Guerrilla marketing: agile advertising of information services; creating marketing techniques

Information Outlook, Feb, 2003 by Sara Tompson

"RAPID-FIRE MARKETING...STRATEGIC SELLING...ARSENAL OF TACTICS...AGILE advertising." Not typical library terminology! This is the Language of guerrilla marketing, a popular approach that has relevance for library and information professionals. The tactics of guerrilla marketing include some key strategies often discussed within SLA, such as the elevator/watercooler speech and branding. The approach draws upon many SLA competencies, including designing and marketing value-added information services, using appropriate business approaches to communicate the importance of information services, and remaining flexible and positive in times of change. However, guerrilla marketing differs from typical marketing practices in its emphasis on rapid-fire techniques and multiple approaches. The idea is to be prepared with a full quiver of marketing arrows so you can use one here, one over there, and yet another if those didn't hit the targets. Guerrilla marketing also promotes low-cost, easy-to develop, and easy-to-deploy strategies. This article will present an overview of guerrilla marketing concepts, then illustrate how library and information professionals can use them.

Overview

More than ever before, information professionals need a rapid return on marketing investments, given the environment of economic uncertainty coupled with the ongoing, erroneous notion held by many potential customers that "everything is on the Internet." An understanding of guerrilla marketing concepts can aid in developing new ways to promote the value of library and information services without investing large amounts of time or money, two resources always at a premium. A guerrilla marketing paradigm can also keep one focused on continuous marketing.

Shari Caudron's "Guerrilla Tactics" (Industry Week, July 16, 2001, pp. 52-56) gives a clear definition of the approach: "Guerrilla marketing... simply stated, uses unconventional marketing methods to gain conventional results. Like in warfare, guerrilla tactics are used when an organization is small and/or does not have the resources to deal with a large, entrenched enemy head on."

Jay Conrad Levinson is the commander-in-chief of guerrilla marketing. Levinson worked for the advertising agency that created Marlboro Country and the Marlboro Man, branding that successfully extended the market for Marlboro cigarettes. While many are not fond of the product Levinson helped push, the ad campaign was indisputably successful. As Caudron says, "Guerrilla marketing got its start in 1984 when Levinson published a book of the same name that was aimed at entrepreneurs and small-business owners. Since then, Levinson has written 20 guerrilla marketing books that have been published in 37 languages."

Arsenal Inspection

Guerrilla marketing tactics are designed to quickly get a good return on investment without a large investment of time or money. "For the most part, these tactics rely on creativity, good relationships, and the willingness to try many different approaches," Caudron says. Library and information services are built on good relationships; they can be enhanced and extended with some creative marketing techniques. And quick-turnaround, inexpensive approaches are ideal for the information profession, as budget and personnel downsizing unfortunately continue.

Guerrilla tactics have to get results quickly. Just like a warrior behind the tree, if the first shot doesn't hit the target, you move on to a different location and grab another weapon from the arsenal. "Traditional marketers use only a handful of weapons, but guerrilla marketers work continually with many different weapons," Levinson says (quoted by Caudron). The guerrilla idea is to promote the product or service quickly and continuously, rather than planning and executing a lengthy, unilateral marketing campaign. Camouflage the approach, not the source.

Focus and consistency do count. A guerrilla marketer must be consistent in marketing approaches in order to be able to refine the weapons and strategies. Branding is one way to demonstrate consistency--create a design or logo that can be used throughout the library's marketing arsenal, so customers and potential customers always know the source of the information. As Laura Claggett recently noted, one of the requirements for successfully selling a product is "a brand-driven marketing strategy" ("Identifying Your Brand, Before You Market," Information Outlook, November 2002, pp. 13-16). Branding with logos, key phrases, etc., also serves a very basic function--giving credit where credit is due. Customers and their clients need to know the library or information department provided them with the resources they needed, so they will come back for more. Our library's Information Assistant developed a logo for us in 2000 and worked with our company's visual media department to put it into electronic form. The logo development did not take a great deal of time, and the documents in which we use it cost next to nothing to create, but we now have a ready icon to use in all our marketing efforts. Even mundane items from us, such as faxes, now serve more of a marketing function with the use of the logo.