Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
Bachelor Thesis
Yannic Egli
S14671465
Spitzliweg 25, 8703 Erlenbach
yannic-egli@hotmail.com
Expert:
Petronella Vervoort-Isler
Management Summary
In a century of sensory overload, attention has become a scarce resource. Traditional
marketing communication instruments are not able to reach the target group anymore due
to their incapability of circumventing people’s perceptual screens. In order to attract the
attention of prospective customers, creative forms of advertising are crucial. Guerrilla
marketing, an umbrella term for unconventional marketing activities, being one of them.
Guerrilla marketing is not a new concept, however, not many campaigns have been
successfully orchestrated beyond the borders of its country of origin, the United States.
The cultural environment in the United States is widely perceived as very open-minded,
which raises the question of whether such a campaign likewise has potential for success
in a national context which is perceived to be more traditional and conservative, such as
in Switzerland. Hence, this research aims to assess the potential of guerrilla marketing
within the context of the Swiss culture. It further investigates factors of success for
lifestyle brands which plan to orchestrate a guerrilla marketing activity within the Swiss
environment.
The findings are based on a review of relevant literature, an analysis of two case studies
as well as nine in-depth interviews conducted with two culture experts and seven
marketing specialists from different fields of expertise. The results contribute toward a
better understanding of the coherence between guerrilla marketing, Swiss culture and
lifestyle brands. The empirical research revealed that Swiss people generally are
perceived as risk-averse, serious and critical toward advertisements and hence, do not
offer ideal preconditions for unconventional, creative and surprising guerrilla marketing
activities. On the other hand, Swiss value concise, informative and creative ways of
advertising which implies that guerrilla marketing has potential for success if
appropriately executed. Accordingly, twelve success factors, ranging from creative
human capital to a concise message design, were identified and incorporated into a newly
developed model.
Another interesting aspect which arose during the qualitative analysis was the question
of whether guerrilla marketing might even be independent of the national culture and has
the potential to be successful everywhere – presupposing an adapted execution.
According to some experts, other factors, such as the underlying values of the company,
are more important and outweigh the significance of the country culture.
Based on the above findings, guerrilla marketing has unused potential in Switzerland and
maybe also in other countries. If thoroughly planned and judiciously executed, lifestyle
brands should consider this instrument when aiming to circumvent the perceptual filters
of the Swiss target market. However, the results of this empirical study are based on
individual opinions and hence are not representative. Further, systematic research has to
be conducted to verify and extend these findings.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction.......................................................................................... 1
1.1 Relevance of Guerrilla Marketing ............................................................................ 2
1.2 Problem Discussion..................................................................................................... 3
1.3 Objective and Structure ............................................................................................. 5
3. Methodology ....................................................................................... 39
3.1 Literature .................................................................................................................. 41
3.2. Interviews .................................................................................................................. 41
5. Conclusion .......................................................................................... 75
6. Reflection ............................................................................................ 78
6.1 Critical Appraisal ..................................................................................................... 78
6.2 Suggestions for Further Research ........................................................................... 79
7. Reference List..................................................................................... 81
8. Appendix ............................................................................................. 93
8.1 Common Communication Platforms ...................................................................... 93
8.2 Controversial Benetton Campaign.......................................................................... 94
8.3 Features and Characteristics of Symbol Intensive Brands ................................... 95
8.4 Cultural Dimensions of Switzerland in Comparison with the United States ...... 96
8.5 Adaptation vs. Standardization in International Marketing ............................... 96
8.5.1 Advantages of Standardization .............................................................................. 96
8.6 Derivation of Questionnaire .................................................................................... 98
8.6.1 Questionnaire Version 1 ......................................................................................... 98
8.6.2 Questionnaire Underlying Thoughts ...................................................................... 99
8.6.3 Questionnaire Version 2 ....................................................................................... 102
8.6.4 Questionnaire Final Version ............................................................................... 104
8.6.5 Questionnaire German Version ........................................................................... 106
8.6.6 Instruments of Guerilla Marketing Examples ...................................................... 108
8.6.6.1 Ambush Marketing .................................................................................................. 108
8.6.6.2 Ambient Marketing ................................................................................................. 109
8.6.6.3 Sensation Marketing ................................................................................................ 110
8.6.6.4 Viral Marketing ....................................................................................................... 111
8.7 Transcription System ............................................................................................. 112
8.8 Interview Protocols ................................................................................................. 113
8.8.1 Expert Interview Protocol C1 ............................................................................... 113
8.8.2 Expert Interview Protocol C2 ............................................................................... 119
8.8.3 Expert Interview Protocol MA1 ........................................................................... 128
8.8.4 Expert Interview Protocol MA2 ........................................................................... 139
8.8.5 Expert Interview Protocol MA3 ........................................................................... 149
8.8.6 Expert Interview Protocol MA4 ........................................................................... 157
List of Figures
Figure 1 - The Marketing Process .................................................................................... 8
Figure 2 - Hierarchy of Effects Theory .......................................................................... 12
Figure 3 - Symbol Intensive Brands Map ....................................................................... 23
Figure 4 - Theories of Culture ........................................................................................ 26
Figure 5 - Specific versus Diffuse Cultures.................................................................... 30
Figure 6 - The Marketing Process (Focus) ..................................................................... 37
Figure 7 - Context Effects on Guerrilla Marketing ........................................................ 38
Figure 8 - Lotus' Faceless People Campaign .................................................................. 46
Figure 9 - Siroop's Doormats in Basel ............................................................................ 49
Figure 10 - Context Effects on Guerilla Marketing (including Success Factors) .......... 71
Figure 11 - Cross-sectional Comparison of Culture and Marketing .............................. 73
List of Abbreviations
AMA American Marketing Association
AIO Activities, interests and opinions
ATL Above the line marketing instruments
BTL Below the line marketing instruments
EDA Eidgenössisches Departement für auswärtige Angelegenheiten
FMCG Fast-moving consumer goods
IOC International Olympic Committee
PR Public relations
SME Small and medium-sized enterprises
VALS Values and lifestyles
WoM Word-of-mouth marketing
1. Introduction
“Marketing is …, unquestionably an art form because writing is an art, drawing is an
art, photography is an art, dancing is an art, music is an art, editing is an art, and acting
is an art. Put them all together, and they spell marketing – probably the most eclectic art
form the world has ever known” – Jay Conrad Levinson (2007, p. 4).
