What not to do with Guerrilla Marketing. A few things you should never, ever do: These missteps will defeat the purpose of your guerrilla campaign.
“Never aim to upset, scare or provoke people in a negative way. The goal should be to implement something that people will embrace, enjoy and share with friends,” Salacuse says.
“Don’t be contrived or too bland. Don’t try to be something you’re not,” advises Zaccardi.
Try not to annoy your target,” says Neisser. And, he adds,”[it] is generally not a good idea to do something that will cause someone on the team to go to jail.”
Two famous examples of guerrilla marketing stunts gone wrong:
Vodafone’s streaker
In 2002, Vodafone caused quite a stir when it hired two men to streak across the field during a major Australian rugby match–wearing nothing but the Vodafone logo painted across their backs.
CNN explains the added rub: the match was being played in a stadium sponsored by Vodafone’s main competitor, Telestra. This one backfired somewhat. The streakers were fined and many fans were upset by the disruption (which potentially caused a game-winning kick to be missed).
The stunt did succeed in getting tons of worldwide press, and it earned Vodafone a reputation for pushing the envelope. But most of the sentiments about it were negative–not exactly what you want to do with your campaign.
Turner Network’s bomb scare
We covered this one in our “15 Biggest PR Disasters Of The Decade.” Cartoon Network thought it would be a great idea to place light-up figures featuring the characters from its show “Aqua Teen Hunger Force” around Boston.
Unfortunately, confused local residents mistook them for explosives. The Boston police were inundated with terrified calls from people fearing the city was under attack by terrorists, SWAT teams were deployed and the head of the company ended up resigning because of all the outrage. When it comes down to it, guerrilla marketing can really mean anything, as long as it’s unexpected, non-traditional and memorable. As Neisser says, “guerrilla marketing done right is newsworthy.”
If your strategy embodies the spirit of your brand and your customers, it’s a winner. And, please–make sure nobody ends up in jail.
