thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Apr 20, 2011 10:19:44 GMT -5
I’m obsessed with clever guerrilla marketing tactics. I always wonder about the economics of them. I drive past 2 high schools on my way to work. One is private and wealthy, the other is public and has a lot of social issues. They are right next to each other. I saw the Red Bull car driving up the street – it is a Mini, with a giant can of red bull on the roof – kinda like this one (if you haven’t seen it) commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Red_Bull_Mini_01_ies.jpgThere were some kids crossing the street to head into school and the mini did a u-turn, pulled up onto the sidewalk and a very cute girl jumped out in short-shorts and a tight tank, reached into the cooler and gave the guys each a red bull. How much does it cost to have 2 young, good looking people drive around on a Wednesday morning handing out drinks? How many cans of Red Bull do they have to sell to make that worth it? Red Bull is the master of this stuff – they also put on the weirdest events – like the flugtag and the soap box races, the chariot races. They now are big enough (rich enough) to do more recognizable things. What other guerrilla marketing have seen that is creative?
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Apr 20, 2011 10:22:18 GMT -5
Here is another great one. Be Flo for Halloween. Progressive made it cool to go to Halloween parties dressed as their mascot. Cost to them - very, very little. All they had to do was put a couple of downloads out there, and start a Facebook campaign. www.progressive.com/dresslikeflo.aspx
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Post by Savoir Faire-Demogague in NJ on Apr 20, 2011 10:31:04 GMT -5
The thing about marketing is enforcing and maintaining brand awareness. Coke and Pepsi are the top two selling colas. We all know who they are, both are iconic soft drink brands. Yet both companies have huge marketing budgets.
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Tiny
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Post by Tiny on Apr 20, 2011 10:54:49 GMT -5
Guerilla Marketing seems to work best for what appear to be short lived or Fad products. Guerilla Marketing generates alot of buzz in the target market and probably generates alot of quick sales. And then within a couple of years the product is gone. This is probably why I can't remember any "creative" marketing from the past... Well, ok, Look what happened to Quiznos, and that company that used creepy dancing babies to market their product (can't even remember the company or the product).... The only reason I remember Quiznos was because of the horrible image of a man suckling a wolf that I cannot remove from my memory. I need 'eye bleach' or 'memory bleach' .
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Apr 20, 2011 10:57:07 GMT -5
Quiznos is still around. I think they still have like 2500 stores. I know they did close a bunch of them - but it wasn't all of them.
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Tiny
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Post by Tiny on Apr 20, 2011 11:00:15 GMT -5
I've seen all sorts of variations on the scantily clad cute girl handing out some product - it happens fairly often outside the DownTown trainstation. I've gotten free gum, oatmeal packets, assorted drink products (not always energy), and who knows what other free products from perky, cute, scantily clad young women. One morning there were nearly naked hunky college GUYS (wearing boxers) holding a sign over their nether regions advertizing something. There were also nearly naked girls holding signs covering their fronts. For the life of me I can't remember what they were advertizing or if they were handing out a product... but I remember the Hunky Guys - sure was easy on the eyes and a nice way to start the work day!
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Tiny
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Post by Tiny on Apr 20, 2011 11:05:36 GMT -5
The one and only Quiznos near my office shut down. There's two Jimmy John's and 3 Subway's and a Mr Submarine still in business within walking distance of each other near my office.
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Apr 20, 2011 11:22:02 GMT -5
She was a very pretty girl - and technically not wearing lots of clothing - but I will also say she didn't look like a whore. She was wearing what we all wear when it is 110 degrees out - she just made it look really good.
The ones I can't stand are the ones that are way overdressed for the situation. Like a shiny bedazzled dress with super-high platform heels at a baseball game. Hey, girl, did you get lost on your way to work at the strip club? This is the baseball game! Put on shorts and a t-shirt. If you are pretty, it will show, no problem.
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Post by robbase on Apr 20, 2011 13:16:25 GMT -5
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alabamagal
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Post by alabamagal on Apr 20, 2011 13:18:44 GMT -5
Not too long ago I saw the Red Bull van pulled over for traffic stop, speeding I would guess. I wonder if the excuse was "I had too many Red Bull"
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reader79
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Post by reader79 on Apr 20, 2011 14:14:02 GMT -5
One day we had guys dressed up as fisherman - big yellow coats, cool boots and hats, etc. - handing out throat lozenges at the top of the train station steps. Can't remember the brand though.
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2kids10horses
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Post by 2kids10horses on Apr 20, 2011 22:30:00 GMT -5
I am personally tired of seeing the sign spinners advertizing, "We buy gold".
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AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP
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Post by AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP on Apr 20, 2011 22:55:28 GMT -5
I have a friend from Palm Beach who runs a marketing company-- he started with NewsMax. You might recognize his idea from the 2000 election where all the coverage, everywhere, all the time had someone with a NEWSMAX sign in the background. He showed up to the Oscars with a sign that read: Jack Nicholas for President...and a client's website scrawled across the bottom. He has done the same thing at TEA Party rallies, outdoor sporting events, etc. The key is making the sign fun and worth reading, and the website kind of an after thought-- not too obvious. The savvy viewers will get curious and check it out.
