Guerilla Marketing

2007-04-26T19:41:00.000-07:00

In 2006, Time magazine declared YOU as the person of the year. The magazine felt it represented a change in society that we have never really seen before. The popularity of YouTube, MySpace, and many other personalized websites gives a good example of what Time magazine is getting at.

The main tool that makes this possible is the World Wide Web. This tool has changed quite a bit since it was created over 15 years ago; it is much different then it was when scientists just used it to share research. The development of the web allows people all over the world to interact with each other. Whether its Second Life avatars flirting or bloggers arguing, the web has enabled the common man to voice himself.

The generation YOU has filtered into society more than just through online interaction. Many brands have picked up on this societal change and have modified themselves accordingly. For example, Simple Coffee, a new organic coffee bean distributor, offers over 10 different types of personalized beans. The types have names like “Connoisseur” and “Mom” with characteristics that represent each personality.

Even Kleenex tissue has thought of new ways to be part of the YOU generation. Their website features a way to create a personalized tissue box by submitting your own photo to be printed on the cardboard box. Not only have new products been introduced due to the society change but the ways in which the products are sold have also changed. For years and years we have been bombarded with advertising for products that don’t pertain to them at all. As technology advances and brands find their niche, advertising becomes more personalized-like guerilla marketing.

Guerilla marketing is new and there is a reason for that. The YOU generation has shown agencies that traditional media affects the younger audience less. The introduction of devices like TiVo has forced brands to find ways to interact with its audience instead of just preaching to them.

Throughout my blogging this semester I have noticed that most of the guerilla marketing campaigns has been to promote products whose target audiences are primarily under the age of 40. One of the most famous guerilla marketing campaign this year was the infamous Aqua Teen Hunger Force fiasco. I would say the show targets male and female ages 15-45, with a primary audience in the middle.

Look at the other brands- Pepsi, Ketchup, Mission Impossible, Burt’s Bees, Dr. Pepper, and Office Max. All of these have both male and females under 40 years old in their target audience, many in their primary target audience. So it seems obvious that this generation is being hit with guerilla marketing the most. We are the most resistant to traditional advertising, duh, it has been said before. So what is to come? How will marketing be different in 20 years?

I believe that more and more niches will be created, instead of 500 cable channels families will insist on the 2,000 channel package. The You generation will produce a new generation who wants even more personalized attention. Finely targeted face lotions and their own personalized Coke-Cola website. Even the product’s packaging might differ depending on where and to who it is sold. The ketchup design contest is a great example of personalized markets. The packets, which were printed with the student’s designs, were placed in elementary school cafeterias and not just at the local McDonald's.

In terms of guerilla marketing, I think it will soon be as popular as TV and radio. More and more brands will need a different type of media to express its image as their audience’s attention will continue to get harder to capture. The guerilla marketing tactics will have to get more extreme with every campaign. So what happens if these campaigns and market tactics get out of control?

Like the Marlboro Man, will laws soon be passed in order to keep America safe? When Turner Broadcasting created a citywide panic in Boston, people were stuck in traffic for hours and valuable police officers were forced to attend to fake bombs. One major reason the story got so out of hand was because people were angered. It seemed ridiculous that thousands were negatively affected by some cable TV shows promotions.

The posts that discuss this event as well as the Mission Impossible and undercover marketing posts makes me wonder how things will be dealt with in the future. Will the U.S. government just allow companies to disrupt cities and lie to Americans? I doubt it. It is only a matter of time before we will see the law and the brand converge.

And Another One!

2007-04-16T13:01:00.000-07:00

Well, once again the art of guerilla marketing has disrupted a major U.S. city. This new report comes from an incident that happened last April in West Los Angeles at The Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

Last spring Paramount Pictures, "placed digital devices in 4,500 news racks around the city" that played the Mission: Impossible III theme music whenever the door was opened. Some city dwellers, as well as a patient in the medical center, mistook the device for a bomb. The medical center was even evacuated for 90 minutes so the Los Angeles County Sheriff arson squad could blow up the device and news stand.

