From companies effectively utilising the use of a recent phenomena – Guerrilla Marketing – one great place for a campaign is a simple bus stop. Guerrilla Marketing, if you aren’t aware. is a low cost unconventional advertising strategy that is aimed to grab attention. It can effectively raise both awareness around large audiences without disturbing them, ensuring they have a positive and memorable association to the brand (Fill & Turnbull, 2016).
A bus stop is just one way of reaching audiences, as typically they will be people attracted to them for transport needs and might have a waiting time here. The location can be utilised by any business, offering a unique twist on raising awareness of the product.
An example of a simple yet effective way Coca-Cola embraced the humble bus stop was to give some Christmas spirit to users. Back in 2015 part of their Christmas campaign was to promote their new gift bottles of creating happiness at bus stops in a dynamic way (JDCecaux, 2015). With national coverage of six locations including London, Manchester and Birmingham, the campaign built a lot of interest with the interactive feature. This ultimately led to people sharing their experience through social media for others to see (clever, right?!).
Another example was for the movie, Up. The use of real balloons made this campaign stand out by using 3D elements, giving a flavour of what the film would include. This successfully took people by surprise by making them inquisitive, ultimately making a great first impression.
For a smaller business, it’s still an effective way of increasing awareness. Companies such as Cola-Cola used guerrilla marketing to remind consumers of their message, whereas smaller businesses could utilise this form of communication to perhaps inform and persuade the audience. This is supported by the DRIP model discussed by Richardson et al (2015).
An example of a smaller business using this approach comes from a local hamburger company in Minneapolis, making a bus shelter to appear like an oven, with any actual heat coming from the shelter (just a warming glow) (Antevenio, 2018). This campaign was to promote Caribou Coffee’s new hot breakfast sandwiches, while effectively warming up users of the bus stop while snow was falling. It successfully grabbed attention with a message about the product whilst also being memorable and differentiating from competitors.
I’d really appreciate any feedback you might have, if you could leave a comment below. I hope you now have a better understanding of Guerrilla Marketing and the impact it can have for a small cost.
Author: Jessica Rolph
References
Antevenio (2018) 5 Great Examples of Guerrilla Marketing. [Online] Available from: < https://www.antevenio.com/usa/5-great-examples-of-guerrilla-marketing/> [Accessed 4thJanuary 2019].
Fill, C. Turnbull, S. (2016) Marketing Communications: discovery, creation and conversations. 7thed. Harlow. Pearson Education Limited.
JCDecaux (2015) Coca-Cola Gift Bottle. [Online]. Available from: <https://www.jcdecaux.co.uk/news/coca-cola-gift-bottle> [Accessed 4thJanuary 2019].
Richardson, N. James, J. Kelley, N. (2015) Customer centric marketing: Supporting sustainability in the digital age. Croydon. Kogan Page Limited.
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