Hike #9: Disruptive Marketing Techniques: Welcome Surprise or Counter-effective?

Hello dear readers, welcome back to a new edition of the Marketing Summit Trail. In this weeks edition, we will be looking at a topic that is called disruptive marketing. It is the type of marketing or advertising that the majority will have experienced before, but I will provide you with a brief introduction nonetheless. Disruptive Marketing is based upon the principle of being different, or standing out if you will, by means of using unconventional methods of advertising. These unconventional methods serve as a sort of shock-factor to get the attention of the audience, hence the name disruptive marketing. They embrace tactics that can be considered as out of the box, risky and usually create controversy (=(Disruptive Marketing Strategies | Mailchimp, n.d.). This is one of the reasons that disruptive marketing techniques should be handled with caution as it might backfire for brands. The biggest challenge is usually about people's resistance to change, as some customers and stakeholders might not be comfortable with these unconventional ways of advertising. Another aspect that should be taken into account, is the fact that disruptive marketing may cause harm to the brand's image if it is deemed to be too controversial (Disruptive Marketing Strategies | Mailchimp, n.d.). In this instance, it could be an outcome to utilize public relations, in order to limit the harmful effects for the brand and keep negative publicity at bay, as much as possible.

Some tools or platforms that can be utilized in order to bring the disruptive marketing strategies to life, can be:

• Direct Response Advertising: Advertising through any medium designed to generate a response by any means that is measurable. Think of direct mail, direct response television, direct response digital media, telemarketing and catalogues.

• Experiential Marketing: Refers to marketing communications programs that allow consumers to be active participants in a brand's marketing effort. Usually applied in the context of planned consumer events where consumers are interacting with the brand. Some techniques are: using street teams, travelling vehicles and in-store product demonstrations.

• Sales Promotion: The main objective of this marketing type is to create an immediate sale. Consists of 2 types:

  
  

• Consumer Sales Promotion: Consists of samples, coupons, premiums, event marketing to name a few.

  
  

• Trade Sales Promotion: Consists of Trade allowances, co-op advertising, contests and incentives, point-of-purchase displays, sales training programs and trade shows.

It has been established that disruptive marketing can balance on the edge on controversy, and is not always suitable for every audience. However, the benefits of executing this type of marketing properly, are substantial. Therefore, this week's edition will be dedicated to showing the major benefits of properly executed disruptive marketing strategies. And its potential to outweigh the downsides of disruptive marketing. This will provide you with an insight about the workings of disruptive marketing and the effects it can have on individuals.

Exposure Through Disruption

As mentioned before, disruptive marketing is all about attention-grabbing methods of advertising, usually by means of unconventional or controversial advertising. If done successfully, it can also contribute to brand visibility which could assist a brand in becoming more established in the market. Or introducing themselves in a market if they are fairly new or relatively unknown among the target audience. To demonstrate in what ways disruptive marketing can create brand visibility, we have to look at the factors that contribute to its success.

First of all, disruptive marketing strategies are usually combined with story-telling. This is one of the aspects that make it unique, as people are 22 times more likely to remember a message or statement if it is incorporated into a story (Harrison, 2016). Therefore, increasing the odds of gaining brand visibility. As people are more likely to remember your brand and your messages through your disruptive marketing strategies.

Disruptive marketing strategies are usually considered to be intriguing, which triggers people's curiosity. If people become curious, they are more likely to search for more information about your brand. The main reason why these disruptive marketing strategies are intriguing to people, is the fact that they provide a different perspective to people and makes them think in different ways and offers a fresh perspective on your product or service (Bickov, 2022). Another reason why disruptive marketing strategies are successful, is the fact that consumers have an increasing need for brands to bring novelty and fun to the audience in some way (Northwestern University, 2021).If executed properly, this can also positively contribute to brand visibility.

Lastly, disruptive marketing campaigns can rarely be duplicated if brands put significant effort in creating original advertisement campaigns. If a marketing campaign happens to be original or authentic, it stands out in the market. The advantage of this, is that other brands have a hard time copying your marketing campaign. This is due to the fact that consumers usually only value the company that came up with the campaign first (Bickov, 2022). This originality creates a distinct image in the minds of consumers and enhances brand visibility.

