Guerilla Marketing Reading Response – Billy Paretti

I decided to read The New York Times article, “Guerilla campaigns are going to extremes, but will they stick?”, because it is something I find both personally and professionally interesting. As a marketer by trade (I know I should be ashamed) I am constantly trying to figure out ways to reach the consumer in a clever, strategic and often “in your face” kind of way.  Hence why I can relate to the comment by Helen MacDonald that opens the article, “I look at this as an Art form”. Though I would say that Guerilla marketing is more of a science.

For those who didn’t read the article, it focuses on the issue of Guerilla Marketing being illegal and also focuses on those who are working against Guerilla initiatives. According to the article, “ The concern is a section of the NYC administrative code that states, ‘it shall be unlawful for any person to deface anjy street by painting, printing or writing or attaching thereto, in any manner, any advertisement or other printed matter.”. I tried looking up an official definition for the term, Guerilla Marketing with no success… I did, however, find some interesting descriptors. One site described the conept as  “The Power of Honest Word of Mouth.”  Honest is not a word I would use to describe it at all.

In my professional experience, I have always found it interesting that there were “legal” companies, conducting “illegal” business. For example there is a company in NYC solely dedicated to “wildpostings”. Wildpostings are the mini posters seen plastered all over construction sights and random walls in an obscure and not so obscure areas of the city.  As an extension to this, it is illegal for companies to even advertise their own brand names on their OWN construction sights. Another interesting trend can be observed by taking a stroll down 5^th Avenue. One will see every construction wall covered with giant sized ads of the soon to be retail store. Companies pay the city a fine and then can leave it up… In a not so direct way, they are paying the city for the ad space. 

While the article touches on saturation levels in Out of Home advertising, it doesn’t really explain why Guerilla marketing is effective. It works because people are caught off guard and typically not expecting something. When the mind is conditioned to see something, it has a broader capability to overlook it. Guerilla marketing ensures visibility in even the most saturated environments like NY.