Renaming Halfway, Oregon to Half.com, Oregon for an entire year:
This is perhaps one of the "stranger" guerilla marketing tactics we've seen. Even as a creative marketing company, this one surprised us. In 1999, half.com asked the small pacific town of Halfway, Oregon to change its name to half.com, Oregon. The town accepted unofficially and was given $110,000, 20 new computers for its schools and other undisclosed items. At the town's borders passersby saw "America's First Dot-Com City." The website got what it wanted, more traffic and the town had a very interesting story to tell.
IKEA at the beach:
IKEA decided to celebrate the birthday of one its most popular bookshelving units by setting one up at popular Australian Beach known as Bondi Beach. The bookshelving unit was fully stocked with literary classics and summer-based books. Beach-goers were delighted to see the bookshelving unit stocked with new reading options rather than the ones they brought with them. IKEA also gave the option to donate to the Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation. This guerilla marketing tactic received a lot of positive press for a one-day-only stunt!
Pandas in Paris:
By 2008, studies showed that there was only 1,600 wild pandas left in the world. The World Wildlife Foundation decided to raise some awareness in a big way. They created hand-made, papier mache pandas and placed them all around various locations in Paris. While the pictures from this guerilla marketing tactic were striking, it left a last impression on those who saw it. Viewer realized rather quickly that what they were seeing were the last pandas left on earth. The campaign had a huge emotional impact and is still talked about years later.
Red Bull pit crew:
Red Bull, known in the industry for successful guerilla marketing, executed a marketing stunt right in Times Square, NYC with a Nascar-style pit stop. Getting attention from New Yorkers is already a struggle competing with billboards, street signs and overall crowded streets, but Red Bull's street session was a huge success.
Oscar Mayer Wienermobile (The classic)
Perhaps the most classic of the bunch, the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile started driving down the road in the 1930s, catching the attention of drivers everywhere. The Wienermobile, driven by "Little Oscar," would visit stores, schools, orphanages, and children's hospitals and also participated in parades and festivals. What a perfect guerilla marketing tactic! It is original and is still in existence today. The mobile also has it's own blog. The Wienermobile still catches the same attention it did in the 30s.
Have more guerrilla marketing tactics you want to share with us? Leave us a comment below or contact us.
