Ambush marketing is a subtle way of marketing. Can be used by anyone but it is an expensive way. (This ppt is done for an assignment.)

1. AMBUSH MARKETING
By:
Vishnu
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2. CONTENTS
 What is Ambush marketing?!
 INTRODUCTION
 Real-World Ambush Marketing Examples
 Why Use Ambush Marketing?
 What Are the Disadvantages of Ambush Marketing?
 Few more examples for ambush marketing.
 Closure
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3. What is Ambush marketing?!
 As a term, it is so uncertain that most articles on the subject start
by defining what term means often by using examples of such
practices.
 Ambush marketing or ambush advertising is
a marketing strategy in which an advertiser "ambushes" an event
to compete for exposure against competing advertisers. The term
"ambush marketing" was coined by marketing strategist Jerry
Welsh, while he was working as the manager of global marketing
efforts for American Express in the 1980s.
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 It is a legal tactic
 Often referred to as “guerilla” marketing
 Has proven to be very successful
 Presents many challenges for those hosting the
event
 Results in the perception that companies are
affiliated with an event when they actually are not
 Allows for penetration into events in which a
competitor may have exclusivity rights
Ambush Marketing

5. INTRODUCTION
“ Ambushers [are like] thieves, knowingly stealing something that
does not belong to them. A form of parasite, feeding off the
goodwill and value of the organization, they are trying to deceive
the public into believing they support. Like leeches, they suck the
lifeblood and goodwill out of the institution.”
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(Michael Payne, Former Marketing Director, IOC)

6. "Ambush marketing is a transparent attempt to cash in on the passion of
our fans"
- NFL spokesman Brian McCarthY
“A planned effort (campaign) by an organization to associate itself indirectly
with an event in order to gain at least some of the recognition and benefits
that are associated with being an official sponsor.”
(Sandler and Shani, 1989)
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7. Ambush marketing – also known as coat-tail marketing or
predatory ambushing – is the practice of hijacking or co-opting
another advertiser’s campaign to raise awareness of another
company or brand, often in the context of event sponsorships.
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Real-World Ambush Marketing Examples

9.  1# BMW vs. Audi
 Santa Monica, California, may be famous for its lengthy pier and near-perfect weather, but this affluent coastal city
was also the battlefield upon which two of the world’s largest car manufacturers waged a war for billboard
dominance.
 The spat began soon after BMW hosted a rally in Wisconsin, an event that was publicized through an accompanying
campaign. The slogan of the campaign was “A BMW rally with two nearby service centers. What’s next, paramedics
at a chess tournament?”
 Crappy, nonsensical slogans aside, Audi saw an opportunity to capitalize upon BMW’s campaign. In response to
BMW’s ads, Audi purchased a billboard in Santa Monica advertising its new A4 sedan and mocking BMW’s slogan:
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Not long after the billboard above
appeared in Santa Monica, Audi
doubled down and erected another giant
roadside provocation to BMW, while
cleverly sticking to BMW’s regrettable
chess theme:
 BMW didn’t take
this attack lying
down. In response,
BMW purchased an
enormous billboard
across the street
from Audi’s
billboard:
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 By now, you’d think that two of the world’s largest vehicle manufacturers would have tired of their childish tit-for-tat. They
hadn’t.
 After BMW erected its “Checkmate” billboard response, Audi upped its game again by launching yet another billboard ad
with yet another witty chess-related quip. Ultimately, BMW won the day with its final, withering response:
 Oh, and to really twist the knife, BMW actually tethered the blimp to Audi’s R8 billboard.
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#2: Paddy Power
 Unlike our friends in the States, many of whom seem to have an irrational,
almost phobic aversion to a friendly wager, my countrymen in Britain love
a good bet. Walk down any high street in the U.K. and you’ll most likely
see at least one or two bookmakers, among the best-known of which is
Irish gambling chain Paddy Power.
 Like so many of the most notorious ambush marketing campaigns, Paddy
Power’s first foray into the exciting world of predatory ambushing took
place during the Olympic Games – the London 2012 Games, to be precise.
 As the British capital geared up for the Games, Paddy Power
launched a wide-scale billboard campaign across the city, claiming
it was the “Official sponsor of the largest athletics event in London
this year.” Below the bookmaker’s bold claim was a disclaimer that
revealed Paddy Power was referring to the town of London, France
–the event the ad referred to was not the Olympic Games, but
rather a traditional egg-and-spoon race that Paddy Power really did
sponsor.
 The IOC took a predictably dim view of Paddy Power’s tongue-in-
cheek campaign, and demanded the Irish bookie take down the ads
immediately. Paddy Power challenged the IOC’s order in court,
and ultimately won its fight against the IOC in a landmark ruling.

