Street Sampling Blog

[guerilla/experiential marketing]

Today’s post is actually a recent article of mine on the subject of Guerilla (or guerrilla) marketing. I hope you find it informative and have fun reading it (I had fun writing it):

In 1984, Jay Conrad Levinson coined the term “Guerilla Marketing” to refer to a set of unconventional marketing techniques that are geared towards generating a solid buzz factor. His book, “Guerilla Marketing,” is now commonly referred to around the planet in many marketing instruction settings. Targeted audiences are approached in non-traditional locations and in atypical ways to create a memorable experience that is viewed with excitement and positivity. People appreciate the break that guerilla marketing gives them from the formalized approaches to advertising so common otherwise.
Read the rest of this entry »

[Experiential Marketing Tactics Result in Instant Sales Surges and Lightning-Fast Branding]

Guerrilla marketing refers to a system of unconventional techniques for product or message promotion. It relies on unexpected tactics being utilized to strike the emotional centers of the brain that have to do with comfort and pleasure. Simultaneously meshing feelings of trust and the avoidance of discomfort, guerrilla marketers are able to drive surges in sales and greatly diminish branding time for advertisers. Also called brand marketing, these techniques create a buzz in the streets concerning a given product, brand or message and act to quickly establish relationships with potential consumers.

The guerrilla marketer must be in touch with his or her targeted audience. He or she needs to be aware of the target group’s feelings and thoughts concerning relevant issues that surround their propensity to purchase or act in the desired manner. Time is critical and the marketer has only seconds in which to tap into the mind of the prospect and lock their interest in. Unconventional marketing strategies like these utilize an array of visual, audible and other types of nerve-striking vehicles to forge a path to instant sales and brand acceptance.

Whereas traditional benefits-and-values advertising attempts to appeal directly to a consumer’s sense of practicality, guerrilla marketing techniques do the same in addition to creating an emotional need for the product. Impulse purchases are the desired goal – along with brand acceptance for the long run. When these types of unanticipated sales techniques are unleashed upon the public, they are received with humor, easiness and effectiveness.

[More about "traditional marketing" tomorrow, stay tuned!]

[experiential/guerrilla marketing for your website ideas]

First, a hearty Happy New Year to everyone! I spent time in Las Vegas, a favorite spot of mine – and a great place to start off the new year.

And, today I’d like to give you an example of how to translate a bit of what we do at Street Sampling to online – and how to make that so important “person to person” connection that is the hallmark of good guerilla marketing since this question often appears in our comments section. It’s natural to want new and creative ideas for your blog and/or website, not just natural, but necessary!

Read this (received today from a friend) and follow the instructions carefully. You will be rewarded.

HEMA is a Dutch department store. The first store opened on November 4, 1926, in Amsterdam. Now there are 150 stores all over the Netherlands.

Take a look at HEMA’s product page. You can’t order anything and it’s in Dutch. But do go to the website, and sit and wait. Do not click on any of the items in the picture. Again, your patience will be rewarded.

This company has a sense of humor and a great computer programmer!

HEMA – Click Here

Done? Fantastic! So when you’re trying to figure out how to get the interaction you need from your online visitors, try pushing your marketing more into the realm of experiential marketing, the way the folks at HEMA have.

Get creative!

Happy New Year!
Scott

Experiential or guerrilla marketing relies on interactive communication with prospective consumers rather than passive persuasion techniques. Feelings of pleasure and comfort are invoked leaving the prospect naturally curious to learn and/or experience more about the message or product at hand. Likewise, the experiential marketer offers the prospect the opportunity to avoid discomfort by accepting the promotional endeavor. Unique brand image and value is driven into the minds of prospects and effective relationships are developed between the brand and the prospects.

Whereas traditional product-centered advertising methods serve to stimulate the rational thought processes of a given consumer, brand marketing (experiential marketing) affects the consumer’s decision to purchase far more effectively by generating emotional responses. The field of experiential marketing has blossomed since its introduction in the 1980s as a powerful alternative to traditional advertising methodologies. Mainstream marketers now readily and excitedly embrace these unconventional tactics because they understand the effectiveness.

Engaging, entertaining and interactive experiential marketing makes prospective consumers take notice and appreciate a given brand. Some of the world’s largest advertisers including Harley-Davidson, Levi’s, Nokia, Wells Fargo and Volkswagen utilize experiential marketing techniques predominantly now. In addition, many small business save years of frustrating effort trying to increase their branding success by implementing these unconventional marketing techniques. Experiential marketing firms offer big results for small fees as well. Comparatively, businesses of all sizes can vastly benefit from taking this ultra-modern and highly-accepted approach to promotion.

If you desire to enhance the effectiveness of your future advertising campaigns, explore experiential marketing. The instant surge in sales and the increase of your ROI will demonstrate exactly the effectiveness of these psychological techniques.