Guerrilla marketing

The concept of guerrilla marketing was invented as an unconventional system of promotionsthat relies on time, energy and imagination rather than a big marketing budget. Typically, guerrilla marketing campaigns are unexpected and unconventional; potentially interactive; and consumers are targeted in unexpected places. The objective of guerrilla marketing is to create a unique, engaging and thought-provoking concept to generate buzz, and consequently turn viral. The term was coined and defined by Jay Conrad Levinson in his book Guerrilla Marketing. The term has since entered the popular vocabulary and marketing textbooks.

Guerrilla marketing involves unusual approaches such as intercept encounters in public places, street giveaways of products, PR stunts, any unconventional marketing intended to get maximum results from minimal resources. More innovative approaches to Guerrilla marketing now utilize cutting edge mobile digital technologies to really engage the consumer and create a memorablebrand experience.

Levinson's books include hundreds of "guerrilla marketing weapons," but they also encourage guerrilla marketeers to be creative and devise their own unconventional methods of promotion. A guerrilla marketeer uses all of his or her contacts, both professional and personal, and examines his company and its products, looking for sources of publicity. Many forms of publicity can be very inexpensive, others are free.

Levinson says that when implementing guerrilla marketing tactics, small size is actually an advantage instead of a disadvantage. Small organizations and entrepreneurs are able to obtain publicity more easily than large companies as they are closer to their customers and considerably more agile.

Yet ultimately, according to Levinson, the Guerrilla Marketeer must "deliver the goods". In The Guerrilla Marketing Handbook, he states: "In order to sell a product or a service, a company must establish a relationship with the customer. It must build trust and support. It must understand the customer's needs, and it must provide a product that delivers the promised benefits."

Levinson identifies the following principles as the foundation of guerrilla marketing:

• Guerrilla Marketing is specifically geared for the small business and entrepreneur.
• It should be based on human psychology instead of experience, judgment, and guesswork.
• Instead of money, the primary investments of marketing should be time, energy, and imagination.
• The primary statistic to measure your business is the amount of profits, not sales.
• The marketer should also concentrate on how many new relationships are made each month.
• Create a standard of excellence with an acute focus instead of trying to diversify by offering too many diverse products and services.
• Instead of concentrating on getting new customers, aim for more referrals, more transactions with existing customers, and larger transactions.
• Forget about the competition and concentrate more on cooperating with other businesses.
• Guerrilla Marketers should always use a combination of marketing methods for a campaign.
• Use current technology as a tool to empower your business.

Guerrilla marketing: Window 7

微軟推出Windows 7，是世界性新聞。Windows 7是電腦的操作系統，是一件很複雜的產品。各位marketing同學，若然大家的工作是賣一個橙、一支茶、一部相機，甚至一部車，大家都有個大概如何制定廣告宣傳策略。最基本的方法是做一些資料蒐集，找個獨一無二的賣點。當然，實際操作會比做功課或讀理論複雜得多。

但大家若要賣Windows 7，又想到該怎麼賣嗎？首要做的當然是找一個賣點。就如Nokia推出手機5800時，從一部多功能，多賣點的產品中，選定一個最重要廣告信息，以打造手機的市場定位。Nokia 5800以音樂手機為定位，這是很重要的一步。其他賣點當然也會做宣傳，但也只是從不同的渠道出現，鞏固潛在消費者的購買意欲，這種message prioritization，便是廣告策略。

大家如果有印象，Windows Vista賣的是華麗介面，但卻因為操作不穩定要遭詬病。今次Windows 7反璞歸真，以更簡單、更好用為賣點，希望擺脫Windows Vista的負面形象。宣傳信息訂好了，下一步又怎樣？