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#3: Samsung vs. Apple
 In October of 2011, Apple was preparing to launch the then-latest
iteration of its flagship mobile device, the iPhone 4S.
 The device launch was expected to be one of the most hotly
anticipated tech events of the year – so Samsung decided to crash
Apple’s party by erecting a pop-up store just a few feet away from
Apple’s prestigious storefront in Sydney, Australia.
 While eager Apple acolytes (Appolytes?) waited patiently to get
their hands on the new iPhone, Samsung proceeded to sell its Galaxy
SII device for just $2 AUS – mere pocket change compared to
Apple’s $850 iPhone.
 Plenty of people managed to resist Samsung’s tempting offer,
but many more still chose to walk away with a brand-new
Samsung device rather than wait in line for the iPhone 4S.
 Although Samsung took an enormous financial hit with its
iPhone launch event stunt (which we’ll break down shortly),
the incident proved just how easy it can be to ride the coat-
tails of one of the world’s biggest brands.

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#4: Rona and the iPods
 When you’re one of the wealthiest companies in the history
of mankind, you can’t help but attract attention. Case in
point, another classic ambush marketing example of a
company leveraging Apple’s advertising to its own ends.
 Back in 2010, Apple’s colourful iPod Nano was among the
most popular MP3 players on the market (just typing this
makes me feel ancient). To advertise its iPod Nano line,
Apple erected a billboard ad next to the Jacques Cartier
Bridge in Montreal displaying the vividly colourful MP3
players in a satisfying rainbow-ribbon arrangement.
 Sensing an opportunity, Canadian paint and hardware
firm Rona seized its chance. Rona soon erected its
own billboard ad directly beneath Apple’s iPod ad to
advertise the company’s new paint recycling program.
The ad, which bore the slogan “Nous récupérons les
restes de peinture,” or “We collect leftover paint,” was
brilliantly simple, and the ad remains one of the best
and most creative examples of ambush marketing in
recent memory.

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Why Use Ambush Marketing?

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Now that we know what ambush marketing is, let’s take a look at some of the advantages of this type of advertising
campaign.
Ambush Marketing Campaigns Can Be Very Clever
 Something I personally love about ambush marketing campaigns is how cheeky they can be and the creative
flexibility these campaigns offer.
 Since most ambush marketing campaigns directly respond to or otherwise leverage an existing campaign by a close
competitor, ambush campaigns can – and often, have to – be extremely creative. This includes everything from
visual trickery to witty wordplay. As a result, ambush marketing campaigns are often a lot more memorable than a
typical ad precisely because they’re unusually entertaining or clever.

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 Subtle references and sly jokes are often integral to the
success of ambush marketing campaigns. As we saw
in the Audi vs. BMW example above, ambush
campaigns often respond directly to one another,
which can turn visual humour into a vital competitive
edge.
 Even if one ad is “better” than another, the funnier or
cleverer ad will often be much more memorable, as
Newcastle Brown Ale proved in the example ambush
campaign above.

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Ambush Marketing Campaigns Can Go Off-Script
 When it comes to display advertising – online or IRL – cohesion is crucial.
From enormous, towering billboards in Times Square to a mobile sidebar ad,
brands have to ensure that their campaigns look, feel, and sound the same
across all platforms.
 Ambush campaigns, however, can get a little more creative.
 One of the key advantages of ambush marketing is that it allows
brands to go off-script from their regular advertising campaigns,
whether in style, tone, or content. Brands can and frequently do
employ techniques that may be beyond the scope of a company’s
established brand or advertising guidelines, affording the ambusher a
great deal more creative freedom and flexibility.
 Italian car manufacturer Fiat leveraged this principle to great effect in
an impromptu ambush campaign back in 2013 when Fiat somehow
managed to park a red Fiat 500 hatchback car on the front steps of
Volkswagen’s Swedish headquarters – just in time for a Google Maps
car to pass, which preserved Fiat’s little stunt for years in Google
Maps results. (The offending little red Fiat is no longer immortalized in
Maps results, as Google refreshed the old image with a newer image
that was taken in June of 2017).

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Ambush Marketing Can Change Consumer Perceptions
 Another benefit of ambush marketing is that, done well, it can actually help brands cultivate and exhibit new brand
attributes and values that consumers may not necessarily already associate with that advertiser.
 Take South African airline Kulula, for example. To coincide with the 2010 World Cup, Kulula launched an ad campaign
branding itself as the “Unofficial National Carrier of the You-Know-What,” a not-so-subtle reference to the forthcoming
soccer tournament. The World Cup’s governing body, FIFA, demanded that Kulula cease the campaign immediately,
claiming that the airline sought “to gain a promotional benefit for the Kulula brand by creating an unauthorized association
with the 2010 FIFA World Cup.”
 Though unhappy with FIFA’s decision, Kulula reluctantly complied with FIFA’s order. However, the airline wasn’t
done quite yet. Shortly after the ads were pulled, Kulula said it would fly anyone named Sepp Blatter – the name
of FIFA’s then-president – for free. Eventually, the airline located a Boston Terrier that shared a name with FIFA’s
former president, and made the improbably named pup an unofficial mascot.
 This campaign serves as a great example of how ambush marketing can help brands cultivate new brand
values. Air travel is an insanely competitive industry, but Kulula’s ambush campaign not only gained the airline
some invaluable publicity, but also advanced the idea that Kulula isn’t just another dry, boring airline.

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What Are the Disadvantages of Ambush Marketing?

