Guerrilla Marketing Guide
from Web Ubanist.com 7/08 enhanced by Peter/CXO Wiz4biz 11/13
Over the past month, WebUrbanist has explored the ins & outs of the weird world of Guerrella Marketing. What was once a fringe movement in the world of advertising, has become much more popular & mainstream since the 1980s, when marketing expert Jay Conrad Levinson introduced the concept to the world at large.
What is Guerrilla Marketing? If you’re still scratching your head about what this guerrilla stuff is all about, step onto our Tour Bus as we take a quick tour. Keep hands “inside” at all times, but you’re your mind open to “outside” possibilities. We’ll review the highlights at each of our stops. Feel free to hop off and visit any of the sections that interest you, then hop back on to navigate the rest.
1. History of Guerrilla Marketing. In part one of this Gmarketing series, we took a look at how advertising went from boring, educational, & sometimes downright “false” ads to the entertaining spectacle we know & love today (well some of us). Jay Conrad Levinson, author of many books on the subject, is credited as the “Father” of Guerrilla Marketing. His ideas paved the way for small businesses to compete in the marketing arena with the big boys – ushering in an era of innovative & sometimes extreme marketing ideas. But the Author’s ideas aren’t just about getting the customer’s attention: companies have to be ready and willing to back up their advertising with excellent products & services.
2. Origins & Evolution of Guerrilla Marketing. Have you ever wondered how Guerrilla Marketing got so popular? This Author’s book was only part of the equation. The main reason guerrilla marketing took off was its incredible effectiveness at breaking through our advertising blinders. The first instances of guerrilla marketing were radical for their time, but the techniques continued to develop. Girls convincing men to buy them drinks was suddenly more about marketing than about flirting. Even rappers got into the game when Run DMC released a song called My Adidas, sending sales of Adidas through the proverbial roof.
3. Major Companies go for Guerrilla Marketing. Although J.C. Levinson’s ideas were geared toward the small business – evening the playing field against bigger rivals – major corporations soon began using guerrilla tactics to sell their products. Their efforts weren’t always rewarded – especially when existing customers feel like the big businesses are over-stepping their bounds or being deceitful.
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