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AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP
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Post by AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP on Apr 20, 2011 22:56:56 GMT -5
Not too long ago I saw the Red Bull van pulled over for traffic stop, speeding I would guess. I wonder if the excuse was "I had too many Red Bull" OT- love your caribbean sailboat avatar. Is that your boat?
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AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP
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Post by AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP on Apr 20, 2011 23:02:16 GMT -5
The thing about marketing is enforcing and maintaining brand awareness. Coke and Pepsi are the top two selling colas. We all know who they are, both are iconic soft drink brands. Yet both companies have huge marketing budgets. I beg to differ. The last thing a small business needs to be doing is worrying about marketshare, or "brand awareness". In fact, it's the last thing a big company should be worried about either, IMHO. The purpose of marketing should be to produce leads which convert to sales-- and the process should be MEASURABLE. And it should be tested- a lot. One minor change at a time, while the original marketing is still going out as the "control group" to see if there is any change in response. For example, if you have a direct mail peice going out and you're getting a .05% open / response rate (which would be fantastic, btw) then you might try a change to the envelope such as "Time Sensitive" or "Photos Enclosed" or "DO NOT BEND Photos Enclosed" or "NAKED PHOTOS ENCLOSED" (actually, you'd better be careful with that last one lest you run afoul of the law) but seriously...and ONE at at time. For a small business direct marketing is the name of the game. That, and word of mouth. That stuff the big boys do is ego-driven, expensive, and generally not that effective-- or if it is effective, it's impossible to measure.
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Clever Username
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Post by Clever Username on Apr 21, 2011 11:12:34 GMT -5
Paul, I disagree. If I were never handed a Red Bull by one such car, I wouldn't know what it tasted like. I'm in downtown Chicago, and these are somewhat common.
I think it's an exact parallel to your "photo enclosed" scheme. Today, thanks to that givaway, I'm 500% more likely to buy that soda if I find myself craving an energy drink. My choices are: buy one I've had before and enjoyed or try one I've never tasted.
This is a tried and true tactic. Ever been handed a cheese ball on a stick at the grocery? How about a thimble full of wine at the liquor store? Remember when the Bud Girls would serve the bar at college? I may have even taken The Pepsi Challege at one of the first years of Taste of Chicago.
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Wisconsin Beth
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Post by Wisconsin Beth on Apr 21, 2011 14:57:04 GMT -5
Guerilla Marketing seems to work best for what appear to be short lived or Fad products. Guerilla Marketing generates alot of buzz in the target market and probably generates alot of quick sales. And then within a couple of years the product is gone. This is probably why I can't remember any "creative" marketing from the past... Well, ok, Look what happened to Quiznos, and that company that used creepy dancing babies to market their product (can't even remember the company or the product).... The only reason I remember Quiznos was because of the horrible image of a man suckling a wolf that I cannot remove from my memory. I need 'eye bleach' or 'memory bleach' . Before that, Quiznos used to have a rat-type creature to market their product. I immediately made a connection to rats in the food and refused to eat there ever since....
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Apr 21, 2011 14:59:03 GMT -5
Even though I read the explanation of that commercial, I never understood why Quiznos did that. Although it was pointed out to me that we all knew it and talked about it. And that Quiznos "has a pepper barrrrrrrrr" And we can all remember that.
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Wisconsin Beth
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Post by Wisconsin Beth on Apr 21, 2011 15:01:51 GMT -5
Even though I read the explanation of that commercial, I never understood why Quiznos did that. Although it was pointed out to me that we all knew it and talked about it. And that Quiznos "has a pepper barrrrrrrrr" And we can all remember that. Yes and we refused to eat there. So yeah, we knew about Quiznos and all but it was actually decreasing their sales as there was a newish Quiznos just down the street from work and we liked to go out for lunch.
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Post by robbase on Apr 21, 2011 16:28:04 GMT -5
and the process should be MEASURABLE.
but there in lies the problem, most marketing is not and cannot be measurable
For a small business direct marketing is the name of the game. That, and word of mouth. That stuff the big boys do is ego-driven, expensive, and generally not that effective-- or if it is effective, it's impossible to measure.
agree with all the above, but note "guerilla" marketing is generally supposed to be very relatively cheap and easy to do (not sure if you were responding to the OP or the other poster with your comment) so a new business should engage in guerilla marketing
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AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP
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Post by AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP on Apr 21, 2011 19:08:05 GMT -5
I took the Pepsi Challenge at Jewel (or Jewels if you're a true Chicaaaagoan) and flunked it. My whole family ended up switching to Coke. No joke, no exaggeration.
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AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP
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Post by AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP on Apr 21, 2011 19:10:05 GMT -5
The short answer is- yeah, do the guerrilla marketing-- just watch and see what happens as a result. Then add or change (ONE THING at at time) something and pay attention to the results. You don't want to be too timid, or too 'out there' with it-- it's fine line.
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IPAfan
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Post by IPAfan on Apr 22, 2011 1:14:52 GMT -5
Just ordered the book Guerilla Marketing for Lawyers. I'm already doing direct mail with my law practice with good results.
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azphx1972
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Post by azphx1972 on Apr 22, 2011 3:07:46 GMT -5
I actually liked the Quiznos Songmonkey ads. I thought they were pretty clever and original. They didn't increase my appetite for their subs, but it did make me curious enough to look them up and find out what they were all about: www.slate.com/id/2095868/
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