that sponsors need to be aware of how they crack down on guerrilla marketing as it could backfire in spite of their multimillion-pound investment. “Where such protection becomes of real concern is when it starts to impact on personal choice and behaviour,” he explains. “To have one’s Evian water confiscated by security guards at World Cup 06 simply because Volvic were an official sponsor didn’t simply appear petty – it felt more like an intrustion on personal right and choice.”

Budweiser and FIFA incurred the wrath of fans at the 2006 World Cup when over 1,000 Dutch fans were forced to remove their orange lederhosen when they arrived at the stadium because their trousers carried the logo of Dutch brewer Bavaria. As Lee Farrant, partner at RPM points out: “This can actually have a negative influence on the ‘official sponsors’ involved.”

Farrant also recalls an example of a piece of guerrilla marketing that reflected badly on the brand involved. Shaving foam samples were given to fans leaving a rugby international at Twickenham on their way to the station. “This was clearly an ill-conceived idea for an English rugby crowd in ‘high spirits’, as the stadium staff and train station officials who were covered in foam would, I am sure, testify,” he says.

He adds that RPM’s activity at the same rugby international was more successful, handing out McCoy’s crisps to the queues heading from the pub to the stadium, while giving small tubs of sunscreen to people on their way to cricket matches would be a welcome gift. “There are always opportunities for ‘non-official’ brands to muscle in as long as what they’re offering is relevant to the ‘need state’ of the audience and positively adds to their experience of the event,” Farrant explains.

Cameron Day, business development director at Iris Experience, believes that sponsors themselves are partly to blame for leaving the way open for creative guerrilla marketing. “Due to the fact that the majority of brands who sponsor sports, music, film and arts properties still do not leverage those sponsorships effectively, there are still numerous opportunities for non-sponsor brands to steal their thunder and leverage property others have spent millions associating their brands with,” he says.

However, he believes that ambushing tactics at sporting events are “well past their sell-by date”. He explains: “Apart from very few examples, the activity gets lost in a cluttered and congested promotional space as brands try desperately to use the spike in interest and clumsily link to their brand and product.”

He recommends that, instead, a successful ambush should be “based on rationalised insight from a brand, adding value to the overall consumer experience of the event and not merely bombarding consumers with promotional offers”.

Pearce at Wax Live believes there is still a place for guerrilla marketing so long as it is integrated into the planning of a campaign. “It can still work as a teaser campaign, but it doesn’t work as a discipline if you want to create brand awareness or brand equity,” she says.

Guerrilla marketing will also continue to have a future because it can be an interesting creative challenge for marketers. As Reed at Woo points out, “breaking the rules can be fun”.

Tropicana (pictured)

Agency TouchDDB chose to support the launch of Tropican’s new drink, Spirit, by infiltrating a competitor’s event – the Redbull Flugtag for amateur flyers.

A craft was disguised as a fruit stall, with promotional staff posing as fruit sellers. When they transformed the stall and launched it into the Serpentine, it revealed a branded message: “Sorry, no wings, just a splash.”

“Although the space has become more and more difficult to ambush with partner sponsors insisting on protection from unscrupulous competition, there are still ways to make a noise,” comments Jean-Pierre Lincoln, promotional communications director at TouchDDB.

Lastminute.com

Supporters of Fulham football club – sponsored by LG – were targeted with a promotional campaign for Lastminute.com as they travelled to the stadium to watch a match.

Experiential agency Goal sent out a guerrilla marketing team of young women to take photographs of fans which were then published in the local newspaper. The fan whose face was circled in the picture won a Lastminute.com weekend trip for two.

Harriet Barnett, director of Goal, said: “The reason that it was so effective was that we were targeting the fans when they were away from the stadium. It is easier than trying to get inside the stadium or grounds because there is so much security there now.”