Guerilla Marketing

I have always been fascinated with the concept of guerilla style marketing, which incorperates the media into every day life. Many people do not like this style because of its deceptive connotation, but I find that it can be extremely effective and inspiring when used creatively. There is something about the concept of falling in love with a campaign before you even know the product that I find captivating. Guerilla marketing avoids the barriers that many people uphold against advertisements, which I like because many people find associate advertising with TV commercials and think it is some evil industry. However, in reality, everyone participates in advertising every day just by being influenced. Influence to do something, buy something, go somewhere; these are choices that we make every day with the help of advertising. It just may not be direct.



This video is one of the best uses of guerrila advertising that I have seen recently, and I especially liked it because of my interest in the music industry. An electronic music group called Waxdolls needed to promote their new single, Brain Pop. So, the group sent two people into a club (where most people hear their new favorite songs) to start a "dance-off." They managed to use two things that America loves, music and confrontation, to gather a crowd around the two individuals. Everyone was watching, and once they became the center of attention, they played the single for a dance battle performance. I doubt that anyone walked away from the club without wondering what song had been playing during that memorable moment. Advertising is taking over the music industry, pushing record companies to the back burner. Every musician is essentially advertising themself, and this is a perfectly innovative example of the future of the industry.

Train Day

I'm originally from Chicago, which my background image of the "L" Train would allude to. Chicago is a melting pot of marketing communications, especially on the public transit system which has grown to incorperate not only the posters and advertisements seen posted inside the train and on the platform stops but also such innovative ideas as hologram adverstisements posted on the subway walls that play like movies as you fly by. This particular advertisement was hijacked from Union Station by a relative who is a graphic designer. I have always loved the campaign, which was active in May 2009, for its classic style in combination with innovative graphics. The series combined traditional print ad styling with images of train-headed cartoon people. It generates curiosity for a holiday that might typically be overlooked. I certainly had never heard of nor cared about Train Day before seeing this ad.

Although I was unable to find the artist, I did find on the National Train Day website that the campaign is moving even further to try to promote the train as a top choice for transportation. This year, they added award-winning actress Rosario Dawson as their spokesperson. Using an opinion leader such as Dawson to attract attention to the event would have been an excellent way to generate buzz if it had been utilized, but when I was in the city earlier this month I did not see any ads that associated her face with the campaign.

Rosario did say this about the campaign, "I am delighted to join Amtrak and train fans everywhere in celebrating National Train Day. I love trains not only because they offer a more intimate way to see the country and experience the communities along the way, but also because they are one of the greatest ways to travel, which is a value that has always been important to me."