Guerrilla marketing- What Marketers can Learn from Street Artists

Most of us have gotten the email - the super dimensional chalk drawings done on sidewalks, streets, and alley ways has virtually circled the globe a few times, and with good reason. Instead of going to Gallery owners, art brokers, and museums, this talented artist took to the streets and started putting his temporary chalk images in the center of busy civic centers and walkways, gaining permanent recognition in not only the art community, but the advertising community as well- and corporate giants are now following suit, putting branded images in unexpected places.  (Thank you to redjellyfish.com for their collection of street art pics, I borrowed a few)

But there is more to be learned from street artists than just how to get your images seen, street artist are masters of "Guerrilla Marketing"- getting their opinions, messages and art to the masses without breaking the bank or utilizing tired and dated tactics. Street artists are very 'avant garde' in their approach, and the world of  advertising and marketing could take a lesson or two.

Making Direct Mail Modern: Why this dinosaur will never go extinct.

As a direct marketer, I love direct mail. It is cost effective, targeted, and reaches your customers in a place where they will actually have time to sit down and read what you have to say. But with social media and internet marketing increasing in popularity everyday, more and more brands are turning their backs on their tried and true direct mail campaigns in favor of flashy new online tactics- throwing dollars and time into YouTube videos, SEO, mass emails, and pay per click ads. Of course there is no denying that social media networking and marketing have revolutionized the way that people buy, and the way that consumers interact with brands, but this is not reason enough to abandon the more traditional marketing strategies we know and trust in favor of new, largely unknown marketing territory.

So, what is the trick to balancing the trendy, and instantaneously gratifying social media market with proven, conventional means of direct marketing? INTEGRATE! Instead of treating traditional and online marketing like separate entities, treat them as one cohesive campaign, with the same goals, hitting the same prospect through multiple avenues, ultimately, increasing response across all marketing channels. 

What I Learned from Hootsuite's holiday Hoax:

HootSuite has managed to sucker me into reading their emails, and probably forever. While usually I cannot delete corporate blasted emails from my inbox fast enough, HootSuite's clever April's fools prank convinced me not only of their reign over the realm of twitter add-ons, but also of their marketing teams prowess.

On April 1st, I received the following email with the subject "HootSuite Pivot - CONFIDENTIAL & INTERNAL"  from a Mr. Ryan Holmes, CEO of HootSuite, which reads:

Board, Investors and Friends,

Things have been going really well at HootSuite for the last while, but after watching the massive growth of Zynga and the likes, I've been thinking a lot about if we are in the right business? Building on top of third party platforms can be challenging, and the team and I want a change. I know that this will come as a surprise, but as of today we're pivoting business models with the launch of Happy Owls (screenshot and link to private beta below). This game is really addictive and I think we stand a great shot of making an even bigger splash in a really fun market. 

As always I appreciate your support, and please keep confidential until our public announcement on Monday. 

Ryan
______________________________
Ryan Holmes, CEO
HootSuite - Social Media Dashboard