Understanding How Guerilla Marketing Differs From Traditional Marketing

Marketing

Distinguish between guerilla marketing, permission and word of mouth marketing

Guerilla marketing: this is an alternative and unconventional type of marketing usually employed by smaller companies that perhaps don't have huge advertising / marketing budgets. Guerilla marketing is usually designed to take the consumer "by surprise," by making an "indelible impression which can create copious amounts of social buzz" (creative guerrilla marketing).

Permission marketing: this is a very different kind of marketing, and much of permission marketing is based on social media and other components on the Internet. If an online user goes to Facebook and finds a product or service he would like to know more about or be linked to, he clicks on the link and when there is new product or service is launched he receives an email or a text pitching the newest and latest. In a Forbes article Seth Godin, the permission marketing guru, writes that marketing updates are: a) "anticipated" (people look forward to the next post or email); b) "personal" (messages directly relate to the individual); and c) "relevant" (receiver is interested in the product or service (Rohrs, 2014).

Word-of-mouth marketing: this is the easiest kind of marketing to explain; someone buys a product or purchases a service that the person really appreciates, and so he tells the next person, and that person also likes the product so he tells another, and so on.

Three examples of guerilla beverage marketing: Coca Cola launched a very unique guerilla marketing stunt in New Zealand; they spread love to couples on Valentine's Day by tying Coke cans to helium balloons (red balloons) that landed in front of couples (Waiz, 2013). A Coke vending machine in Spain dispensed 100 Euros with the can of Coke (on the condition that those buying the Coke share the Euros with others) (Waiz, 2013). And Lipton produced a floating vending machine (part of the "Never Lose Your Cool" campaign) so beach goers needed to swim out to the vending machine (Waiz, 2013). The Valentine's Day guerilla marketing project could have sent the couples on a scavenger hunt in the New Zealand town where the stunt took place. The scavenger hunt could have included items hidden in a Victoria's Secret store, in the local library, and in the frozen food section of a supermarket.

Part TWO: three-to-five communication issues confronting organizations in the global marketplace.

ONE: When working in a global environment, cultural diversity requires a change in communication style. Dissimilar cultures receive information and communication in ways that are often quite apart from the comfortable American culture. For example some cultures don't trust information that comes from a manager or executive; they prefer to hear important information from a foreman or leader of a group (Ribbink, 2003).

TWO: A company's ability to communicate its mission should supersede any personal preferences as far as how to train new employees or who should be hired. In other words, the message should be consistent no matter where in the global marketplace the company opens up a new affiliate. Managers must know their team members, know how best to communicate with them based on the cultural values and social experiences of the diverse workplace.