I started my blog with ramblings about proper guerrilla marketing and I’m back at it. Every week I see another question on Quora, another thread on Reddit, another Buzzfeed-type article were people throw around examples of “great guerrilla marketing campaigns”. I think it’s time to set the record straight.

What guerrilla marketing isn’t

For further reference, I’ll list a few examples of campaigns people love listing in aforementioned threads.

You’ve probably seen these before – they’re interesting to look at, they’re fun and people love these.

Does it mean these ads have anything to do with guerrilla marketing? Not necessarily.

There are few questions you can ask about an ad to see if it falls into guerrilla marketing category or if it’s just another creative ad.

1. Does it look like brand paid for it?

If the answer is yes – it’s not guerrilla.

2. Was it cheap and efficient?

If the answer is no – it’s not guerrilla.

3. Is brand identity subtle or in-your-face?

If it’s in your face – it’s not guerrilla.

4. Do you want to buy the advertised brand or its competitor will do too?

If all you get from an ad is a statement about a problem which leaves the solution to you – it’s not guerrilla.

5. Do you remember the brand name from the first picture (the one with the dog)?

No one does.

Four horrible campaigns that are still referenced

While the ads above are not the best examples of guerrilla marketing – they’re still very good ads. Unlike some…

Hey kids, do you love suicide?

We hired criminals to make you feel violated.

Chewing gum or another suicide guerrilla marketing campaign?

Aim for the Burger King sign, end up in McDonald’s.

What is guerrilla marketing?

I try to answer this question by running this blog, go check out some other articles:

Scrape and track your competitor’s prices

Multiply the traffic you generate on Quora

Steal clients from your competitor

feel free to leave comments and submit any questions you may have.

Thank you for reading.