Trends in international business show that successful companies are increasingly using
in their work non-traditional business methods. One of these ways to enhance the
competitiveness of enterprises is the “guerrilla marketing”– marketing concept, which aims to
find your marketing niche, reject competing with powerful competitors and non-traditional
but effective ways to advertise and promote their products and services. Today there isa
tendency to increase the proportion of guerrilla marketing in the general budget of
international companies. It is an extremely promising modern approach to advertising for
Ukrainian companies as well because it does not require significant resources and time.
This paper examines the use of unconventional or “guerrilla” marketing. In particular,
the analysis of the nature, the basic principles of sub-species of this type of marketing is done
and their practical application in retaining and attracting customers is considered.
The concept of guerrilla marketing is defined as a non-traditional marketing concept
that allows firms with a relatively small budget make the maximum impact on the target
audience of the goods / services. Guerrilla marketing is characterized by flexibility, mobility
and low expenditures. The “guerrilla marketing” uses only original ways of selling goods,
while the main resources are time, energy and creativity, and the result is – profit. Examples of
the usage of such marketing by international corporations are presented.
Although guerrilla marketing initially was positioned as a tool for small and medium-sized
businesses forced to use it due to lack of funds, today in a highly competitive environment guerrilla marketing techniques are used by large companies such as IBM,Microsoft, Volvo,Mercedes, Adobe,
American Express, Procter& Gamble, Nissan. For example, “Procter & Gamble” spends up to 35%
of its advertising budget for “guerillamarketing”. Currently, “guerrillamarketing” is taught at more
than 30 universities in America.
Key terms of usage of guerrilla marketing are:
1) instead of expensive advertising media low-cost advertising are used;
2) instead of large-scale market research own independent market research are used;
3) target audience is carefully chosen;
4) instead of direct competition, links with other businesses, which allow joint
operations, are established;
5) gained experience and previous achievements, designed to make profit are not
emphasized, while competitive advantages ina specific niche ensuring and customer loyalty
increase are the keys to success.
The basic tools of guerrilla marketing (mass, local and target effects) and features the
results of their use are described, which will help to formulate a clear idea of the feasibility of
this important type of marketing. the Risks that may occur when guerrilla marketing
campaigns are not organized efficiently are described.
It should be emphasized that guerrilla marketing is an art, – it is built on creativity. The
desired direction of promoting goods may be prompted by customers themselves, and success
will depend on marketers’ willingness and ability to realize their wishes. Guerrilla method
allows working with a specific, often narrow audience, bringing information designed just for
it. However, to avoid the risks of the campaign it must be well thought out. Specific features of
the audience should be critically examined, as the important role is played by the nationality of
citizens, their mentality, attitudes, consumption habits and other popular features.