1st Turning Point

Posted By Eilis Flynn on June 12, 2009

Author Eilis Flynn: The Reality Beyond

by Eilis Flynn
1st Turning Point Crew Columnist
Copyright © 2009 Eilis Flynn

Guerrilla marketing. Sounds vaguely familiar, doesn’t it? It’s a term you might have heard of in the recent past, but not quite been sure of what it means. It’s a term that’s been around for about a quarter of a century, so it’s relatively new—but not as new as some of the techniques used in this form of marketing.

Jay Conrad Levinson coined the term in 1984 in his book, Guerrilla Marketing. Unlike traditional forms of marketing, guerrilla marketing depends on getting attention in unfamiliar ways. A prime example is the 2007 case in Boston, when small light displays with mysterious words written on them that showed up in places like subway stations and bridges around the city were mistaken for possible bombs. The police came out, bomb sniffers came out…and it was all for naught. The displays turned out to be ads for a cable TV show called Aqua Teen Hunger Force, and the mysterious words were from the show’s characters.

Another example is something that’s been used in the past couple of presidential election cycles, in the form of flash mobs, where seemingly impromptu gatherings (but in reality previously coordinated and choreographed via email, texting, and even Twittering) in public places end up in song, dance, and even a poetry slam before the gathering then dissipates in the same impromptu way. T-shirts worn by a group again in public gatherings and perhaps even reading from your work could be yet another example.

Guerrilla marketing is meant to be memorable and generate buzz. Unusual approaches in public, street giveaways, and more, are all designed to get maximum notice. Small groups are considered to work best in such techniques as they can get closer to the target audience.

What can this do for you? First of all, guerrilla marketing allows you to get close to the target audience. Maybe it’s a group of your friends wearing t-shirts with your book cover on the front and all playing a kazoo; that’s certainly memorable, and people would definitely talk about it. Subtle product placement, like the Boston incident (or maybe that wasn’t so subtle). Even graffiti. Or even blogs and websites, something with which you may definitely be familiar, but with a twist or some kind, something in which the readership of those particular blogs or websites are interes ted. Promotional items can fit into this category; you see individualized pens and notepads being distributed, but what about something you don’t see nearly as often—if you’ve written something involving the sea, pens with those tiny little boats or mermaids that float back and forth?

In any case, there are many ways that guerrilla marketing could work for you. Basically, you have to think of how you can make do with little money but lots of imagination. You need to be hands-on with this form of marketing; you can’t afford to pay someone to do something, but you can persuade others (who possibly owe you a favor) to give casual passersby a show they can’t possibly forget.

Now take a look around. What can you do to promote your work that doesn’t require much money?

Introducing Sonika by Eilis Flynn ISBN: 9781419914225 Publisher: Cerridwen Press If you had the power to save the world, what would make you give it up? Trained by her parents to use her abilities to fight criminals, Sonya Penn gave it all up after her parents were killed by their archenemy, Gentlemen Geoffrey, turning away from what would have been her life as a superheroine. And yet, when she finds herself drawn to scientist John Arlen, his thirst for revenge against the criminal who murdered his father forces her to confront her choices. She could let herself fall in love with this man, who has secrets he seems unwilling to reveal to her. Or she could finally take up the mission her parents intended her to pursue—even if it means his death or hers.

Categories: Advertising Basics, All authors, Eilis Flynn, Marketing, Miscellaneous, Unpublished
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