A whitepaper on why guerilla marketing should be included as a part of your marketing plan.

1. Media buyers & planners are keen on alternative media
A whitepaper on why guerilla marketing should be included as a part of your marketing plan
About the Author
Street Sampling, Inc. March 2009
This is surely a grim year for traditional media, and even the internet is seeing
a slowing in growth, but one area of media appears to be doing well through
STR E E T SAM P LI NG® this ad recession, and that's alternative media.
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By and large, media buyers and planners go out of their way to include
alternative media elements on media plans they present to clients, and they
also think spending on alternative media will be up this year over last.
Scott Thurston is the President of Street
Sampling Inc™., a Washington, DC,
experiential marketing agency. Street
Sampling has executed programs on behalf 2009 Spending increase on alternative media?
of agencies and clients that include: Chevy,
Lacoste, Krispy Kreme, Dr. Pepper, Reynolds,
Puma, and the Lance Armstrong Foundation.
31%
Scott has conceptualized, created,
YES
executed, or fixed broken programs. From
multi-city tours, special events, grand NO
openings, and live product sampling... he
has done it all.
69%
Prior to entering the world of experiential
marketing, Scott spent 12 years in senior
manager and director positions within the
hospitality industry. His extensive
That's the outcome of a February 2009 survey by Media Life Magazine1
operations experience lends itself well to
asking readers what sort of coverage of alternative media they'd most like
the successful execution of experiential
to see in the pages of Media Life.
marketing programs.
For the purposes of the survey, alternative media was defined as quot;all forms
of out-of-home advertising beyond traditional billboards, ranging from digital
signage to street teams handing out product samples to skywriting to
HOW TO CONTACT US:
advertising on beach umbrellas.quot;
Street Sampling Inc.
The survey was targeted to media planners and buyers and marketers either
www.streetsampling.com
directly involved in recommending alternative media or having a voice in
1402 North Capitol Street NW
decisions regarding alternative media. Readers who did not qualify were
Washington, DC 20002
excluded from the survey. Among qualifying respondents, roughly two thirds
202-265-0440
were directly involved in recommending alternative media.
scott@streetsampling.com

2. Experiential marketing is all about connecting customers with brands -
What is your attitude toward alternative media? and doing so in a non-traditional and memorable way. Experiential
marketing aims to personalize the brand experience to each individual.
3% 2% Many people are very resistant to traditional advertising techniques -
35% and they will go to lengths to avoid them.
Very positive
33%
Whereas traditional product-centered advertising methods serve to
Generally positive
stimulate the rational thought processes of a given consumer, brand
Neutral marketing (experiential marketing) affects the consumer’s decision to
purchase far more effectively by generating emotional responses. The
Not positive
field of experiential marketing has blossomed since its introduction in
Very negative the 1980s as a powerful alternative to traditional advertising method-
ologies. Mainstream marketers now readily and excitedly embrace these
unconventional tactics because they understand the effectiveness.
35%
In many cases for less than the cost of a traditional billboard, you can
put feet on the street and a face to your brand. From product sampling,
pop-up stores, guerilla, wild postings, publicity stunts, sidewalk chalk
and more! The possibilities for direct one-to-one marketing are endless.
Which media do you choose to cut to add an
alternative media into a plan? Experiential marketing attempts to connect consumers with brands in
personally relevant and memorable ways. The alternative term
3%
customer-experience marketing emphasizes the idea of communicating
12%
36%
the essence of a brand through a personalized experience.
Newspaper
18%
TV
As a marketing methodology, experiential marketing aims to move
beyond the traditional “features-and-benefits” marketing, cast to a
Radio
wide audience that includes not only those who may benefit from a
Magazine
brand or product, but also those who would not benefit at all. (As a
result of such traditional marketing, people avoid messages whenever
Internet
possible and by any means possible i.e. pop-up blockers, Do Not Call
Registry and DVRs (such as TiVo) to avoid exposure to commercials.) In
31%
contrast, experiential marketing presents an experience that people
choose to attend and participate in after identifying the relevance of a
brand to their needs.
Experiential or guerrilla marketing relies on interactive communication
Are the clients more willing to spend money on alternative with prospective consumers rather than passive persuasion techniques.
media than 2 years ago? Feelings of pleasure and comfort are invoked leaving the prospect
naturally curious to learn and/or experience more about the message or
5%
product at hand. Unique brand image and value is driven into the minds
14%
of prospects and effective relationships are developed between the
21%
brand and the prospects.
Far more willing with spend increase
More open without increasing the spend
A successful experiential marketing campaign breaks through the
clutter of traditional media. Street Sampling works to create a creative
No changes
synergistic program which is then executed by a professional staff
First thing to be cut from plan
matched to your demographic. We deliver results and always develop
ways to measure ROI.
60%
People + Plan + Experience = RESULTS