Some examples of successful disruptive marketing campaigns can be found below:

(Source: Salespaedia)

What usually stands out for me when looking at disruptive marketing strategies is the way in which the brand choose to position their product or service and if the 'controversial factor' was used in a proper way, or rather included for the sake of controversy. For example, the Dove commercial in the video-above nicely incorporated elements of disruptive marketing standards by means of challenging negative stereotypes that exist in the beauty industry. What also really grabs my attention is when the disruptive marketing strategies target my emotions, especially when the campaign is funny. Red Bull's 'The Highest Jump' did exactly that, as it displays something extraordinary, which is unconventional advertising at its peak. Namely a jump from space. Emotions are triggered due to the extremeness of the advertising, which causes people to be impressed, intrigued, but also slightly afraid for the mans health. This campaign also nicely illustrated how Red Bull leverages event sponsorships and event marketing to demonstrate their 'extreme' image.

Success stories of Guerilla Marketing: Marvel and Coca-Cola

In this section, we will zoom in on a different type of disruptive marketing. Which is called guerilla marketing. Guerilla marketing is largely the same as disruptive marketing, but it differs in a few ways. Guerilla marketing is the same as disruptive marketing in the sense that they both rely on unconventional ways of advertising and positioning their product. However, guerilla marketing differs in the sense that the costs associated with the utilization of this marketing type are either very low, or do not have any cost at all. Secondly, Guerilla marketing is heavily invested in creating personal interactions with the consumer. Disruptive marketing also uses personal interactions, but is not always included. Lastly, guerilla marketing are more known for pushing the edge compared to disruptive marketing, up to the point that people start to consider whether it is legal (Hayes, 2024).

Marvel: Deadpool's Tinder Profile

For the upcoming release of the new Deadpool movie, the marketing team decided to take a rather unconventional approach regarding their advertising. The reason behind this particular approach, was the release date being on the valentines weekend. This unique way of advertising stands out from the rest, as movies are usually not announced in this way. But rather by means of trailers, posters and billboards. Therefore, making it intriguing and fulfilling peoples need for fun and novelty in the products that they buy. Therefore, nicely demonstrating why this campaign was so successful. It also demonstrates the way in which guerilla advertising achieves personal interaction with people, as it is a real Tinder profile that they can send messages to. In return, you receive an official link to buy tickets (Lovett & Lovett, 2024). This can also be described as a type of experiential marketing, as the target audience can participate in the marketing efforts by interacting with the profile.

This example of guerilla marketing would genuinely make me laugh, because it would be the last thing that you would expect on a dating app. Besides, I have seen creative ways of advertising a movie before, but never in this format. It is understandable that this marketing effort might not appeal to everyone, as it is advertised on a platform that serves people looking for potential romantic partners. Therefore, some people might get offended by this promotional material. Whatever you might think of this approach to guerilla marketing, it will definitely stick in your mind, as it feels so out of place in a way. Secondly, the Tinder profile also incorporated the characteristic humor displayed in the Deadpool movies to appeal to the target audience. Lastly, the usage of Tinder is a clever solution as it is very popular platform with large amounts of users. Therefore, Marvel managed to reach a large audience at the low cost of creating a Tinder-account.

Coca Cola's 'Happiness Machine'

Source: Coca-Cola

In this video, a vending machine is depicted which dispenses all sorts of crazy outputs. Like an overflow of Coca-Cola bottles, a massive sandwiches, pizzas and even flowers. It is unconvential in the sense that the commercial does not only show the benefits of the product, but rather highlights the feel-good experience that they want to emphasize with their products. Besides, people do not expect these products to come out of a vending machine, making it stand out even more. What makes it authentic, is the fact that this was filmed at a college in Queens, New York who were not aware about the campaign. Therefore, creating a real reaction and letting people advocate and interact with your brand by means of experiential marketing. Personally, if this were to happen in an average day at university, it would be very memorable and probably create a lasting image in my head. This advertisement was so successful that it even received awards (Hayes, 2024).

Disruptive Marketing: B2B vs B2C

Now that a few examples of disruptive marketing in advertising have been analyzed. It is time to zoom in on the different approaches that companies utilize for both Business-to-Business causes and Business-to-Consumer and how they compare in each of the segments. Many people do not consider B2B applications for disruptive marketing, as the vast majority of the content we receive is aimed at consumers, or B2C. However, certain companies B2B marketing might be more vital than B2C marketing, depending on the branches that they are active in.

