stickers in a guerilla marketing campaign

Guerilla Marketing – Another Role for Stickers

Jay Conrad Levinson is credited with coining the phrase "guerilla marketing," which is discussed in many of his books of the same name. New to guerilla marketing, or to marketing in general? Here is a quick guide on how to start using guerrilla marketing techniques.

What It Is: In the context of your business, guerilla marketing is really just a method of thinking and performing as you market and promote your company or brand. It means finding any number of inventive, affordable, and available tens or even hundreds of ways to sell your product or service is the goal. In many instances, these approaches are often unconventional, grass-roots, peer to peer, or low-budget. Oftentimes, companies with low (or no) marketing or promotion budgets will turn to a form of guerilla marketing to get the word out about their business.
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In the context of guerilla marketing, it is more important to think like your customers and discover ways to communicate your value to them than it is to have and use a sizable advertising budget. Instead of relying on a “brute force” marketing campaign backed by lots of cash, the keys are innovation, consistency, and message repetition – all delivered in creative and sometimes unconventional means.

Small and medium businesses stand to benefit the most from guerrilla marketing. This includes start-ups, or businesses working to relaunch or rebrand themselves. Guerrilla marketing strategies, however, can be used by big corporations with several specialty brands that appeal to smaller target audiences. Guerrilla marketing campaigns can be carried out by anyone, regardless of their size, provided they have a sizable amount of imagination, time, and energy.

Starting Out: In order to become a guerrilla marketer, you must first increase your originality and zeal for your product or service. Commit to doing things differently. This is truly the time to think outside of the traditional box. Your path to success lies in identifying several channels via which you may inform prospective customers about your good or service. You can gain a solid understanding of Levinson's strategies by reading any one of his books. However, this strategy is less about a rigid, pre-defined marketing methodology and more about attitude, enthusiasm, and inventiveness.
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Guerrilla marketing strategies are a fantastic option if your company's marketing budget is limited but you're seeking for more ways to reach potential clients.

So how do stickers fit into all of this? The venerable die-cut sticker is perfect for guerilla marketing for a number of reasons. Stickers are inexpensive, and clearly carry your brand message or value proposition for a customer. Even if your guerilla marketing campaign is only indirectly promoting a brand, eventually your customers are likely to come into contact with your brand – which is generally the objective.

Let’s pause for just a minute and address branding. Branding, in its simplest form, is the process of using your business name and logo in marketing communications so that buyers can more quickly recognize you for the products you provide. We encounter branding every day. For example, when you pass a gas station and notice the business's emblem, you instinctively (and typically unconsciously) link its traits, benefits, and drawbacks. National restaurant brands are frequently visible when passing by chain fast food restaurants. These too elicit feelings, and if you're hungry and like the brand sufficiently, you might be persuaded to stop and spend money. The main goal of branding is to connect an identity with an idea and a mood.
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So, again, how do stickers fit into this construct? Simple. Stickers are perfect for the above:

• They communicate ideas,
• They inform viewers of the existence of a brand, company, idea, or product
• They’re cheap
• They can go anywhere
• They’re easy to order, they’re easy to ship
• They’re easy to slip into a product box or package
• People put them on things
• And regardless of age, most people love stickers

You can start to see how a simple brand-carrying sticker might fit into an inexpensive marketing campaign. Running television ads cost thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars. Print marketing is only effective for specific audiences. Few consumers listen to the radio. If your customers hail from a particular niche, it can be even harder to reach them. And this can make committing thousands of dollars of limited marketing money unappealing.

Fortunately, there is a better way. Sticker and similar print material are a perfect substitute here.

Here are some ideas for leveraging stickers and low-cost materials to promote your brand or product:

• Use stickers to promote a brand: Brand logos and taglines are perfect material for stickers. And stickers are easy to hand out – much like business cards. You can put them anywhere. Slip a few stickers into boxes or packages you send customers. Send them with thank you notes, or with announcements or letters. In any exchange with a customer, add a sticker in. It’s a nice free gift, and some of those stickers will end up on water bottles, laptops, vehicles, and more. And when people see those stickers, they’ll subconsciously start to develop a feeling around your brand – which is exactly the point. Sometimes this type of branding is not a fast process, but it can cultivate life long customers.
• Use stickers as business cards: Remember we said guerilla marketing was about being creative? Instead of trusty (albeit boring) business cards, consider stickers. Put your logo and contact info (or website) on a sticker, and give away a permanent reminder and message about your brand. Take the “guerilla” angle a step further, and go to where your customers are with a stack of stickers. Tuck them under windshield wipers with a note on potential consumers’ cars. Slip them into mailboxes or leave them on porches. Most people will not have heard of your brand. A free sticker could be a compelling way to make that introduction.
• Use stickers as samples, or to promote other products: Doing a big product launch? Promote it and market it with stickers. Remember, stickers are inexpensive. Stickers can be used to promote anything. Concerts, events, services, physical goods, etc. Be creative. Stickers can also be cut in a particular way to match a product or a theme. Are you launching a hot sauce company? Create a die-cut sticker in the shape of a hot sauce bottle, and add your logo. Add a launch date, and a website, and a catchy slogan. Add a coupon code or a “get one free” redemption code to convince people to check out your site.
• Use stickers and social media: Combine stickers and social media (two very effective channels, depending on your customers) in unique ways – and save money in the process. Imagine a sticker with a scannable QR code that connects users to your brand’s social media channels, giveaways, and other digital benefits. Perhaps scanning a QR code and entering an email registers entrants and potential customers for a prize drawing or other promotional benefit – all while helping promote and brand, and build an email list. 

Guerilla marketing is about creativity – and in many cases saving costs and doing things in an unconventional manner. Marketing and promotional teams can integrate nearly any kind of marketing or promotional tool into these efforts, but they shouldn’t cast away the venerable sticker – as it can complement – or anchor a team’s efforts.
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Want to integrate stickers into your guerilla campaign? We would be happy to help! Contact us and let us know what you’re looking to achieve, we would be happy to assist!