Guerrilla Tip: Guerrilla Marketing During Economic Downturns

Let's switch gears today and talk a little bit about how guerrilla marketing can actually help your company during slow economic periods. With gas prices breaking record-highs each day, it's no wonder that consumer confidence plummeted to a 16-year-low last month. It is the mark of a smart and strong company to be able to adapt to the needs of its customers. In times of economic decline similar to what we are currently experiencing, marketing the benefits of your product and brand are more important than ever. Production and transportation costs are rising, which means budgets are being cut. This is where cost-effective guerrilla marketing fits in the grand scheme of things. As we have discussed previously, guerrilla marketing can help you obtain the most ROI from a small budget. By being creative, you can match your brand with consumers in a clever, fresh, and inexpensive manner.

Generally, there are two types of guerrilla or non-traditional marketing campaigns: number one, an unconventional use of a promotional product to promote an event, brand, or cause; and number two, an unconvential use of space being used. One example of the latter is demonsated by Ikea's recent promotions in both Brooklyn and on the Kobe Monorail. Both types of guerrilla marketing can be extremely effective when planned effectively.

The most successful guerrilla campaigns are those that not only call attention to themselves but also call attention to the importance of the brand or cause. Due to the visual clutter and thousands of advertising messages we are exposed to each and every day, it is extremely difficult to get noticed. Guerrilla marketing is not only a great way to combat this recognition problem, but also a means by which to stretch a strained marketing budget by generating free or low-cost publicity.

Get people excited about your brand, event, or cause by handing out giveaways. Think about how you can use word-of-mouth to your advantage. For example, on a college campus, spread the word about an awesome club by using a product (say, a promotional highlighter) and try to start a "pass along" game where people are told to share the news and the product with others. Use incentives to motivate people, such as raffles, drawings, contests, sweepstakes - whatever fits your situation. The only rule here is that there are none!

Additional Resource: Doing More With Less.