Application #1:Personalized content marketing

This can be useful for both b2c and b2b-marketing. In order to make this approach successful, the company needs adequate amounts of data about the customer or the company. For example, data about the particular struggles that consumers and businesses face, what consumers look for in a product or distinct aspirations that companies have about their performance (Lundberg, 2024)Once this database is created, it becomes easier for companies to tailor the message to personalized needs. When a message is personalized, it is disruptive as it is different from other advertisements by talking to you personally.

Some tools that companies can use to target both consumers as well as other businesses, can be direct response media. Such as sending direct mail to either consumers or businesses with a clearly defined value proposition. Or direct response television by means of either short-form or long-form commercials. Short-form commercials are more suitable for consumers as they are these are in the 30-60 seconds long, which is more likely to keep the customers focused. Long-form Infomercial of about 30-60 minutes are more suitable for targeting businesses, as businesses generally need to be completely convinced of a solution before investing.

Application #2: Utilization of influencers and social media

This application for B2C is most likely to be slightly different than for B2B, but the reasoning behind remains the same. It is about choosing the proper influencers who are deemed to be influential or important for the target market (Lundberg, 2024). When a sports drink manufacturer is targeting their clientele, it is likely that they would choose a sports-influencer or an athlete for their marketing campaigns. But for B2B, it can be someone who is an expert or a thought leader in the industry. If these marketing campaigns are wrapped in a lager unconventional social media campaign, or uses unexpected collaborations, it can be an example of disruptive marketing and create significant exposure and value for your company. This can be achieved by choosing social media among the various direct response digital media.

Final Thoughts:

Disruptive marketing is very relevant in order to stand out from the masses. However, before creating a marketing campaign, a brand must be very aware of their target audience. This is due to the fact that disruptive marketing campaigns can also be perceived as controversial, and therefore off-putting for some people. Insights into the target market can be gained by means of data gathering, and creating databases. However, when the execution of disruptive marketing is done right. It can create a lot of consumer engagement and make a lasting impression. Simply, because it is different from what people have seen before and is unexpected for most. My personal view on disruptive marketing is that it bring a great deal of value for your company as it allows for a lot of creativity. In today's society it has become increasingly difficult for a brand to generate compelling marketing campaigns due to the flood of content out there. Pushing the boundaries of what is acceptable, is something that companies should aspire to do as it is the only way to find out where the acceptance boundary lies. However, on the flipside, companies should stay away from topics that are generally regarded as taboo. This is to prevent from creating too much controversy and possibly creating lasting damage to your companies image. Think of topics like sex, or politically sensitive topics that could cause your company to be publicly shamed.

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References:

1.       Bickov, A. (2022, June 2). 7 Disruptive Marketing Tips Every Brand Needs To Know About. Sendible. https://www.sendible.com/insights/disruptive-marketing-tips

2.       CopyPress. (2023, June 5). Everything you need to know about disruptive marketing. Content Marketing Agency | Content Marketing Services by CopyPress. https://www.copypress.com/kb/content-marketing/what-is-disruptive-marketing/

3.       Disruptive Marketing Strategies | Mailchimp. (n.d.). Mailchimp. https://mailchimp.com/resources/disruptive-marketing/#:~:text=Disruptive%20marketing%20tactics%20challenge%20these,and%20participate%20in%20unexpected%20collaborations

4.       Harrison, K. (2016c, April 15). A good presentation is about data and story. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/kateharrison/2015/01/20/a-good-presentation-is-about-data-and-story/#5b221910450f

5.       Hayes, A. (2024, August 28). Guerrilla Marketing: What It Is and How It's Used. Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/g/guerrilla-marketing.asp

6.       Lovett, J., & Lovett, J. (2024b, October 5). Deadpool has a Tinder profile. ComicBook.com. https://comicbook.com/movies/news/deadpool-has-a-tinder-profile/

7.       Lundberg, S. (2024b, November 14). How to implement the disruptive marketing techniques in B2B. Vereigen Media. https://vereigenmedia.com/how-to-implement-the-disruptive-marketing-techniques-in-b2b/

8.       Northwestern University. (2021, February 3). In 2021, consumers are craving products that deliver novelty and fun. Kellogg Insight. https://insight.kellogg.northwestern.edu/article/in-2021-consumers-are-craving-products-that-deliver-novelty-and-fun