In result of the confusion, Paramount Pictures has given $75,000 to the Veterans Affairs Medical Center to compensate the hospital for having to do an emergency evacuation. "The matter was settled out of court after the U.S. attorney's office sent a letter to Paramount and the Times in January, saying it intended to sue but would be willing to discuss a settlement."

Paramount Pictures and all other companies that plan to use guerilla marketing need to respect people's lives, and I really mean that. I don't understand how Paramount got the devices placed in the building without being questioned or told otherwise. A hospital is a place that most feel safe in and a bomb threat from some bad sequel is the last thing patients and doctors need to worry about. Damn, Have some RESPECT!

Next Level of Guerilla Marketing!

2007-04-12T09:35:00.000-07:00

Imagine yourself sitting in the park watching a family, who seem to be tourist, taking picture after picture. As they get closer the women asks you take a picture of all of them. They seem like a great family and it would be your pleasure to help them out. The slick camera slides into your hand and you examine it, looking for the right button. If you seem interested at all the "tourist" will help to to tell you about the camera and where it can be found by staying in character the whole time. Would this make you feel deceived?

A 60 Minute report says that they received different kind of responses. One participant said "I think that the moment when we discover we've been duped causes a backlash" while others thought it was a great way to learn about new products.

Sony Ericsson is just one company that has begun to use this kind of method to promote new products. Sony hires representatives that have good social skills and knowledge on the product at hand to casually entice its audience. The actors are usually situated in large cities where there is high traffic volume.

Other companies such as Essential Reality hired young adults to sit in a Starbucks and play around with a new product called the "P-5 Glove". The product, aimed at males, is a video game device used to fly planes and and fire weapons on their computers. Because the nature of the product and the target audience, the company felt it would be more effective to use undercover marketing rather than main stream media. As the reporter explained, the two young men let many Starbucks visitors try out the device as well as answered many of their questions about the product.

It seems like a smart way to get people looking at your product but there are two things to consider before using undercover marketing. One, does your product make sense to advertise this way? Electronics seem to work the best because they are interactive. If your trying to advertise the new Tide detergent, this type of marketing would not be as effective. Two, if someone was to find out about the scheme what would it do to the brand? A threat that seems possible is when consumers find out they then have less trust and respect in the brand.

Technically the representatives are not lying to its audience but morally it seems as if they are. The two young guys with the P-5 Glove sat in Starbucks not because they really wanted to but because they were paid to.

As of now, people trust word-of-mouth marketing because they see it as the truth and not funded by a companies bank account. Undercover marketing is an innovative way to break through the clutter but if more and more companies use this option, I believe that our society as whole could become less trustworthy with each other.

Although the concept is strong, these companies should not be allowed to do what they are doing. Companies are still able to let the generally public play around with new products but only when the endorser is clearly stated. We get lied to enough by advertisers, I think society should at least have the decency to know when this is happening.

Pepsi aren't the only smart ones....

2007-04-11T09:27:00.000-07:00

It seems that Heinz has already adapted the "design" contest idea. Heinz has awarded 12 kids the chance to have their design on ketchup packages this fall. Each kid will be able to have their design on 16 million packs, which are distributed to restaurants and cafeterias nationwide. In addition to the fame, the contest winner were given art supplies and ketchup for their school. In order to properly reach their entire target market they made the contest open to 1st-12th graders.

Just like the Pepsi can, this contest really gives the consumers a chance to interact with the brand. It also works because they are getting children aware of their brand at an early age and as the article says "teachers got classroom materials that let them talk about the contest in class".

Surprisingly enough, 1 of the winners was a fifth grader from Cayuga Heights Elementary School whose name is Ina Joo. An Ithaca girl!

Pepsi Drinkers get to Design a Can!

2007-04-09T10:28:00.000-07:00

Pepsi and Coke are both in similar positions, sales of soda continue to decline. The health craze that America is overwhelmed with has effected all soda companies and the leaders in these industries, Pepsi and Coke, are beginning their struggle to stay atop.

Today Pepsi will start a new contest, which they hope will attract more young customers. The challenge is to create a Pepsi can and the winner will receive a cash prize and have their design on 500 million cans. This contest is one part of a large Pepsi campaign, which focuses on the customers desinging everything from a NASCAR vehicle to a national billboard.

