Guerrilla Marketing Tactics For Creating Attention

Rich Schefren, his Attention Age Doctrine (well worth downloading & reading if you are interestyed in Web 2.0 and the social media ) and the whole build up to his Business Acceleration Program launch has really had me thinking about marketing tactics for creating attention and raising awareness.

The problem - the CACOPHONY OF NOISE that advertisers have created.

The louder they all shout, the louder and more extreme anyone has to be to command attention.

Why is Attention Essential?

One of the most famous guides for advertising and copywriting success is AIDA:

• Attention - you have to grab somebody's attention. Advertising that isn't noticed is worthless.
   
• Interest - you have to create interest in your product or services.
   
• Desire - that interest must be transformed into desire. The watcher or reader must starting wanting your product to solve a problem they have or to deliver a benefit that enhances their lives.
   
• Action - finally, the prospective customer has to be encouraged to take action by making the necessary steps to get your product clear and easily performed.

Creating Attention: Gone From Being The Easiest To Hardest?

In the "good old days" it used to be thought that creating attention was the easiest of the stages. There are some great headlines that have been proven to work - see Jay Abraham's 100 Greatest Headlines Ever Written

Now people are thinking that grabbing attention has become the hardest because of the noise created by the rest of the marketers.

But even worse the same marketing noise means that it is increasingly difficult to keep that attention when you have it and building an ongoing relationship with your market.

Jay Conrad Levinson, Father of Guerrilla Marketing tells us that on average we only see one out of every three marketing messages and that it takes nine seen contacts to create a customer.

These numbers are probably even worse now in 2008 but the message is simple. You have to work hard to create attention.

Rather than talk more about Rich Schefren and his ideas for creating attention in social media, I thought that I would dip back into history and tell you a few stories that I like. If you can think of any more, please leave a comment.

I have tried to focus on what I think of as Guerrilla Marketing Tactics for Creating Attention that leverage imagination rather than money.

The Easy Way To Gain Attention: A Mountain Of Cash

Anyone can create attention if they throw a mountain of cash at the problem, run wall to wall TV and radio advertisements, have posters on billboards and all the conventional marketing so I have been looking for stories with a little twist.

The Guerrilla Marketing Method For Creating Attention: Using Your Imagination

I hope that over time this article grows as I remember old examples or see new ones (or you suggest more stories that use unconventional techniques and methods for generating attention.)

But here are my starting three attention grabbers.

The Lamborghini Miura

Lamborghini is now a famous brand name associated with luxury, speed and style.

Back in the early/mid sixties it was different.

Ferruccio Lamborghini, owner of an Italian tractor manufacturing company, angry with Ferrari decided to show that he could build a better exotic sports car.

The Lamborghini Miura is stunning to look at and even today, it is regularly considered to be one of the most beautiful cars ever built.

It created a sensation at the Geneva motor show when it was first revealed to the public but Lamborghini needed to create attention with the rich and famous who could afford to buy the car rather than motor car enthusiasts and young boys.

Lets have a think. Where do the rich and famous gather?

The second public appearance of the car was when it was parked outside the Monte Carlo casino, the day before the Monaco grand prix.

In a country used to flashy cars that most of us can only dream about, and on a night the day when all the people who were somebody would be in Monaco. The crowd was five deep around the car all evening as people wanted to take a closer look.

But Ferruccio Lamborghini thought he could do better. He walked over to the car, sat in the driver's seat and fired up the V12 engine and after that the crowd was ten deep around the car.

Since then the car became famous when it was driven through the mountains in the opening sequence of the original film "The Italian Job"

I'm not sure why but it looks a little distorted in the film clip but you get a better view of the car and the follow up model that helped seal Lamborghini's reputation, the Lamborghini Countach.

Now to get attention you could buy a Lamborghini. It is sure to be a head turner but spending that much money doesn't rank as a Guerrilla Marketing tactic.

But can you take the idea of showing your product to your target customers in such a dramatic way and adapt it for your own use.

Kylie Minogue And A Pair Of Gold Hot Pants

Kylie came to fame in the late eighties as Charlene in the popular Australian soap Neighbours and then, with the help of Stock Aitken & Waterman, launched a career singing synthetic pop songs like "I Should Be So Lucky".