Windows 7在香港用了guerrilla marketing的策略，沒有以銀彈在各大廣告媒體大賣廣告，反而配合全球推售的「新聞風」，在鬧市炒件事。Guerrilla marketing一般是用低成本，非主流的推廣手法，吸引消費者注意。Guerrilla marketing從前會配合傳統的PR以擴大效果，近年web 2.0盛行，facebook、YouTube、IM等都有不錯的viral effect，所以被很多marketing人和學者拿來討論，Windows當然也不會放過這個渠道。

Windows 7在鬧市組人牆，找年青人在尖沙咀著Windows 7 tee跳舞，都是guerrilla marketing的手法。日本大城市街頭，不時見到有人扮成mascot通街走，與途人合照；也有些品牌找俊男美女，坐在開蓬名車上手舞足蹈，同樣能引人圍觀。

Windows 7同時知道experiential marketing也很重要，「簡單」與「華麗」不同，華麗很容易visualise，電視和平面廣告都不難做。簡單好用卻不能「得個講字」，因為說服力低，最重要是讓用家親自體會。所以微軟找了近年興起的流動廣告貨車，在launch date造勢，既可停在鬧市讓用家親自體驗，也可配合PR項目，吸引記者報導。這是很重要的一環，尤其是那些沒有自家商店的品牌，都喜歡用這種流動廣告貨車，儼如多了一個零售點(但不能作現金交易)。

流動廣告貨車，除了車身是流動廣告牌，也可以讓消費者上車，親身參與品牌活動或體驗產品。Windows找上廣告貨車是明智之舉，很多大品牌如果汁、手機、隱形眼鏡、快餐店、遊戲機、中醫中藥堂等，都曾用這類廣告貨車，據說部分品牌有不錯的反應，也能刺激銷量。大家在鬧市逛街時，不妨留意一下。


Windows 7 的香港宣傳活動：

以下是外國有關Windows 7的電視廣告：

Windows 7 Commercial: More Happy is Coming



PC vs Mac: Broken Promises

Copywriting: Feature Benefits

One of the most repeated rules of compelling copy is to stress benefits, not features. In other words, identify the underlying benefit that each feature of a product or service provides to the prospect, because that’s what will prompt the purchase.

This is one rule that always applies, except when it doesn’t. We’ll look at the exceptions in a bit.

Fake Benefits

The idea of highlighting benefits over features seems simple. But it’s often tough to do in practice.

Writers often end up with fake benefits instead.

Top copywriter Clayton Makepeace asserts that fake benefits will kill sales copy, so you have to be on the lookout for them in your writing.

That sounds pretty beneficial, doesn’t it? In reality, there’s not a single real benefit in the headline.

True Benefits

Makepeace advises to apply his patented “forehead slap” test to see if your copy truly contains a benefit to the reader. In other words, have you ever woken up from a deep sleep, slapped yourself in the forehead, and exclaimed “Man… I need to balance my blood sugar levels naturally!”

I think not. So getting someone to pull out their wallet to buy that so-called “benefit” will be difficult at best.

Here’s how Makepeace identifies the real benefit hidden in that headline:

Nobody really wants to balance their blood sugar levels. But anyone in his or her right mind DOES want to avoid the misery of blindness … cold, numb, painful limbs … amputation … and premature death that go along with diabetes.

A high risk person will want to avoid the terrible effects of diabetes. That is the true benefit that the example product offers.

How to Extract True Benefits

So, how do you successfully extract true benefits from features? Here’s a four-step process that works:

• First, make a list of every feature of your product or service.
• Second, ask yourself why each feature is included in the first place.
• Third, take the “why” and ask “how” does this connect with the prospect’s desires?
• Fourth, get to the absolute root of what’s in it for the prospect at an emotional level.

Let’s look at a product feature for a fictional RSS Feed Reader:

Feature:

“Contains an artificial intelligence algorithm.”

Why it’s there:

“Adds greater utility by adapting and customizing the user’s information experience.”

What’s in it for them:

“Keeps the things you read the most at the forefront when you’re in a hurry.”

Emotional Root:

“Stay up to date on the things that add value to your life and career, without getting stressed out from information overload.”

