How Influencers Use Guerrilla Tactics Offline for Personal Branding?
Are you a developing influencer, brand owner, or marketer looking to grow your personal brand? Social media may get the most hype, but there are still explosive opportunities well outside the screen. The influencers of today often employ guerrilla offline marketing tactics to put a lasting touch point on their audience. Whether that be a quirky stunt on the roadside at any landmark in the city, or elaborate and organised fan events, or even a surprise billboard in an unexpected area, influencers can pull off just about anything. The key takeaway here is using offline guerrilla marketing to connect with audiences that will take action immediately and not just scroll away. In this blog, you will learn how to capitalize on OOH and guerrilla marketing tactics to deploy strategies for your brand. There are actionable insights, new statistics, and anecdotes from the best marketing minds today. Let’s understand the basics.
Why Offline Guerrilla Tactics Are Important for Personal Branding?
Still don’t think offline guerrilla tactics can work for a digital-first brand? Here’s why you shouldn’t ignore the streets:
- Real connection: Meeting your audience IRL creates trust at a deeper level.
- Reach: OOH might be the only way to reach commuters, shoppers, and passersby who may miss your call to action when delivered digitally.
- Viral: Quirky offline acts are photographed and posted online, exponentially increasing your reach.
- Importance: Guerrilla OOH marketing doesn't cost a fortune - all you need is imagination, timing, and the guts to be different.
Classic vs. Guerrilla OOH Branding
Real World Guerrilla Branding Examples by Influencers
Let's explore some of the top tactics you can use or repurpose for your own brand:
- Flash Mobs: Get people dancing or doing something spontaneous in a public area that gets onlookers' attention. There are many creative possibilities. You can share it live or shoot a video for even more reach.
- Sticker Bombing: Put your branded stickers in public places like cafés, gyms, and bus stops.
- Personalized Out-of-Home advertisement: Book a billboard in the city and feature your face, hashtag, or a funny quote on it. Bonus: Also put a QR code that links to your socials.
- Branded transport: Wrap your own personal brand colours or slogan on e-rickshaws and cabs. Commuters will see them, take photos, and share them.
- Pop-up giveaways: Sample events don't have to be planned. DO them spontaneously in parks, malls, festivals, or public events. Or, do it in. Oriental market, or in Kelly McGlinchy's case, free consultations - in honour of her late mom!
Strategies to Drive Maximum Value: To achieve the maximum value, remember the following
- Think Shareability: Each stunt or OOH should be planned for both in-person buzz and social media sharing, if that is the goal of your campaign.
- Local Artists: You can work with various local artists on a mural, for instance, where your brand is incorporated into the wall art, and hopefully encourages selfies.
- Action Trackers: Use QR codes, specifically developed consumer hashtags, or trackable discounts to track 'offline-to-online' conversions and traffic to your website.
- Variety: Consider incorporating existing OOH locations, like traditional billboards and bus shelters, and mix in guerrilla elements to make the campaign memorable.
Challenges and Quick Tips
- Go big, but not THAT big. Always think relevant to your brand messaging, and don't do something scandalous just for the sake of it.
- Some options require permits, so ensure you check before you install. Always choose a safe and legal location for a stunt.
- Try to measure the ROI(return on investment). You can measure the increase in popularity and footfall using a number of digital apps and tools. However, not everything that uses offline branding has an immediate digital metric.
Success stories and challenges for you to learn from
- Local Influencer makes Rickshaw an OOH advertisement: An influencer in Mumbai wrapped his auto with memes and his Instagram handle, and he managed to nearly double his regional followers in just one month.
- Fitness Influencer Pop-Up: A fitness coach did "street workouts" at surprise locations in the city. With increasing brand recognition, she placed her QR codes everywhere with OOH posters that linked to her diet plans.
Conclusion
You don't need to have a huge marketing budget to create a stir through bold, offline guerrilla campaigns. You only need smart and innovative thinking and maybe a dab of courage and sensibility. Use this style combined with traditional OOH to create charm and personal trust that will extend your viral presence onto the streets and beyond. Want to launch your own guerrilla marketing campaign? Partner with Vigyapan Mart outdoor marketing experts and turn your personal brand into a public brand. Increase your branding efforts and go offline with Vigyapan Mart today!
