Guerrilla advertising has long been a popular form of marketing for many reasons - the top guerrilla marketing campaigns are ones which are high-impact, memorable and provoke emotion. This blog explores the definition of guerrilla marketing, and takes a look at some of the best guerrilla advertising campaigns to date.

So firstly, how do we define guerrilla marketing? Well, this type of marketing involves unconventional and creative tactics to promote a product, service, or brand. This type of marketing focuses on generating buzz and creating a memorable experience for the audience, rather than relying on traditional advertising methods such as TV commercials or print ads.Ever wondered why it’s called guerrilla marketing? Well, the term "guerrilla" is inspired by the tactics used by small, agile, and flexible guerrilla warfare groups that rely on surprise attacks and unconventional methods to achieve their objectives. Similarly, guerrilla marketing campaigns rely on unconventional and creative methods to capture the attention of the audience and create a lasting impression.

Guerrilla marketing has remained a popular form of marketing that results in memorable and buzzworthy campaigns. The benefits of guerrilla advertising include:

1. Guerrilla advertising campaigns are commonly used by small businesses or startups with limited marketing budgets as the tactics can be low-cost or even free in some cases.
2. Guerrilla campaigns are designed to be high-impact and memorable which is a big plus as it helps create buzz around a campaign. The best guerrilla campaigns often pick up earned media which creates hype and keeps costs low.
3. Compared with traditional advertising methods, guerrilla campaigns allow for more creativity and can be tailored to specific audiences, meaning you can get your campaign in front of the right people at the right time. For example, you might want to set up a stunt at COP26 if you are looking to get your campaign in front of world climate leaders.

There are various types of guerrilla advertising and which one you pick for your campaign will depend on the campaign objectives, target audience, resources and budgets available. While there is lots of crossover in the different types, below we explore some of the common areas of guerrilla marketing and demonstrate some examples of the best guerrilla marketing campaigns.

Ambient guerrilla marketing involves using the environment around us, unconventional locations or everyday objects in unexpected ways. A great guerilla marketing campaign that used ambient marketing was KitKat’s ‘take a break’ campaign which involved a large-scale ambient advertisement which played on their famous line and encouraged people to take a break and enjoy a KitKat bar. KitKat decorated benches around the UK to resemble the four-finger chocolate bar. By using a conventional object such as a bench and turning it into something unnatural, the instalments stood out and drew the attention of passers by. The benches with KitKat branding and campaign message were also ‘insta-worthy’ and the campaign benefited from earned media as people shared images of the benches online and further increased reach.

Stunt marketing is often used as a way to generate attention by creating unexpected and attention-grabbing events or experiences, such as flash mobs, public art installations, or publicity stunts.Don’t Panic worked with the animal rights charity, PETA, on a stunt guerrilla marketing campaign in order to get the public to question their dairy consumption. The ‘Could you stomach this’ stunt was a relatively cheap yet very clever prank demonstrating how odd it is to consume cow’s milk beyond infancy.The campaign was both immersive and spontaneous. By using unsuspecting members of the public, the reactions were raw and real. This, in turn, set the media ablaze and triggered waves of press and social interaction at no extra cost.

This involves using public spaces as a home for your marketing - this could be street art displays, posters, fliers or live events. Transport for London (TfL) launched a guerrilla advertising diversity campaign which temporarily changed traffic light symbols on pedestrian crossings to ones which represented a variety of disabilities, ethnicities, and gender identities. The #LetsGoThereTogether campaign was launched coinciding with International Women's Day and effectively got people thinking about the challenges faced by others.

Back in 2003 Innocent and Age UK partnered on the Big Knit campaign which encouraged volunteers to knit woollen hats that would be placed on top of Innocent smoothie bottles. With each bottle sold, a donation of 25p went to Age UK and over the years, the campaign raised a whopping £3 million for the charity. The Big Knit campaign is a creative approach to promoting a product and supporting a cause using guerrilla marketing. The unexpectedness of the woollen hats in a super normal setting helped to grab people’s attention and made them curious about the campaign, aiming to sway people’s purchase decisions. The campaign was extremely low cost for Innocent due to the use of customer labour - Innocent were able to leverage their customer base to create a large volume of hats at little or no cost to the company. Additionally, the campaign did not require any significant advertising costs, as it relied on social media and word-of-mouth promotion to generate buzz.This is how Tekken 3 apk game took their marketing to the next level.

As part of the overarching “Our Time Has Come” campaign, we partnered up with Stella McCartney and the Humane Society to drive awareness around global petitions to ban fur by holding a stunt guerrilla “protest”. Stella and Don’t Panic wanted to take a playful approach to a serious subject while building a movement. We aimed to deliver this to people through “surprise and delight” moments, not just in the real world with guerrilla marketing, but shared via Stella’s global social channels.We launched three guerrilla stunts across three of the world’s fashion capitals; London, New York and Milan. These each centred around a “protest” led by people dressed in giant animal heads and the clothes from Stella’s Autumn ‘21 range. Held outside the cities’ most recognisable landmarks, we led these protests through the streets to promote the banning of selling fur, building a movement as well as creating opportunities for outdoor media. The London protest called on the government to create a “Fur Free Britain”, while the two global moments focused on the cruelty of fur farming and the potential public health risks they create, such as the mink farm Covid-19 outbreaks.

To see more of our work, click here, or if you’re after some attention-grabbing guerrilla advertising ideas of your own, get in touch.