Guerrilla marketing is an unconventional system of promotions that relies on time, energy and imagination rather than a big marketing budget. Typically, guerrilla marketing tactics are unexpected and unconventional; consumers are targeted in unexpected places, which can make the idea that's being marketed memorable, generate buzz, and even spread virally. The term was coined and defined by Jay Conrad Levinson in his 1983 book Guerrilla Marketing. The term has since entered the popular vocabulary and marketing textbooks.

Introduction

Levinson's books include hundreds of "guerrilla marketing weapons," but they also encourage guerrilla marketers to be creative and devise their own unconventional methods of promotion. A guerrilla marketer uses all of his or her contacts, both professional and personal, and examines his company and its products, looking for sources of publicity. Many forms of publicity can be very inexpensive, others are free.

Levinson says that when implementing guerrilla marketing tactics, small size is actually an advantage instead of a disadvantage. Small organizations and entrepreneurs are able to obtain publicity more easily than large companies as they are closer to their customers and considerably more agile.

Levinson identifies the following principles as the foundation of guerrilla marketing:

· Guerrilla Marketing is specifically geared for the small business and entrepreneur.

· It should be based on human psychology instead of experience, judgment, and guesswork.

· Instead of money, the primary investments of marketing should be time, energy, and imagination.

· The primary statistic to measure your business is the amount of profits, not sales.

· The marketer should also concentrate on how many new relationships are made each month.

· Create a standard of excellence with an acute focus instead of trying to diversify by offering too many diverse products and services.

· Instead of concentrating on getting new customers, aim for more referrals, more transactions with existing customers, and larger transactions.

· Forget about the competition and concentrate more on cooperating with other businesses.

· Guerrilla Marketers should always use a combination of marketing methods for a campaign.

· Use current technology as a tool to empower your business.

Associated marketing trends

The term Guerrilla Marketing is now often used more loosely as a descriptor for non-traditional media, such as:

· Viral marketing -- through social networks

· Ambient marketing

· Presence marketing

· Grassroots marketing

· Wild Posting Campaigns

· Alternative marketing

· Buzz marketing -- word of mouth marketing

· Undercover marketing -- subtle product placement

· Astroturfing -- releasing company news to imitate grassroots popularity

· Experiential marketing -- interaction with product

· Tissue-pack marketing

Guerrilla marketing was initially used by small and medium size (SMEs) businesses, but it is now increasingly adopted by large businesses. Excessive use and abuse, especially from great companies, generated a progressive loss of effectiveness. In some cases the result has been opposite to that one hoped