A mysterious red-headed woman hands you a card. Would you take it? How consumer curiosity can make you millions.
Thursday: Gorillas of Guerilla Marketing
Guerrilla Marketing is not only for the big brands.
It can work for anyone, no matter what type of business you have.
In my years of supporting independent professionals, I believe one of the best ways to raise awareness about your brand is to generate buzz. Guerrilla Marketing works perfectly for that.
All you have to do is harness your creative side and think outside the box. This way you don’t have to spend an enormous budget on a campaign that may or may not work. It doesn’t hurt to use unconventional ways of marketing your brand every once in a while.
View and use this as an opportunity for you and your brand to engage with your target market in a fun and interesting way.
Keep reading to learn how this movie promotion piqued consumers’ curiosity and generated buzz in Toronto, Canada.
I hope this week’s company spotlight gives you an idea on your next big marketing campaign.
Miles Everson
CEO, MBO Partners
Chairman of the Advisory Board, The I Institute
Gorillas of Guerilla Marketing
It was a normal day in the streets of Toronto, Canada.
March 1, 2018.
Yonge-Dundas Square has always had heavy foot traffic. It was considered a central area, and it was near one of the major cinemas, so a lot of people were always around.
It seemed like a regular day, until it wasn’t.
Nobody expected what was going to happen next.
Suddenly…
A beautiful yet very mysterious red-head dressed in all black entered Yonge-Dundas Square and started handing people business cards with a kiss mark.
People were confused; they didn’t know what was happening.
Out of nowhere, more red-headed women wearing the same black outfit started to hand out the same kiss-marked business cards.
Strange and mysterious…
Those who received a card quickly looked at what was written on them.
…
Red Sparrow Movie Premiere
+ All the showtimes in the nearest movie theatre
…
A gimmick well-played.
This stunt definitely got everyone’s attention and 100% made a buzz on the streets and online!
Twentieth Century Fox Canada worked with Zenith Media and Eat It Up Media to set up this genius guerilla marketing campaign.
The campaign was to promote the movie Red Sparrow, starring Jennifer Lawrence, an action-thriller that revolves around a former ballerina turned Russian spy turned double agent.
They hired “Sparrows”—20 models to walk around downtown Toronto dressed up like Jennifer Lawrence’s character, in an all black outfit, with a red wig on and red lipstick.
Their goal was to promote the movie and appeal to a wide target market of heavy movie-goers (demographic: 18 to 49 years old for both genders).
“The whole element of mystery is very important to the film. We have our radio, television, digital, out of home, all the traditional media. But this is the cherry on top that we really think was missing. It helps make it a little more slick, a little more interesting to the general public.” – Costas Andreopoulos, VP of Marketing, Twentieth Century Fox Canada
“The notion of mystery can be difficult to bring to life in the flesh, but we think this activation really hits it home.” – Ivan Lee, Senior Account Executive, Zenith Media
In reviewing the numbers…
- Cost of Production (estimate): $69 million US
- Opening Weekend in US Alone: More than $16.8 million US
- Gross Box Office Sales in US Alone: More than $46.8 million US
- Total Gross Box Office Sales Worldwide: More than $151.5 million US
…this marketing stunt was indeed effective.
Leading brands (and even the biggest film companies) use guerilla marketing to induce shock and create a lasting impression on their target audience without having to spend massive amounts of money.
It looks easy BUT it takes a certain level of creativity and skill to be effective. This is not just something you can easily do that’s 100% successful 100% of the time. It has to be planned out well and executed properly.
Guerilla marketing helps businesses generate an intense amount of buzz among consumers while remaining profitable.
It could benefit you, as an independent professional, or your business and marketing projects as a whole—you could go viral, you can build partnerships, it’s great for low budgets, and it will make your campaign memorable.
The question remains.
If a mysterious red-headed woman walks over to you, says nothing, and simply hands you a business card, would you take it?
Hope you’ve found this week’s guerrilla marketing insight interesting and helpful.
Stay tuned for next Thursday’s Gorillas of Guerrilla!
