A Dive Into The World Of Ambush Marketing

In the ever-changing and dynamic world that is advertising, there have been several crazes over the years. Among the most fascinating perhaps, is Ambush marketing, a guerrilla tactic that has soared in popularity in recent times. Tell us more, I hear you cry! What is ambush marketing? Why is it relevant?

To give you some further insight into this bizarre form of promotion, the term refers to brand communications which aim to hijack an event or another companies marketing campaign with the goal of pulling attention away from the original, ‘traditional’ message. With events,?legitimate sponsors, paying large sums of money for their advertising presence, are ‘ambushed’ by interloping companies looking to capitalise without the same level of investment. As a result, many consumers presume the interloper is in fact a sponsor, or at least some way affiliated with the event.

The best examples of this are seen at large, high profile events such as the Olympics or the World Cup. In fact, one of the first case studies of this phenomenon dates to the 1996 Summer Olympics?where sprinter Michael Johnson took home the gold medal in the 400m final wearing a pair of gold-coloured shoes that were gifted by Nike. Not only did millions of TV viewers see the Nike name prominently displayed on their screens as he crossed the finish line, but they also saw the same shoes around his neck a few days later – on the cover of the renowned Time Magazine! The connotation was that Nike was an official sponsor, when in fact, it was Reebok who had spent a whooping $50 million for that privilege.

This example goes to show how brands who participate in guerrilla and ambush tactics are benefiting from an often very cost-effective form of advertisement. Brands can pitch products and services, generate sales, and increase brand recognition with little to no budget behind them. Piece of cake, right? Well, as you may expect, a number of laws, regulations and sanctions are swiftly being introduced to stop companies looking to benefit from this piggy backing in their tracks. What was once a cheap and extremely clever form of advertising, now runs the risk of hefty fines and legal battles if you fall foul of the rules that seek to protect the status quo.

Event organisers are going to great lengths to protect their prime advertising real estate, in some cases, going as far as to purchase all billboards and OOH space in the vicinity of the event to ensure they can only be sold to official sponsors.?This reduces the risk of potential ambushing as a key platform for exposure is eliminated, but some brands will not be discouraged this easily! Take Beats headphones for example, where Dr Dre gate-crashed the 2012 Olympics, with the result being a 42% increase in sales, without spending a single penny on media. The rapper sent headphones to Olympic athletes creating a special edition for team GB branded in red, white, and blue. Athletes wore them, posing for cameras and posting on their social media accounts. As a talking point, the brand made much more of a splash than McDonalds and Coca Cola who went old school, with official sponsorships which ran into the many millions. Better luck next time…

As we know, the media industry is extremely fluid, and with higher demands and pressures for brands to produce campaigns that get closer to the consumer – who knows what’s in store for the future of ambush marketing. Watch this space (just be careful not to get ambushed while doing so)!