Guerilla Marketing (Reading Response)
Guerrilla campaigns are going to extremes but will the message stick?
By Nat Ives, The New York Times
I find the idea of guerilla marketing very interesting because it is something you will NOT see in Orlando, FL. As you leave Orlando International Airport, there is a huge sign that reads “Welcome to Orlando, the City Beautiful.” (A guerilla marketing campaign could start with that sign.) The Disney influence is seen throughout Orlando in the clean streets and lack of graffiti. It’s easier to understand why this type of marketing might work in larger cities with a different mystique than Orlando, e.g. NYC or Los Angeles. Is it possible to take some elements of this type of campaign into Second Life and would it help spread the word about our Globalhood site?
The article describes Le Tigre’s sticker campaign in New York and quotes the Chief Executive as saying “We’re not going to go the traditional advertising route at all. We want to stay as irreverent as possible.” First of all, it’s simply not possible to place signs on just any property in Second Life the way marketers can in RL. Landowners and renters have control over “permissions” in Second Life in a way that simply does not exist in RL. Therefore, the permission of the owners or renters is a prerequisite but it does not mean a similar “irreverent attitude” cannot be utilized in a creative way.
Another example in the article describes six men and women flashing their underwear at strangers outside Grand Central Terminal. Again, in Second Life the permission of the landowners and/or renters would have to be secured before any such stunt could be planned. Islands and the mainland in SL are rated Mature or PG and this is very important to take into consideration when marketing in SL. In some Mature areas, a stunt like the Health & Racquet Club used, flashing the club’s logo and the name of the class, would be a total yawn. In PG areas, an owner can just “evict” your avatar with a few keystrokes so it might be a waste of time trying. However, if a “search and locate” plan was implemented first, then it would be possible to find sites in SL where such a stunt would garner attention in a positive way.
In many ways, SL is already swimming in advertising so it is difficult to claim individuals’ attention. Some experts claim that guerrilla efforts are exactly what consumers don’t want. As J. Walker Smith says in the article, “People more and more want to set their own terms for doing business in the marketplace. One term people are demanding nowadays is the ability to escape from marketing and advertising when they don’t want it around.”
I believe this is even truer in SL than in NYC! People escape to SL because it IS different from RL so that is a fact to always keep in mind when planning a marketing campaign. However, the attitude of the street team members that they want to make things happen is a good mentality when marketing to avatars looking for relief from a humdrum RL. I think the best idea we can take from this article is planning “street stunts” and applying to owners of certain islands for their permission. It will take more preparation upfront but with imagination and a creative use of media such as animation, or machinima, positive energy & attention can be brought to our non-profit site.
Last 5 posts by Theresa
- My first VLE - June 29th, 2008
- Dazed and confused - June 24th, 2008
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:57 pm
The idea of guerilla marketing seems like it would be perfect in most online situations but after reading this week it seems to be harder. Passwords which in second life is similar to a no trespassing sign. At first I thought what a good spot to put graffiti, games, add ons and such but it seems to be more of a problem than doing it in real life. Second life is amazing I was watching some videos in which people are suing others because of copying avatars etc. I recommend looking. I would post here but a lot of them are explicit. It’s interesting.