Articles

Surprise me with your ads!

TLDRoffon

An article on online guerrilla marketing co-authored by Dr Emmanuel Mogaji has been named as one of the outstanding papers for 2019 by the Emerald publishing network.

'Surprise me with your ads! The impacts of guerrilla marketing in social media on brand image' was listed as highly commended for the Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics.
The article considers the spread of guerrilla marketing via social media, which has allowed adverts to reach more people through the internet.

Guerilla marketing- cause and effect

Traditional guerrilla marketing activities have previously been limited by the proximity of people to the activity. For example, if a company builds a promotional bus stop, it would only be seen by those who happen to pass it.

The internet has transformed the ability to advertise, which enables guerrilla marketing to spread rapidly among internet users.

Consumers have already grown sick of advertising and often try to avoid it. As a result, brands have had to turn to alternative strategies. This is where guerrilla marketing becomes ideal to gain attention and convey messages.

The authors of the study were concerned with the impacts on brand, such as the response to risky or edgy advertising and a brand's ability to judge an audience that is already sceptical of saturated advertising.

This is an area that has received less attention, as researchers have tended to focus on the influences of guerrilla marketing on consumers rather than brand.

The sample for the study was formed of university students – an age group that reflects the key demographic of social media users and who has grown up familiar with the technology.

Marketing must be useful

When people find information helpful in their decision-making process and gain confidence about a purchase, there is a positive attitude towards the information provided by guerrilla advertising. Users are more likely to adopt the information.

The adoption of information is a predictor of functional brand image. Consumers feel that these companies are not just providing advertising but offering good, relevant information. Therefore, they regard the brands as good and superior to competitors.

Guerrilla marketing is not a new phenomenon, says Dr Mogaji, but brands must use it carefully to make sure it delivers what consumers need.

"It is essential for brands to deliver relevant information that can be adopted by consumers," he says. "If not, there will be a negative impact on the brand image."

"Consumers don't mind surprises but if they do not find the information useful and adoptable, there will be a negative attitude towards the brand."

About Dr Emmanuel Mogaji

Dr Emmanuel Mogaji joined the University of Greenwich in 2017 as a Lecturer in Advertising and Marketing Communications with a focus on service brands. He was previously at the University of Bedfordshire from 2014 to 2017 where he was an Associate Lecturer and a researcher at the Business and Management Research Institute.

View Profile