Her popularity declined after the first few years.

She tried to change image and move her songs into more adult themes but she never came close to repeating her early success and while many of us retained a soft spot for her, she was fading from view.

In 2000 she relaunched herself, returning to a style based on 70s disco and her first single "Spinning Around" generated massive video attention.

Why?

She wore gold hot pants in the video that only cost a few pounds to buy.

Let's be honest.

They don't look much do they? Certainly not enough to relaunch a career that would have her singing in the opening ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Olympics a few months later.

But that's exactly what they did and to understand why, you have to watch the video. Kylie's natural attributes clearly helped but the gold hot pants were a stroke of genius.

Here is a brief clips and a commentary on the video - directed by a woman it seems who understands men all too well:

You want more? You want the full video?

Oh go on then. You need a bit of fun and if you've been reading other articles on my Business Coaching Blog, you have been working and you deserve a bit of a treat.

What is interesting is she also wears a pair of white hot pants but do you remember them unless you've just re-watched the video?

Can you take inspiration from the idea of Kylie's hot pants and create attention for your business?

Marks & Spencer Make Food Sexy

Perhaps a national TV advertising campaign isn't your idea of a Guerrilla Marketing campaign.

It creates a huge amount of cash to film the adverts and then to play it regularly on the television.

But what if your advert is so imaginative that it starts a trend?

What if it turns the way that the product is advertised upside down?

What if the adverts are so stylised that, even though your competitors imitate your approach, every time they do it reminds the potential consumer of you?

Now that has to be a Guerrilla Marketing idea doesn't it. Your competitors spend their cash to advertise and prospective customers think of you!

Marks & Spencer ran a series of adverts that some how really put the emotion into food. They were riveting and so good that you almost held your breath while they were shown as you indulged yourself in the sights and sounds.

What a shame that the gratification for taste, smell and touch had to be delayed until you went out and bought the items but the advertising images were so strong that you could they were almost tangible while you watched.

If you haven't seen these, then just watch one or both of these videos that made food sexy.

and

So how can you stir up and use the power of your prospective customer's emotions to create attention.

Gaslight Music Store, Melbourne, Australia

I heard about gaslight through a Jay Abraham program but Gaslight Music (closed 2005) created attention through its different promotions every day, even including an annual Nude Day where if you turned up naked, you received a free CD.

Gaslight went through a long list of different types of events but it became an institution in its heyday through this Guerrilla Marketing technique.

There were several changes of ownership and I don't know whether the special events continued up to the time of closure, but like many music stores it fell victim to the move to Internet music sales, especially for long tail items which Gaslight specialised in stocking.

Other ideas?

If you think of any other great examples where attention has been be created by using imagination and created an iconic symbol, then please leave a comment.

I will take a look and if I agree I will post it on to the article with a suggestion credit back to you.

Nothing too rude though. The Kylie video is my limit.

So How Do You Create Attention?

1. You have to be different.
   
   You won't stand out from the crowd if you follow the herd.
   
   This is the problem that competitors of Marks & Spencer have. By copying the advertising style, viewers think of Marks & Spencer as the originators.
    
2. You have to be newsworthy.
   
   Each of these promotions attracted attention which then attracted the traditional news media in a virtuous circle but it works just as well through the social networking and web 2.0 media.
    
3. You have to appeal to people's emotions.
   
   We have many of them - Arnold identified eleven - anger, aversion, courage, dejection, desire, despair, fear, hate, hope, love, sadness - although other theorists disagree on the exact list. (See Marketing to the emotions for a free report)
   
   How can you tap into the emotions of your prospects?
   
   Remember, it is said that people buy emotionally and then justify their decisions rationally.

I hope that I have given you plenty to think about.

How can you create attention by using your imagination in true Guerrilla Marketing style?

To Your Success

Your Profit Coach

Paul Simister

Business coaching for customer focused entrepreneurs

As a Certified Guerrilla Marketing Coach, I recommend the Guerrilla Marketing Association to all small business owners, coaches and consultants as a high quality, low cost guide to all the developments in marketing and business growth.