This campaign reflects the You Generation, a time where the consumers have so much say in what companies control. The Internet has made it possible for all of us to input our personal opinion on issues that only could have been expressed to your family and friends 10 years ago. Now it is possible for a student in Australia or Japan to design a can that will be seen by millions of other people worldwide.

Like the Ithaca College graduate who got to have his Doritos's commercial shown during the Superbowl, it is a privilege to have 500 million cans showing your design.

This campaign also gets their consumers interacting with the brand. During the contest, a participent will probably visit the website often, be more aware of Pepsi products and plublicity, and ofcourse, with hope, drink Pepsi. Because there is so much advertising now a days companies understand that they need to get their customers interacting with the brand rather than just viewing the message.

All in all I see this as a great campaign for both Pepsi and the participents involved. Letting the audience take control is a great new field that advertising is exploring.

New Scent of Newspapers

2007-04-03T13:28:00.000-07:00

This is an update on USAToday's new approach to gain back lost customers by using scented paper. On Monday, April 2nd, a joint promotional effort was waiting outside guests door at the Omni luxury hotels. The USAToday newspaper has joined forces with Starbucks to create blackberry and/or lemongrass scented advertisement. The guests at the hotel will find their free copy of the newspaper with a scented sticker on the front page. The smell will suggest that the reader start there day with a fresh cup of Starbucks and a berry or another type of muffin.
USAToday will be the first to offer scented advertisements and I guess we will have to see how the results turn out. The promotion, which will be tested for about 6 months, seems somewhat easy to rate the success. Because the stickers will only be placed on the newspapers in the Omni hotels, Starbucks in those surrounding area will be able to see sales in coffee and muffins rise or stay the same.
Other newspapers like the Wall Street Journal has also been looking into scented advertisements. Other campaigns such as Got Milk? has even been using scent to stand out of the clutter. What's next? A scented computer?

The Marlboro Man

2007-04-02T09:43:00.000-07:00

We all know what Marlboro's are, but why? I believe that it is time to pay tribute to one of the earliest and most successful guerilla marketing campaigns in Americas advertising history.
Before the whole cancer scare and negative light that cigarette's now have today, Marlboro cigarettes had high status as a real American brand. This high status came from the introduction of "The Marlboro Man" in 1955 by Leo Burnett Co. Before the rough cowboy image was introduced, Marlboro brand was ranked 31st but once this great marketing tactic went national they reached the number 1 cigarette brand in America. Marlboro sales rose to $5 billion, a 3,241% increase from the previous year, 1954. The Marlboro Man stands worldwide as the ultimate American cowboy and masculine trademark, helping establish Marlboro as the best-selling cigarette in the world.
Before Burnett introduced Marlboro Man, the cigarettes were positioned to ladies. They had a very week image with little exposure. This new character that they slide into American culture broadened the target market by enticing both genders. In simple terms he was an American idol; guys wanted to be like him and girls wanted to be with him.
During this time, the American people were not educated on the effects of smoking. Society welcomed cigarettes into their homes. Smoking on planes were even legal and the concept of limiting cigarette advertising was unheard of. Marlboro struck at the right time. Even when the first article in Reader's Digest that linked lung cancer to smoking in 1957 was released, Marlboro ads kept bringing in the big bucks ($20 billion that year).
Research finally caught up to the Americans bad habit and in 1971 cigarette ads were banned from television. This didn't stop The Marlboro Man though. The handsome cowboy posed on horseback smoking a cigarette continued to increase sales and by 1972 Marlboro became the number 1 tobacco brand in the world.
Placing the legal aspect of cigarette advertising to the side, The Marlboro Man is and was one of the greatest advertising tactics ever used. Marlboro created a desirable lifestyle, which is a concept that many successful brands continue to use, such as Starbucks and Polo Ralph Lauren. Although society continues to strike harder against cigarettes, The Marlboro Man will always represent one of the great advertising icons.

Advertising my blog!

