COURSE TITLE: GUERRILLA AND EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING 

Module Overview

Welcome to EarthTab Business School. My Name is Zuri Achebe, and i will be your course preceptor for the course, Guerrilla and Experiential Marketing. The course Guerrilla and Experiential Marketing is designed to equip you with in-depth knowledge and practical expertise in creating highly engaging, innovative, and unconventional marketing strategies that capture attention, maximize brand impact, and generate measurable consumer engagement. Unlike traditional marketing approaches, this course emphasizes creative disruption, emotional connection, and immersive brand experiences, offering you the tools to develop campaigns that leave lasting impressions on target audiences.

This course integrates marketing theory, consumer psychology, strategic planning, creative design, and real-world application, providing a comprehensive framework for implementing guerrilla tactics and experiential campaigns across digital and physical channels.

1. Understanding Guerrilla Marketing

1. Definition and Concept
   
   

• Guerrilla marketing involves low-cost, high-impact strategies that leverage creativity, surprise, and innovation to gain consumer attention.
  
  

• Emphasizes unconventional approaches that break through cluttered advertising environments.
  
  

2. Core Principles
   
   

• Creativity over budget: Strategic ideas matter more than spending.
  
  

• Surprise and intrigue: Capturing attention through unexpected experiences.
  
  

• Memorability: Ensuring campaigns are highly shareable and emotionally resonant.
  
  

• Targeted disruption: Engaging niche audiences with focused, relevant messaging.
  
  

3. Historical Context
   
   

• Originated from guerrilla warfare concepts; adapted to marketing to create disruptive campaigns.
  
  

• Case studies: Red Bull’s extreme sports activations, IKEA flash mobs, and Burger King’s creative stunts.
  
  

2. Understanding Experiential Marketing

1. Definition and Concept
   
   

• Experiential marketing focuses on immersive, interactive brand experiences that allow consumers to engage physically, emotionally, and cognitively with a brand.
  
  

• Goes beyond traditional advertising by making the consumer the central participant in the marketing journey.
  
  

2. Core Principles
   
   

• Engagement: Consumers actively participate rather than passively receive messages.
  
  

• Emotional connection: Experiences evoke strong feelings to enhance brand recall.
  
  

• Multi-sensory approach: Utilizing sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell to reinforce brand perception.
  
  

• Storytelling: Narratives guide experiences to create memorable consumer journeys.
  
  

3. Types of Experiential Marketing
   
   

• Pop-up events and brand activations
  
  

• Immersive digital experiences (AR/VR)
  
  

• Interactive installations and public engagements
  
  

• Experiential retail campaigns
  
  

• Product sampling and participatory contests
  
  

3. The Psychology Behind Guerrilla and Experiential Marketing

1. Consumer Attention and Memory
   
   

• Guerrilla tactics exploit surprise and novelty to capture attention and enhance memorability.
  
  

• Experiential campaigns use multi-sensory engagement to encode brand messages deeply in consumer memory.
  
  

2. Emotional Engagement
   
   

• Emotional resonance is critical: happiness, surprise, excitement, and curiosity drive long-term brand attachment.
  
  

• Neuromarketing insights indicate that emotionally charged experiences increase brand recall and word-of-mouth referrals.
  
  

3. Behavioral Triggers
   
   

• Social proof: Leveraging group dynamics in public activations.
  
  

• Reciprocity: Offering small gifts, samples, or experiences encourages consumer engagement and loyalty.
  
  

• Scarcity: Limited-time events or unique experiences heighten urgency and participation.
  
  

4. Strategic Planning for Guerrilla and Experiential Campaigns

1. Market Research and Targeting
   
   

• Identify niche audiences and consumer insights to guide creative strategy.
  
  

• Utilize behavioral data, demographic analysis, and psychographic profiling.
  
  

2. Creative Ideation
   
   

• Brainstorming unconventional and memorable activation concepts.
  
  

• Collaboration between marketing, creative, and operational teams.
  
  

3. Execution Planning
   
   

• Logistics: Location, permits, materials, and staffing.
  
  

• Digital integration: Amplifying experiences through social media, influencer partnerships, and content marketing.
  
  

4. Metrics and Evaluation
   
   

• Measure engagement, social shares, impressions, sentiment, and ROI.
  
  

• Use surveys, digital analytics, and neuromarketing tools to assess impact.
  
  

5. Integration with Traditional and Digital Marketing

1. Guerrilla and experiential marketing are complementary to broader marketing strategies.
   
   

2. Campaigns can enhance:
   
   

• Social media engagement
  
  

• Event marketing effectiveness
  
  

• Brand storytelling and positioning
  
  

• Customer loyalty and advocacy
  
  

6. Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, you will be able to:

• Conceptualize, design, and implement guerrilla marketing campaigns.
  
  

• Create immersive experiential campaigns that evoke emotional responses and enhance consumer engagement.
  
  

• Understand the psychological principles that make unconventional campaigns memorable and effective.
  
  

• Integrate guerrilla and experiential marketing with traditional and digital marketing strategies.
  
  

• Evaluate campaign performance using quantitative and qualitative metrics, including ROI and consumer sentiment.

I look forward to congratulating you upon completion of this course.