Ambush Marketing – Is It A Fad?

Throughout the Soccer World Cup in 2010 it was dogged by a number of controversies. However the most interesting didn’t have anything thing to do with what was actually happening on the pitch. During one game that took place between Denmark and Holland some officials inside the stadium noticed that 36 women fans were stood together dressed in orange miniskirts the same color that is worn by the Dutch soccer team. It was discovered that these women were wearing advertising that has been placed by the Dutch Brewer Bavaria and were then removed from the stadium.

In fact this was the one in a series of ambush marketing campaigns that this particular brewery had devised. The reason for this ambush is that the World Cup has its own beer sponsor that is different from this Dutch brewery and the rules laid down by this sport’s governing body forbids other companies from certain industries from advertising in the stadium if it is already represented by another company. So by advertising their brand which competes with another, Bavaria had broken this law. Of course the result was still in their favor.  The brewery was banished from the stadium but they still boosted their profile as they got mentioned in newspapers around the world. In most of the articles the writers were complaining about the stranglehold that corporate business seems to have on the sporting world. Even though they did not pay anything like the amount that the governing body of soccer demands to advertise their product they still received a lot of good publicity and which is the point of using ambush marketing. Although you may think their tactics they employed weren’t exactly fair, they worked extremely well in this instance.

You Need To Know Your Customer

Today marketing comes in for a great deal of criticism.  Much of the anger people feel is directed at how unsubtle some of the advertising we see today is. Most of us, as soon as an annoying advertisement appear on the TV, have turned the channel or expressed some displeasure that it is on again. In fact when certain ads appear we tune these out.

If your budget for marketing is limited, then you do not want people tuning your ad out.  Knowing who your customers are is essential when it comes to marketing. No businesses can appeal to everyone. I mean do you have a product or service that is the kind of thing a 79 year old woman would find useful in much the same way as it would for an 18 year old boy?  Most products and services will appear to specific markets and it is to these customers you must be able to reach out to.

If say your product is perfect for young male professionals then advertising it on the radio during office hours won’t work. Instead you need to be advertising it during the afternoon period. However, if yours will appeal to seniors then avoid advertising it during a live rock show. Remember you are trying to get your message across to the largest number of people so it provides real value for money.