Attack marketing
Encyclopedia
Also known as guerrilla marketing
or ambush marketing
, attack marketing is a form of marketing
that incorporates a series of creative and strategic techniques used to build and maintain public awareness surrounding a person, place, product, or event. Attack marketing
utilizes the power of social interactions to execute non-traditional marketing campaigns that drive sales, increase name awareness and create long-term buzz around a specific business.
Attack marketing is used by many marketing, advertising
, public relations
and promotional event marketing agencies to promote popular worldwide brands and events. Attack marketing can be tailored to fit marketing programs of all budgets, small and large.
. As the marketing industry evolved, engaging consumers who had been bombarded with duplicated advertisements became difficult.
The innovation of non-traditional marketing, such as attack marketing, gained greater popularity. Currently, attack marketing is prominently used to promote small businesses as well as larger brands such as Nike
, Coca-Cola
, Disney, Mars
and more.
To help execute attack marketing programs, many businesses hire other resource agencies that provide event staffing, field support and guerrilla marketing
services to help with event logistics.
Guerrilla marketing
Guerrilla warfare is about waging small intermittent attacks on different territories of the opponent with the aim of harassing and demoralising the opponent and eventually securing permanent footholds....
or ambush marketing
Ambush marketing
Ambush marketing can be defined as a marketing strategy wherein the advertisers associate themselves with, and therefore capitalize on, a particular event without paying any sponsorship fee. The Macmillan English Dictionary defines ambush marketing as a marketing strategy in which a competing...
, attack marketing is a form of marketing
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
that incorporates a series of creative and strategic techniques used to build and maintain public awareness surrounding a person, place, product, or event. Attack marketing
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
utilizes the power of social interactions to execute non-traditional marketing campaigns that drive sales, increase name awareness and create long-term buzz around a specific business.
Attack marketing is used by many marketing, advertising
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
, public relations
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
and promotional event marketing agencies to promote popular worldwide brands and events. Attack marketing can be tailored to fit marketing programs of all budgets, small and large.
History
Attack marketing was traditionally used by bootstrapped businesses looking for cheaper forms of advertisingAdvertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
. As the marketing industry evolved, engaging consumers who had been bombarded with duplicated advertisements became difficult.
The innovation of non-traditional marketing, such as attack marketing, gained greater popularity. Currently, attack marketing is prominently used to promote small businesses as well as larger brands such as Nike
Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
, Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
, Disney, Mars
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
and more.
- In 1954, the Marlboro ManMarlboro ManThe Marlboro Man is a figure used in tobacco advertising campaign for Marlboro cigarettes. In the United States, where the campaign originated, it was used from 1954 to 1999. The Marlboro Man was first conceived by Leo Burnett in 1954. The image involves a rugged cowboy or cowboys, in nature with...
appears in Marlboro ads, making the company to become the #1 cigarette brand in the US. - Guerrilla, ambush and attack marketing became popular in the 1970s.
- In 1982, NikeNike, Inc.Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
aired its first national television ads, created by newly formed ad agency Wieden+Kennedy, during the New York Marathon. - In 1984 Jay Conrad Levinson's book on Guerrilla MarketingGuerrilla marketingGuerrilla warfare is about waging small intermittent attacks on different territories of the opponent with the aim of harassing and demoralising the opponent and eventually securing permanent footholds....
is distributed to bookstores - In 1986, Run DMC created a single called “My Adidas” and significantly raised AdidasAdidasAdidas AG is a German sports apparel manufacturer and parent company of the Adidas Group, which consists of the Reebok sportswear company, TaylorMade-Adidas golf company , and Rockport...
shoe sales overnight. - In 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Linford Christie wore contact lenses embossed with the PumaPUMA AGPuma SE, officially branded as PUMA, is a major German multinational company that produces high-end athletic shoes, lifestyle footwear and other sportswear. Formed in 1924 as Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik by Adolf and Rudolf Dassler, relationships between the two brothers deteriorated until the two...
logo at the press conference preceding the 100 metres final. - The London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Act 2006 restricts ambush, guerrilla, and attack advertising at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Strategies
Attack marketing uses a number of different strategies to create memorable interactions between businesses and consumers, including use of:Promotional Staff to interact with consumers
- Brand Ambassadors- knowledgeable brand representatives
- Promotional Models- brand representatives that display brand image
- In-store Demonstrators- brand representatives that demonstrate and distribute product samples
- Street TeamsStreet teamA street team is a term used in marketing to describe a group of people who 'hit the streets' promoting an event or a product. 'Street Teams' are a powerful promotional tool that has been adopted industry wide as a standard line item in marketing budgets by entertainment companies, record labels,...
- teams of brand ambassadors promoting brand outdoors
Non-traditional marketing techniques
- Street marketingStreet marketingStreet marketing is a term used to refer to certain marketing techniques used to promote products and/or services in an unconventional way in public places. The main point of street marketing is that the activities are done exclusively on the streets or other public places, such as shopping centers...
- Outdoors promotions with promotional staff - College Campus Activation- College campus marketing events and programs
- Social MediaSocial mediaThe term Social Media refers to the use of web-based and mobile technologies to turn communication into an interactive dialogue. Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein define social media as "a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0,...
- Event marketing online through Facebook, Twitter, etc. - Mobile Media- Promotional event marketing with vehicles
- Airport Marketing- Product sampling and displays at airports
- Spring Break Marketing- Promotional event marketing at popular Spring Break destinations (flyering, product sampling, etc.)
- Publicity Stunts- Flash mobs, mock protests with promotional models
- Green MarketingGreen marketingAccording to the American Marketing Association, green marketing is the marketing of products that are presumed to be environmentally safe. Thus green marketing incorporates a broad range of activities, including product modification, changes to the production process, packaging changes, as well as...
- Event marketing using sustainable products - Wearable Media- Promotional marketing with electronics
- Outdoor Postering- Outdoor poster placements
- Guerrilla Projections- Outdoor digital displays during marketing event
- Chalking/Stenciling- Outdoor sidewalk stenciling
- Flyer Distributions- Public distribution of flyers by promotional staff
To help execute attack marketing programs, many businesses hire other resource agencies that provide event staffing, field support and guerrilla marketing
Guerrilla marketing
Guerrilla warfare is about waging small intermittent attacks on different territories of the opponent with the aim of harassing and demoralising the opponent and eventually securing permanent footholds....
services to help with event logistics.
Related Forms of Marketing
- Experiential marketing
- Guerrilla marketingGuerrilla marketingGuerrilla warfare is about waging small intermittent attacks on different territories of the opponent with the aim of harassing and demoralising the opponent and eventually securing permanent footholds....
- Word of mouth marketing
- Ambush marketingAmbush marketingAmbush marketing can be defined as a marketing strategy wherein the advertisers associate themselves with, and therefore capitalize on, a particular event without paying any sponsorship fee. The Macmillan English Dictionary defines ambush marketing as a marketing strategy in which a competing...
- Buzz marketing