2007-03-30T08:57:00.000-07:00

The way I see it is that the more people I tell about my blog the better. Since I'm an advertising major I should know to target a specific audience but honestly I think everyone I tell can be my audience.
The main advertising I have done is to tell close friends and family about it. At any point in an email that I think it would pertain to the subject matter, I slip in my blog link. I have also placed a link for my blog in my AIM profile, which is viewed by many of my peers everyday. I have also signed my blog up with a blog reader website so that people can search by subject to find blog that they want to read.
Overall, I think the best way to get my blog read is by sharing it with friends and family and telling them to spread the word. I want people to read my blog so that I feel like I am actually writing for an audience and not just a grade. So read, read!

Burt's Bees Has Hives!

2007-03-27T18:30:00.000-07:00

The natural cosmetic company just recently began its guerilla marketing tour that will travel through 15 U.S. cities. The campaign is called the "Burt's Bees Bee-utify Your World Tour" and will focus on informing their audience on their various products. Their promotions company, Alloy Marketing in Boston, constructed a huge mobile hive, which will be traveling through these 15 cities. Burt's Bees new advertising campaign is focused around the tour as well as print and online advertising but no TV. Hmm?
For many companies, it would seem preposterous not to at least have a few commercials here and there-maybe some on MTV or something. In my eyes, this shows a switch in advertising that has been apparent in the past 5 years or so. Many new marketing campaigns do not view TV advertising as important as they once did. Guerilla marketing lets companies get to their audience in a more receptive way than any other media. They are able to really get face-to-face with their consumers and see their true reaction. So as more companies find this medium, I'm am excited to see what kind of changes occur in the advertising industry.

Simple Coffee in Second Life?

2007-03-21T19:16:00.000-07:00

This is a great idea! The company is already very much online based, most beans are bought online, so it makes a lot of sense to have a presence in Second Life. The target audience, which are young-middle aged professionals, are present on Second Life so it is very reasonable to target our audience. The space on Second Life is also fairly inexpensive so although it is a new and small company, they would be able to afford it.
I have also realized, just like in real life, people love to hold that cup of coffee as if it's a security blanket. In SL, you don't feel any effect of the caffeine, except maybe your avatar shaking briefly, but people still want coffee. Very strange. So yes, simple coffee in second life!

Now we have to figure out some details. One strong idea is to team up with an already present company or soon to be big-name company. For example, we talk to say google and open up a coffee shop within their space. Co-branding can be a powerful if used right. I also figured since its SL, you dont usually just find a lot of random places, most people teleport to known spots. So this will link people to Simple Coffee. Once the spot is found we should have an inovative coffee shop that has interactive kiosks. These kiosks would focus on different things like the types of simple coffee and there different personailties. There could be one that is all about educating coffee drinkers, which is very importent to Simple COffee. Another kiosk could be a visual discription of the process of how the coffee gets to the consumer. In the shop, we could have a way to really buy coffee that would be shipped to the customers house or at least a place to be directed to the website. This shop needs to be interactive in order for the avatar to be interested and remember the brand.
All in all, I can see it being very effective, hopefully by being present on Second Life Simple Coffee with get a chance to at least inform their audience of their company and the coffee industry. These are just a few ideas but their are many more to come!

2007-03-04T13:24:00.000-08:00

Surprise! Surprise! Advertisers have found a new place to invade the minds of their audience: the air! In the past few years, brands have expanded their logo to places that you would never think would get attention and they aren't stopping now.
Mercedes-Benz and the History Channel are some of the brands that are interested in placing advertisements on airplanes. This companies hope to make deals with airlines to have their logo on try tables, cocktail napkins, and even motion-sickness bags. Its a great way to break through the clutter and easily get the attention of their audience. This also allows the airlines to lower the plane fares because of the added income from companies like Mercedes. The target audience for a flight can also be determined easily if the airplane company gives out their passenger information. So what are the downfalls?
Well, like every other advertising, its not always enjoyed by the audience. Personally, I wouldn't want to have a History Channel advertisement glaring in my face for my whole plan ride. In plans, you don't get much space, even in first class, to block something like that out. Its an invasion of privacy I believe. Instead of just trusting my instincts I decided to do a little research. I asked people what they thought, gave them the cons and pros and let them judge. Surprisingly enough they were for the idea because they know it would clearly lower the ticket price. So in the end, I say go for it, bombard planes with ads all you want!