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So, we’ve looked at how and when ambush marketing can work well, but this approach is not without its downsides.
Ambush Marketing Can Be Very Expensive
 The main drawback of ambush marketing is that it has the potential to be very expensive.
 Take the very public spat between Audi and BWM in Santa Monica above, for example. For the sake of argument,
let’s assume that a billboard in Santa Monica costs $10,000 per month (not including actual design or printing costs).
The fight between Audi and BMW lasted for several months and resulted in four separate billboard ads running
simultaneously in the same geographic location, which almost definitely drove costs up even further. Then BMW
went and put a zeppelin above all four billboards, which can cost anywhere between $500,000 and $5 million. So far,
we’re talking almost $100,000 on the billboards alone, plus the cost of BMW’s blimp, plus all design and production
costs. Not exactly small change.
 Ambush marketing might seem like a great way to piggy-back on another brand’s efforts – and it can be –
but it also demands a certain level of spend that puts this approach beyond the reach of smaller
companies or newer, less established brands. That’s why ambush campaigns tend to be launched by well-
funded brands at major international events like the Olympics or the Super Bowl – it’s so expensive, the
return has to be worthwhile.

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Calculating the ROI of Ambush Marketing Is Very Difficult
 Another problem with ambush marketing campaigns is that calculating the ROI of such a campaign can be very
difficult, if not actually impossible.
 Take our Samsung hijacking example from earlier. In terms of the upfront overhead costs, Samsung’s little stunt in
Sydney wasn’t that expensive. There was the cost of refurbishing the pop-up store itself and the wages of the
Samsung employees who manned the store during the event.
 The real cost of this ambush marketing campaign was the massive hit that Samsung took on each individual Galaxy
SII device sold during the event.

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Time for some napkin math!
First, we need to establish the base cost of a Galaxy SII device. For the sake of example, let’s
say that a Samsung Galaxy SII cost $499, which is what the device retailed for at launch in
many regions.
Next, we need to determine how many Galaxy SII devices Samsung sold during its ambush
marketing event. For our purposes, we’ll say that the Samsung pop-up store sold 750 Galaxy
SII devices that day.

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Finally, we need to figure out how much it cost Samsung to put on its event in Sydney. Let’s say
Samsung hired two people to staff the pop-up store, paid each of them $15 per hour (ha!), and asked
them to work for eight hours each. This means our staffing costs would be $240. Now let’s say that
it cost Samsung $10,000 to actually refurbish the store. Using these figures, we can say that
Samsung’s ambush marketing event cost $10,240.
If this were a typical ad campaign, we might use the following formula to come up with some
numbers:
Value of a Galaxy SII multiplied by Number of devices sold minus Event overhead costs
Since we know that a Galaxy SII costs $499, that Samsung sold 750 devices during the event, and
spent $10,240 to actually put on the event itself, the formula above would look like this:
499 x 750 – 10,240 = 364,010
So, using the monkey math above, we could say that Samsung’s ambush marketing campaign
generated $364,010 in revenue – not bad for a pop-up store!
But wait a minute – wasn’t Samsung was selling its Galaxy SII devices for just $2? Now our math
looks a lot less attractive:
2 x 750 – 10,240 = -8,740

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Going by the actual numbers, Samsung actually lost almost $9,000 in revenue because it was selling its
Galaxy SII devices for just two bucks..
This is how much it really cost Samsung to put on its event in Sydney.
You can’t assign numerical values to intangible factors such as brand awareness or positive consumer sentiment,
which makes it very difficult to effectively gauge the ROI of an ambush marketing campaign. It’s easier to
gauge the overall reception of an ambush campaign by monitoring mainstream and social media for mentions,
links, and other engagement metrics, but when you get down to brass tacks, proving the financial ROI of an
ambush marketing campaign can be very difficult.

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Time and Space Are Factors in Ambush Marketing
Another problem with ambush marketing campaigns is that in addition to the potential costs involved, these
campaigns often require a relatively quick response or coordinated planning (or both) if they’re to work
effectively or successfully leverage the target campaign to achieve its goal. To complicate matters further, the
availability and price of advertising inventory can make or break an ambush marketing campaign before it even
gets off the ground.
It’s a Trap!
Ambush marketing isn’t a viable marketing strategy for most businesses. The costs involved can be
prohibitively expensive to all but the wealthiest of brands, but the underlying strategies beneath
ambush marketing as a concept can be easily applied to your campaigns, from PPC campaigns on the
search network to primarily visual campaigns on Facebook.

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How do companies and/or governing bodies
combat ambush marketing?
Just prior to the start of the
2014 World Cup, FIFA banned
players from wearing any
headphones that did not
feature the Sony name while at
the tournament because Sony
was an official tournament
sponsor (according to Reuters,
Sony sent every player a free
pair of headphones to wear).

28. Few more examples for ambush marketing.
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32. QUESTIONS??
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33. REFERENCES
 https://www.slideshare.net/SudiptaDeSarkar/ambush-marketing-
3430059
 https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2018/04/04/ambush-
marketing
 https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/ambush-at-
barcelona-rivals-are-piggybacking-official-sponsors-of-the-
olympic-games-write-nick-1534185.html
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34. Thank you
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