Scarlett Letter #30: Guerrilla marketing–what are the B2B opportunities?

Guerrilla marketing, initially coined by Jay Conrad Levinson has evolved into many subsets, including undercover marketing.

Once upon a time, I knew an architectural firm with a hip intention–they were looking to change their image and appeal to a more urban client base–namely in the markets of commercial interiors, restaurants, and multi-family housing. Relative to their existing suburban portfolio, client base, and brand image, this would be quite a shift…and a fun, albeit challenging, undertaking!

The owner’s notion was to have the junior staff and summer interns collaborate to create and execute some guerrilla marketing tactics in order to raise intrigue and brand awareness. This owner put together what I felt was a pretty neat ‘program’, where he would educate these junior folks on the message and facilitate brainstorming amongst the group to identify the topmost opportunities for guerrilla marketing to enhance their business. As we all know, this sort of marketing operates (by its nature) on a shoestring budget, so creativity and a willingness to take risks are both essential for success.

I can’t tell you the results of their effort, although my recollection (this was three years ago) is that it didn’t wholly get executed, therefore, true success was hard to measure.

However, I recalled the notion fondly last week, when I was walking down the street in Chicago’s Old Town neighborhood. I saw a tree that had a lone posting (see images). Even though this post was small, it immediately commanded attention, as it was the only one on a tree. (Plus, we simply don’t put postings on trees in our neighborhood! It’s an oddity).

I took a closer look (see the other image) and realized it mentioned muffin tops with an arrow. Yum, I thought. Muffin tops are the best. I’ve never heard of this Maxine’s place before. Surely it’s somewhere nearby.

Well, I slowed my pace so that I could find these muffins and learn more. I’m sorry to report that I did not yet locate these muffins, nor did I locate Maxine’s muffins in Chicago on google. Humph.

Nonetheless, because I was intrigued enough to think about it and even google it, the experience reminded me that there is indeed some value to guerrilla marketing, which can often lead to viral marketing (especially with today’s technologies), and it may very well be worthwhile to consider in business-to-business (B2B) scenarios.

Stay tuned for the next post….in my earnest search to find the bakery, I instead found something else wonderful….In the meantime, I’d love to hear any B2B stories that the readers are willing to share.