Bansky, a true artist

2007-03-04T10:25:00.000-08:00

Today's post is recognizing a very famous and inovated guerilla marketer by the name of Banksy. Banksy is the alias name of a well-known yet anonymous English graffiti artist from Yate, which is near Bristol. Bansky has had a very interesting career, showing his artwork in London and many other worldwide cities. The work he does encompass topics from politics, culture, and ethics. He does less brand promotion but is still respected as a guerilla artist.
Bansky uses stencils to create his message, which feature striking and humorous images occasionally combined with slogans. One of Bansky's famous work took place in Los Angelas in 2006. He held an exhibition called Barely Legal, which was three day, 3-D warehouse show. The exhibition featured a live elephant, which was painted in a pink and gold floral wallpaper pattern.
Bansky's work is ment to be enjoyed and, I believe, "push peoples buttons". He uses his images and work to express his thoughts. One controveriouly stunt he pulled was during the release of Paris Hilstons debut CD. In September 2006, Banksy replaced up to 500 copies of paris Hilton's Paris CD in 48 English music stores with his own cover art and remixes by DJ Danger Mouse. The tracks on the CD we're renamed "Why am I Famous?", "What Have I Done?" and "What Am I For?". The album cover shows Paris Hilton topless. Another inside picture featured her stepping out of a luxury car, with a groupd of homeless people, and the caption stated Woody Allen's famous line "90% of success is just showing up". Before stores were able to remove them, several copies of the CD were purchased by the public. Some of these CD's were then sold for as much as £750 on online auction websites.
This is just one example of what Banksy has produced in his lifetime. He is an artist worth paying attention to and I am excited to see what else he has to show. He has a blog and "shop" that you can look through to get a better idea of what he is all about.

And another one...

2007-02-26T09:43:00.000-08:00

Boston is hit again, after the bomb scare last month, by another guerilla marketing campaign. A Dr. Pepper treasure hunt, which went on in 22 other cities and ended in a cemetery in Boston, MA.
This cemetery is not your average pile of bones and stone but rather holds famous historical figures such as Samuel Adams, John Hancock, Paul Revere, and even Benjamin Franklin's family. Once the final clue was known by the contestants, the Boston Police did was they could to block off the cemetery. Boston Parks Commissioner Toni Pollak said "It absolutely is disrespectful...it's an affront to the people who are buried there, our nation's ancestors." Looking at Boston's reaction to Aqua Teen Hunger Force's campaign, it is a surprise Cadbury Schweppes PLC, which makes Dr. Pepper, thought they were going to easily get away with this. Cadbury Schweppes spokesman Greg Artkop told the Globe. "We agree with the Park Department's decision to lock the gates. We wouldn't do anything to desecrate this cemetery."
Well in all honesty, what did Cadbury think was going to happen? These contestants were going to slowly and carefully walk through the cemetery to the $1 million prize that lays in front of them. In reaction, I think it is illogical that Cadbury Schweppes would make Boston go through another guerilla marketing stunt so soon, I mean haven't they turned on a TV in the last month to see what Turner has been going through?!

Follow-up with Interference CEO

2007-02-22T12:04:00.000-08:00

It has been over 3 weeks since Turner Broadcasting and Interface marketing agency caused a bomb scare in the city of Boston and the media still finds different ways to talk about it. On February 19th, Sam Ewen, CEO and founder of guerrilla marketing agency Interference, spoke with BrandWeek about the campaign situation for the first time.

A few questions in, it was clear that although Ewen was finally speaking to the media he wasn't saying much. In his words, "I can't really speak on their desires for it", "...I can't speak [with authority] on that", "that's as much as I can tell you, anyway", "...we just can't get into it now". Being one of the main planners for the Aqua Teen stunt, you know he knows it all so why does he have to keep so much unsaid? Well, I'm sure it is a combination of legal and personal disclosure so I'll let it go, so what did he say of substance?

