Charmin Experiential Marketing

As mentioned in my Sharpie blog post and first blog post, experiential marketing is my favorite type of guerrilla marketing. In general, it's a growing form of marketing because of its effectiveness and ability for brands to engage with consumers. Experiential marketing is a two way communication experience where the consumer interacts with the product or brand without being forcefully "sold."

Charmin used experiential marketing over the 2007 holiday season by installing 20 restrooms in Times Square.  The pop-up restroom installations were a massive success with 392,862 visitors participating (Hospes, 2010).

Here is how Charmin effectively implemented experiential marketing using "4 Steps to Engaging Guerrillas":

1.  Understand the brand's Unique Selling Proposition: 
Charmin created a clean and comfortable experience for New Yorkers and tourists in the bustling city.  Instead of searching for any restroom in the city, customers experienced a clean restroom with soft toilet paper rather than dirty porta-potties with cheap and thin toilet paper.  Instead of people hurrying to got and get out of the bathroom, Charmin created an experience where customers wanted to stay.  Their Twitter hashtag #tweetfromtheseat also promotes this notion of a comfortable bathroom experience.  

2.  Incorporate the USP in nature: 
Installing 20 pop-up bathroom sites around NYC

3.  Incorporate audience engagement into the idea:  
As pictured to the right, the restrooms contained 6 different types of Charmin rolls for the consumers to try.  Charmin also made the experience a product contest by having the participants choose which type of toilet paper (Ultra Strong vs. Ultra Soft) was their favorite.  They used giant flush-o-meters for people to cast their vote! (Partnership Activation, 2008).  Lastly, two giant Charmin bears were on-site for pictures.

4.  Finish the idea by creating an effective call-to-action: 
Every person who voted in the contest was rewarded with coupons for the product.  Participants could also purchase branded t-shirts, boxers and bears as a take-away from the event.

Remember: Say "I do" to engaging the audience with guerrilla marketing--Kayleigh Green

Sources

• Chung, J.  2006.  Charmin's Time Square Bathrooms Are Open For Your Business.  http://gothamist.com/2006/11/20/charmins_times.php
• Hospes, C.  2010.  Guerrilla Marketing from Marginal to Mainstream.  http://www.creativeguerrillamarketing.com/guerrilla-marketing/guerrilla-marketing-marginal-mainstream/
• McDonough, G.  2007.  http://meetschmitt.typepad.com/schmittblog/2007/05/plunging_into_e.html
• Partnership Activation.  2008.  Is There Money In the Can? http://www.partnershipactivation.com/partnership-ideas/?currentPage=23

McDonald's Guerrilla Marketing

Big or small, guerrilla marketing is a creative and engaging solution for all!  Although small businesses can really benefit from guerrilla marketing, large brands and corporations are using guerrilla marketing to stay relevant in customers' consideration set.  McDonald's is a great example of a market leader in the fast food industry who implemented guerrilla marketing numerous times across the globe.  Below are 6 examples of types of guerrilla marketing McDonald's used to creatively catch customers' attention.

Ambient/Environment Marketing
McDonald's used ambient/environment marketing which "creates brand recognition without necessarily pushing the product" (Weburbanist.com).  The company placed a life-size version of an empty shamrock shake next to the Chicago river turning green during St. Patty's Day in 2010.  This placement was a perfect match for a product with Irish inspiration for an Irish holiday.

Presence Marketing
McDonald's took advantage of common elements on the streets to showcase their coffee, french fries, and chicken nuggets with dipping sauces.

Coffee pothole

Coffee streetlight

Crosswalk street fries

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Chicken nuggets & elevator dipping sauce

Interactive Guerrilla Marketing

McDonald's placed a giant take-out bag in the streets to have customers carry around.  This is the closest McDonald's gets to creating an two-way experience for the customers rather than a one-way message.


Although these 6 examples are incredibly creative and clever, they are mostly one-way experiences and do not completely interact with customers.  However, when you are a market leader like McDonald's, the goal of guerrilla marketing is to entertain customers.  Engaging customers with guerrilla marketing should always be a goal.  McDonald's could accomplish this goal by giving a 15% discount for the pictured product for customers who tag McDonald's Twitter/Facebook in a picture of themselves with the guerrilla marketing example.

Sources
Alice.  2010.  Clever Guerrilla Marketing: McDonald's Shamrock Shake.  Retrieved from http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/clever-guerrilla-marketing
Ewen, Sam Travis.  2010.  McDonalds Goes Massive in Auckland.  Retrieved from http://www.onthegroundlookingup.com/2010/12/mcdonalds-goes-massive-in-auckland.html
Guerrilla Sushi, 2009.  Street Marketing: McDonald's Have You Had Your Coffee Fix Today?  Retrieved from http://guerrillasushi.blogspot.com/2009/11/street-marketing-mcdonalds-have-you-had.html
Weburbanist.com  10 Different Types of Guerrilla Marketing.  Retrieved from http://weburbanist.com/2008/06/19/different-types-of-guerrilla-marketing/