So you want to make your mark and launch that killer Guerrilla Marketing campaign that is going to get you noticed, get people talking and make your product and/or service the next biggest thing since sliced bread, right? These days, with the media blitz and the inundation people experience on a daily basis, guerrilla marketing is a great choice. Often affordable, usually always one of a kind and never done before and generally high profile, there are lots of advantages to this type of campaign. While these freedoms and flexibilities are attractive, it is important to remember that this unorthodox approach to marketing can have some serious consequences.
Take for example a campaign that recently hit headlines. A campaign for Turner Broadcasting’s “Aqua Team Hunger Force” on it’s Adult Swim program mistakenly landed people in jail and on the hot seat when it was mistaken for a terrorist plot. The agency in charge of the campaign placed the Adult Swim character that looked like a bomb on light poles, signs, tunnels and street signs all over the greater Boston area. The only problem, nobody ever alerted the city authorities that they were going to do such a thing.
The net result? A huge fine paid by the marketing agency and ALSO by Turner Broadcasting. Not exactly what one would call “looking out for your client’s best interests”.
The take home story here is that Guerrilla Marketing can be fun and it can be outrageous. Much like any traditonal campaign though, it must be planned out and well executed to avoid disaster.