Brandweek shows no hessitation and directly asked Ewen whether the devices were supposed to look like bombs and if it was their intention. Ewen, answering in what seemed to be an uneven tone, with saying it wasn't intentional and he "couldn't comment on whether they looked like bombs or not. It's not my training or specialty". Honestly, it is not many peoples specialty, bomb citing, but I think many of us would know if they saw a bomb or not (assuming it wasn't hiding in a computer or a person).
When asked about the "street team", Ewen disagreed with the way they responded to the media's questions by saying "there was absolutely no direction to behave in a certain way or to give a press conference". Being a young guerilla marketer you would think he would comment on the humor that the 2 men brought to the situation but again, legality over rules at points.
One questionable answer from Ewen was when asked if they had thought about possibly seeing the campaign as threat, he replied by saying they weren't designed to but rather "they were designed for what they were, which was a showcase, the characters … That's as much as I can tell you, anyway".
Ewen is obviously a respected marketing, specially in guerilla marketing so when Brandweek asked him about the guerilla marketing industry he had quite a detailed answer. As most would agree he says that the industry is growing and it being used for more than then the launch of a new product or brand. He follows up by explaining because this growth it forces hi s company as well as many others to push the creative level "to a point where people sometimes want to be creative for creativity's sake" Just like the higher level of creativity in commercials, guerilla marketing is being pushed because it is now more common then ever.
One last question that interested me was the discussion on which brands have creditability to do guerilla marketing and which ones do not. Ewen answered with a vague response but pointed out that essentially if you do it right, any brand can benefit from guerilla marketing.

All and all, Ewen is an intelligent marketer but was forced to hold back interesting information on about the Turner situation. I hope that in the months to come he will be re-interviewed and not answer with "...I can't speak [with authority] on that" because we know he has authority.

Scented newspaper, all the new rage?

2007-02-18T21:14:00.000-08:00

The newspaper has been informing people for three hundred of years but it might not stay like that for much longer. While the viewership for the internet and television have increased, the circulation in the newspaper industry continues to fall. Like any other media industry, the loss in circulation leads to the loss in interested advertisers. So what should the Boston Globe and USA Today do about this situation? Some say that its a dead industry and has no hope but others have a different opinion...
The Metro New York newspaper has decided to entice advertisers by adding the option of smell-able paper; scratch n' sniff-ish. One advertiser, Glaceau's Vitamin Water, will run "dragonfruit" scented ads with its Power-C flavor. USA Today and the Wall Street Journal are also testing the aromatic ads. The article reports that Metro New York has hired Arcade Marketing, "the same firm San Francisco officials blame for stinking up the city with cookie-scented ads on bus shelters for the "Got Milk?" campaign." So is this really guerilla marketing?
As a sales representative for The Ithacan, I can understand the battle to get clients for the newspaper. The newspapers know they need to take an action so this was a step in that direction. I would say it's not technically a guerilla marketing campaign but it could easily lead to something more like guerilla marketing. Not many advertisers uses scent as a tactic and this could open a door to something larger.
I like the idea but I wonder if it will even effect the industry. With a newspaper like the Metro New York, which is a freely distributed paper read by communuters, it might not get as much attention as thought but I'm not really a newspaper reader so what do I know. I hope it's a success.

Cartoon Network head quites!

2007-02-12T09:40:00.000-08:00

Jim Samples, the head of Cartoon Network, resigns after bomb scare in Boston. Well, this is strange. A very successful business man quiting because his campaign took a different path then expected. There must be an internal reason for his resignation but either way it proves that Cartoon Network truly did not plan the bomb scare. Although this is now a situation focusing on Cartoon Network internal affairs it still stems from a guerilla marketing campaign. Samples resignation is a danger sign for brands that plan to involve themselves in future guerilla marketing campaigns. It might be a stretch but Boston Police and residents effected by the scare might be happy that Cartoon Network is losing more than $2 million.

100% Guerilla

2007-02-09T07:20:00.000-08:00

OfficeMax will unleash a guerilla marketing campaign to introduce their new logo in the windy city of Chicago, IL. They claim that the campaign will not cause a terrorist scare like the Turner Broadcasting network did last week in Boston but it is unclear whether the campaign will violate any ordinances. Matt Johnson, an associate media director working on the campaign, says they did not seek Chicago's approval and they are willing to take their chances.