Getting to the emotional root is crucial for effective consumer sales. But what about business prospects?

When Features Work

When selling to business or highly technical people, features alone can sometimes do the trick. Pandering to emotions will only annoy them. Besides, unlike consumers (who mostly “want” things rather than “need” them), business and tech buyers often truly need a solution to a problem or a tool to complete a task. When a feature is fairly well known and expected from your audience, you don’t need to sell it.

However, with innovative features, you still need to move the prospect down the four-step path. While the phrase “contains an artificial intelligence algorithm” may be enough to get the Slashdotreader salivating, he’ll still want to know how it works and what it does for him. The What’s in it for me? aspect remains crucial.

For business buyers, you’re stressing “bottom line” benefits from innovative features. If you can demonstrate that the prospect will be a hero because your CRM product will save her company $120,000 a year compared to the current choice, you’ve got a good shot.

While that may seem like a no-brainer purchase to you, you’ll still need to strongly support the promised benefit with a detailed explanation of how the features actually deliver. Remember, change scares the business buyer, because it’s their job or small business on the line if the product disappoints.

Sell With Benefits, Support With Features

We’re not as logical as we’d like to think we are. Most of our decisions are based on deep-rooted emotional motivations, which we then justify with logical processes. So, first help the right brain create desire, then satisfy the left brain with features and hard data so that the wallet actually emerges.

Eat East: Questionaire

Competitor

1. 你有無食過微波爐食品?

2. 你食過咩類型既微波爐食品?
A. 叮叮粉麵飯 B.叮叮點心 C.叮叮小食(碗仔翅, 魚蛋…….)
D. 叮叮甜品 E. 其他 ……………………

3. 你最鐘意食以上哪種微波爐食品?
A. 叮叮粉麵飯 B.叮叮點心 C.叮叮小食(碗仔翅, 魚蛋…….)
D. 叮叮甜品 E. 其他……………………

4. 你鐘意食邊個牌子既微波爐食品？
A. 淘大 B. 美心 C. 好E食 D. 波仔
E. 龍鳳茶樓 F. 公仔 G. 其他

5. 你肚餓的時候, 會選擇哪種食品?

A. 叮叮食品 B.即食麵 C.乾糧(餅乾,麵包…)
D. 零食 E. 其他……………………

About 波仔

1. 有無聽過/食過波仔?

2. 你從咩途徑知道有波仔?
A. 朋友/家人講 B. 超市見到 C. 廣告 D. 其它………….

3. 覺得波仔宣傳夠唔夠?

4. 知唔知佢有專門店?

5. 覺得佢既價錢如何?
A. 超平! B. 平平地... C. 適中 D. 有點貴 E. 超貴!

6. 覺得佢既味道如何?
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆ (10粒星星滿分請填色)