3. Engaging, entertaining and interactive experiential marketing makes
prospective consumers take notice and appreciate a given brand.
How often do you include alternative media elements in an overall media plan?
We try to do so whenever we can
Sometimes
Much of the time if there is the budget for it
Almost never
0 10 20 30 40 50
What changed to make alternative media that much more attractive to clients?
Rising clutter in TV and other media
The ability to deliver highly targeted messages
The increasing number of smart options
Reach across a number market with one buy
through digital networks
The increasing sophistication of sellers
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Better, more sophisticated tracking of results
Better execution of campaigns
Feedback from friends/business associate about
campaigns they’ve encountered in the past
Cost efficiency
Comparatively low cost
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
How do the clients generally respond to alternative media elements in a plan?
Very positive
Most favorably
Little response
Didn’t get the alternative media element
Thought it was a waste of money
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

4. STR E E T SAM P LI NG ™
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As cited below two of the negatives when considering alternative media are the shear amount of work involved and the risk of an execution malfunction.
Experiential marketing requires years of experience to master and because it can take multiple executions of the same program to develop a rhythm and
proper controls. It is not likely that most advertising agencies could develop and execute a program the first time out of the box. You can minimize your risks
by partnering with an experienced agency like Street Sampling. We specialize in building and activating grassroots networks and embrace word-of-mouth.
Street Sampling hires the best people to represent your brand. Our staff works tirelessly in taking your message to the streets and in making your brand
successful. Street Sampling’s brand ambassadors are outgoing, energetic, attractive and connected to the local scene. They are trendsetters and spotters
who share a common voice with your target audience, making them a trusted source for opinion and information. We have mastered the issues that drive
great program results.
What are the negatives you and your team are most likely to consider?
Lack of means for qualifying performance
for many alternative media
Lack of research
The amount of work that must go into
executing an alternative media element
Risk that will fizzle or malfunction,
embarrassing the client
Poor Cost vs. Impact ratio
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
There are advantages of layering multiple marketing strategies based on the target consumer. As an example you would not use coupons to market a teen
product. The goal is to win over as many groups of consumers as possible given the marketing budget. According to another survey2 , an astounding 92% of
consumers said they’d buy a product if they tried and liked the sample they received. When asked, “If a brand wanted to convince you to buy its product,
which type of advertising/promotion would most likely convince you to switch brands and buy the other product? 62% of consumers selected product
sampling to other types of promotion and advertising3. The goal with experiential and alternative marketing is to create a memorable brand experience
one-to-one with the consumer. By doing so, we can move consumers to action and ultimately to purchase. Product sampling is not a short-term promotion
vehicle but rather, a long-term investment in brand loyalty. During this current economic downturn, the smart money is on increasing effective brand
marketing by grabbing market share as your competitors may be trimming their marketing budgets.
Agencies and brands should consistently view experiential marketing as a key part of the media mix in order to gain new users and grow the business. While
sampling may seem to take a bite out of the budget, brand marketers need to consider the powerful results and the lifetime value of a customer before
closing the door on this powerful medium.
1 Media Life Magazine - survey media buyers & planners, Feb 2009
2 Product Sampling Council - CPG Marketer survey Feb 2007, Consumer Research, Mar. 2007
3 PROMO 2006 - IMI International Study
Street Sampling Inc. | www.streetsampling.com | 202-265-0440 | scott@streetsampling.com STR E E T SAM P LI NG
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