The new OfficeMax logo, a color-filled rubber band ball, will be projected onto the sidewalks and building's of Chicago's center city. This campaign is said to be the first which uses both GPS (Global Positioning System) and a mobile projection system to show the ball bouncing down Michigan Avenue. This projection system will be in a van that is driving down the street and the faster the van drives the higher the image bounces. Great campaign.

In my opinion, this campaign is very strong in many ways. It is focusing on just it's image in a way that hasn't been shown before. After the TBS situation, guerilla marketing is highlighted in media so OfficeMax can take some of the limelight. Besides the vans exhaust it is an environmentally sound campaign. The image and movement of the image will attract not just OfficeMax customers like a normal magazine or commercial would, but also young children, business workers, and any one else in the area. Selecting only one city also shows selectivity, Chicago should "feel special" for being picked. I am excited to see the buzz from this campaign and see what comes from it.

Bomb scare: intentional or not?

2007-02-08T09:34:00.000-08:00

We all know what happen about a week ago in Boston and if you don't you should. Turner Broadcasting System, a media company that represents many significant media outlets such as CNN, TNT, and Cartoon Network, decided to do a new type of guerilla marketing. They hired two people in each city to place what seemed to be "lite-brights" in over 10 cities in the United States.
Boston seemed to react a little differently then TBS had predicted....or did TBS want this reaction? What started out as a small-budget guerilla street promotion, quickly transformed into a national debate-thanks to the internet, newspapers, websites, and cable. Advertising has fully leaked itself in so many parts of the American peoples life that the next step seems to be politics and "the news". Although TBS and Interface Inc. (the advertising agency) have apologized for their actions, I believe they knew of the consequences and thought this would be more beneficial then just a regular magazine and TV campaign. People working in advertising are not stupid. They understand how to manipulate the media. It was even reported that a man, who was clearly linked to Interface Inc., was video taping Boston Police bomb squad removing the device but did not tell them it was harmless.

In the end they only have to pay a measly $2 million for the incident, thats not even a 30-second spot during the super bowl, and they got so much more then super bowl hype. Whether they planned this or not they received so much more national media coverage then magazine and TV commercials could ever produce. So was it intentional or not?

"Google is my friend" "Google is my life"

2007-02-04T13:26:00.000-08:00

I just recently watched a video called "All Marketing are Liers" where speaker Seth Godin spoke his mind on the aspects of marketing. Besides being an author of six best sellers and a well respected business man, Mr. Godin is a funny, well spoken, intelligent marketer who speaks to Google about the focus points of marketing. Although Godin is the founder and CEO of a company that has been acquired by Yahoo!, one of Google's biggest competitors, he cannot praise Google's marketing tactics enough.

I believe that Godin really captured the essence of bringing the customers to you instead of you going after the customers. Google is one of the great examples of this idea. When someone goes to google.com marketers already have their interaction and attention unlike a television or radio advertisement. Godin brings up a powerful idea of "permission marketing". Godin describes it as "the privilege of marketing to people who want to be marketed to". If a customer is self-interested in a a product they are much more likely to purchase it then if they felt pushed to buy it by an outsider.

Another important point Godin makes is that you need to sell a story and not just a product. He gives an example of the $5 cans of cat food called "Fancy Feast". In some people eyes this is a waste of money where others think that it is necessary for their pet. These people enjoy the story of "Fancy Feast". The images in their TV ads and magazine ads of "special" cats getting "special" treatment.

I think Godin speaks about many strong ideas on marketing. He puts himself in both the shoes of the marketer as well as the customer, which gives him a credible balance.

What's this blog about anyway?

2007-02-04T13:02:00.000-08:00

Hello, my name is Abby Sewell. I am majoring in integrated marketing communications at Ithaca College. This blog is about a fairly new type of advertising called guerilla marketing. Guerilla marketing is a nontraditional way of getting through to your customers. Because the advertising world has become so cluttered brands have been trying to find new and different ways to break through the clutter. Have a good looking girl wear a billboard on her butt instead of a 30 second spot, why not? These ways of marketing are creative and have very few boundries. Who knows whats next? In this blog, I will point out what I think is some of the worst and best of guerilla marketing and some inbetween.