$2 Million — What a Bargain
By Greg Hansen
Over the past few weeks we were treated to the lamest bunch of Super Bowl ads in history and a guerilla marketing stunt that backfired. Or did it?
This article won't analyze the intelligence of the people of Boston that freaked out over the Cartoon Network/Aqua Teen Hunger Force "finger" signs. We'll save that for another article. Instead, it will address the effectiveness, or ineffectiveness, of guerilla marketing.
The parent company of the Cartoon Network, Turner Broadcasting System Inc., and its marketing company, Interference, Inc., launched this guerilla campaign in only nine cities across the nation. Officials in Boston and surrounding areas thought the end of the world had come and shut down city services, highways, trains, etc…. Every national and local news outlet carried the story for two weeks. Turner and Interference agreed to pay $2 million for costs the cities incurred and to prevent any further litigation. The two men that actually produced the signs and distributed them are still facing charges.
So, was this campaign successful? To put it simply, yes. But the story isn't quite that simple.
If you were offended or upset by this guerilla marketing effort, then you would also be offended by Aqua Teen Hunger Force. In other words, you are not the target and your opinion is irrelevant to the success of the stunt. If you think this was the greatest thing ever, then you are the target they wanted to reach. And reach you, they did. With little effort, Turner created a huge word-of-mouth buzz about Aqua Teen Hunger Force. From only nine cities, this campaign went nationwide in a matter of hours.
So what was the downside?
We get quite a few clients that want to do guerilla marketing — usually because "guerilla marketing doesn't cost me anything." That couldn't be further from the truth. Turner had to pay Interference to come up with the campaign, and then the company that produced and installed the signs had to be paid. And in Turner's case, they now have to pay $2 million to "the man." The lesson to learn: if you want to do guerilla marketing because it doesn't cost anything, forget it. You will pay just as much, if not more, for guerilla marketing than you would spend on other marketing efforts. Although $2 million is a bargain for what Turner got.
Another complexity of guerilla marketing, which was exemplified by Aqua Teen Hunger Force, is that once you put your campaign out there, you no longer have any control over where it goes or what happens. The public and the media take control, for good or bad.
Having been in the advertising industry for almost 20 years, I can honestly say that guerilla marketing campaigns are the hardest to develop and very few are successful. I can count on one hand the number of campaigns that I have heard about that were successful, Turner's recent publicity stunt included.
Clearly, the odds are not in your favor. But if you still want to do guerilla marketing remember these things:
- It will cost you money
- You will lose control
- Don't expect wild success
- You might go to jail
- Give my regards to your new roomate
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