7. 整體而言, 你覺得波仔邊樣野最吸引?
A. 價錢 B. 味道 C. 品質 D. 款式 (選擇多) E. 賣相

Eat East: 三隻小豬

從前，有三隻快樂的胖小豬與豬媽媽生活在一起。

有一天，豬媽媽對三隻小豬說：「小寶寶們！你們都已經長大了，媽媽希望你們能各自去建造自己的家園了。」

三隻小豬都很有精神的回答：「是的！媽媽。」

首先，要建設房屋。怎樣的房屋才是好的呢？第一隻小豬認為：「如果建造一間稻草房子，不是容易而且溫暖的嗎？」於是他收集了很多稻草，立刻著手建造房子。

稻草房屋很快就蓋好了。

這時候，有一隻可怕的大野狼來到了剛好的稻草屋前：「真是座好房屋呢，讓我進來坐坐好嗎？」

「不行，我討厭你！」小豬心裡想如果被野狼進來了，我一定會被他吃掉。

「唷！你好大的膽子；好吧！你這用稻草做的房子，看我用一口氣就能吹倒它！」

「噗！」胖小豬的稻草房子被吹得搖來搖去，不一會兒，就被野狼輕輕鬆鬆的給吹垮了。因此，第一隻小豬也就被野狼給吃掉了。

第二隻小豬是用樹枝作材料，來建造房子的。並且說：「用樹枝做成的房子也是很容易呀！你看，已經完成了。」

不久，大野狼也來到第二隻小豬所建造的木頭房屋前「真是一間好房屋啊！讓我進企參觀好嗎？」

當第二隻小豬拒絕讓野狼進企時，野狼就很生氣的「噗！噗！」地用力吹氣，而這間木頭房屋也被野狼輕鬆地吹得七零八落；當然，第二隻小豬也被野狼吃掉了。

第三隻胖小豬是用磚瓦做材料，來建造房屋的，由於磚塊很重，所以搬運起來相當的辛苦。

小豬每天都很辛勤的工作，磚塊一塊接一塊的堆砌起來。

「好了，好了！」

勤勞的小豬，終於建造出一間既漂亮又堅固的磚塊房屋了。

「嘩！好漂亮的房子呀！讓我進去好嗎？」野狼來到磚塊房子前，又想吃第三隻小豬。

「你快走開，我不歡迎你。」當小豬拒絕後，野狼就很生氣的「噗地，噗地！」用力吹氣，由於這間房子十分堅固；因此，野狼再怎麼用力吹，房子仍然不會動搖。

後來，野狼就想把小豬從家裡騙出來，他對小豬說：「小豬啊！我知道有一個地方長出了許多好吃的菜呢。」
「哦，在那裏，在田裡嗎？」
「就在空地的對面，明天早上六點鐘我們去摘吧！」
隔上五點不到小豬就起床，把菜都摘回來了。
六點一到，當野狼來到小豬屋前，小豬若無其事的說：「狼先生啊！剛才我已經把菜都摘回來了呢！請原諒吧！」沒辦法，野狼只好再一次地向小豬勸誘說：「我還知道有很多好吃的蘋果呢。」
「蘋果樹在那裡啊！」小豬問。
「在山丘上，明天早上五點鐘我們去摘吧！」
隔天早上，小豬四點鐘就出門了。由於路途遙遠，而且要爬樹，所以耽誤了不少時間，因此，當小豬在採蘋果的時候，野狼也到了。
小豬就對野狼說：「狼先生！請接好這些蘋果。」於是小豬儘可能地將蘋果丟得遠遠的。
小豬就利用野狼在撿蘋果的這段空擋，趕緊溜回家去了。
第二天野狼又來了，他說：「從昨天開始，街上就在進行大拍賣，這次我們一塊去吧！」
這次小豬還是比約定的時間還要早，就到了街上，而且還買了一個由黃柚木所製成的木桶。
這時候，大野狼又出現了。
「啊！糟了，該怎麼辦呢？」小豬就趕緊躲進木桶內，又正好是下坡，所以這木桶就以野桶為目標，「咕嚕、咕嚕！」地滾了下去。
野狼大吃一驚：「哎呀，這木桶怎在追我啊！」小豬就這樣死命的逃回家去了。
不久，野狼去到了小豬家，對小豬說了木桶的事，小豬反而笑著說：「哈哈！你真笨，那是我躲在桶子裏呀。」
「哼！你敢愚弄我，我絕不饒你。」野狼仍然無法進入小豬的磚塊房屋；後來，野狼發現了煙囪。「有辦法了，從這裡就可以進去了。」
「哎呀！不得了，該怎麼辦？」
於是小豬就將裝滿水的大鍋子放在壁爐裡面，然後將火熊熊地燃燒起來。不知情的野狼仍然由煙囪下來，掉落在鍋子中，這時小豬趕緊用蓋子將鍋子蓋住，而呼嚕呼嚕地燒起火來了。
聰明的小豬終於除掉大野狼，過著快樂的日子。