Inreason Media - Creative Logic for a thinking world

Guerrilla Marketing Comes of Age

by Shannan Hearne-Fortner

When Jay Conrad Levinson first being writing and speaking about Guerrilla Marketing, he was part of a team developing the most successful ad campaign ever. The Marlboro Man. Whether you smoke or not, unless you've lived under a rock you are familiar with The Marlboro Man.

Guerrilla Marketing is in effect the use of wide and varied unconventional marketing tactics to achieve the most conventional of business goals, which is profits. Back in the day when Levinson coined the philosophy, the internet age hadn't arrived. And still, he developed hundreds of guerrilla marketing tactics that millions of successful businesses used to grow and prosper.

Now that the internet age is moving beyond its infancy, and the majority of homes have at least one PC with access to the internet, guerrilla marketing is ready to come of age. The internet lends itself to guerrilla marketing because it makes optional so many low-cost, viral marketing alternatives.

By the standards of a guerrilla, a successful business is one that is making a profit. Obviously, Amazon.com wouldn't have been considered successful by guerrillas even though they were growing by leaps and bounds.

Guerrilla marketing is perfect for small business working on shoestring budgets. As I've heard many a Success Promotions client say, "frayed and short shoestring budgets". According to the original list of Guerrilla Marketing Arsenal Techniques (which included 100 weapons) sixty-two were free. Guerrilla marketing is incredibly useful to internet marketers because there are so many free and low cost advertising tools and tactics available via the internet.

Jay Conrad Levinson always preached using ALL the technology available to you. Your computer. Your fax machine. Your telephone. Your cellular phone. Your pager. Your Palm device. Your laptop. Your digital camera. Your wireless accessories. EVERYTHING.

In an age where technology is advancing by leaps and bounds, Guerrilla Marketing is truly coming of age. I was just cutting my teeth in marketing when Levinson was fine tuning Guerrilla Marketing. And I bought into the concept lock, stock, and barrel. As a result, I am all about marketing on a frayed and short shoestring budget.

So the next time you are in the store or on e-Bay or thumbing through a catalog and trying to decide if a digital camera or a web design program or an contact management program is a good investment, listen for the drum beat and the rolling thoughts of Jay Conrad Levinson. If you don't think the technology item is a good investment, perhaps you should pick up a copy of one of Jay's latest books. If you do think it is, instead of letting it lie around your office collecting dust while you wait for time to learn how to use it, plug it in and get rolling.

The day of the Guerrilla is upon us. And the worm no longer just goes to the early bird. It goes to the bird who uses every tool in his work hunting arsenal to catch the worm. Be the Guerrilla. Buy the technology. And get started marketing. Guerrilla Marketing has come of age.

Shannan Hearne-Fortner is the President and Wizard of http://www.SuccessPromotions.com Marketing Your e-Business Better through creative marketing and knowledge. Guerrilla Marketing. One-to-One Marketing. Relationship Marketing. Your Marketing.