1 Repetition and copy are the two main sources that can let an advertising message appear “worn
out” which is negatively impacting the effectiveness of the advertisment in the sense that consumers
are irritated, bored or do not pay attention at all (Bass et al., 2007, p. 179).
2 Traditional marketing methods include advertising through newspapers and magazines, television,
radio, billboards and product displays in shelves and windows (Armstrong et al., 2014).
Zerr (2005) approached this issue from another direction and stated that contemporary
communication tools have to be increasingly individualized, more efficient and eye-
catching. Armstrong et al. (2014, p. 4) added that by directly and personally reaching
consumers, “marketers want to become part of your life”. Such modern marketing
instruments are called below the line (BTL) measures and are characterized by
personalized customer approaches as well as high adaptability to the target audience
(Reinhard, 2012). Besides well-established examples that include direct marketing, event
marketing and product placements, also guerrilla marketing belongs to the BTL
instruments (Kimmel, 2005).
In a nutshell, the capability to innovate and attract attention has become key in today’s
overloaded, dynamic marketing environment. Accordingly, guerrilla marketing is a
powerful instrument which has the potential to elevate a company’s marketing efforts
from the mass (Huber et al., 2009). The relevance of this subject is twofold. On the one
hand, there is a practical relevance; especially, for companies with a limited marketing
budget that have to attract attention of potential customers. Such businesses have to rely
on affordable alternative marketing techniques in order to be perceived. On the other
hand, the existing theory and current state of research will be verified and extended
through findings from academic and practical expert interviews which will enrich the
understanding of guerrilla marketing. This mirrors the theoretical relevance.
Many academics agree that the primary objective of guerrilla marketing is to raise
awareness (Huber et al., 2009; Hutter & Hoffmann, 2011; Patalas, 2006; Schulte, 2007).
This can be an objective at any time of the business life cycle, hence, the company age is
not further relevant for the course of this study. Of more interest is the environment in
which a company operates and the attitude people have toward such unconventional
marketing methods (Schulte, 2007). Culture deeply shapes the target group and
Switzerland is widely known for its four language areas and according to academics as
Hofstede (1984), the culture differs between these regions. With about 63%, most Swiss
people speak German and form the main pillar of the Swiss economy (the second most
spoken language is French with 23%) (Bilton, 2013; SWI, 2016). Despite cultural
differences among the language regions, there is still a national identity which is like an
overarching layer connecting all the language regions to one entity (Bilton, 2013). Hence,
instead of only focusing on one language region, this study considers the country in its
entirety.
For a more precise and relevant outcome, the additional element of lifestyle brands is
introduced. Guerrilla marketing does not have any application limits in terms of
industries; however, it shares many similarities with the concept of lifestyle brands (Orth,
McDaniel, Shellhammer & Lopetcharat, 2004). Guerrilla marketing and lifestyle brands
both want to personally engage the consumer and “help you live their brands” (Armstrong
et al., 2014, p. 4; Saviolo & Marazza, 2013). According to Saviolo & Marazza (2013, p.
48) a lifestyle brand is
“… a company that markets its products or services to embody the interests, attitudes and
opinions of a group or a culture. Lifestyle brands seek to inspire, guide, and motivate
people, with the goal of their products contributing to the definition of the consumer's
way of life”.
In other words, a lifestyle brand represents attitudes, values and identities of its consumers
and helps to articulate who they are and to which group they want to belong. Consumers
can express their social identity3, for instance, by wearing Nike sportswear, drinking a
3 “A perception of oneness with a group of persons” (Ashforth & Mael, 1989, p. 20).
Coca Cola or using an iPhone in public. Lifestyle brands serve as vehicles of self-
expression and are present in various industries. Consumers of lifestyle brands are
commonly segmented according to psychographic characteristics which also have a
central role for the concepts of culture and guerrilla marketing activities. Moreover,
instruments of guerrilla marketing have been successfully implemented by lifestyle
brands, especially in the United States, which is another main reason why they are defined
as a second sphere of this study (Cătălin & Andreea, 2014; Saviolo & Marazza, 2013).
The present study is examining the effectiveness of guerrilla marketing taking into
consideration industry and country aspects. Specifically, it aims to analyze guerrilla
marketing in the context of the Swiss culture, planned and executed by a lifestyle brand.
The objective is twofold. Firstly, the general potential of guerrilla marketing in
Switzerland is determined. Secondly, success factors for lifestyle brands to effectively
apply guerrilla marketing within the given environment are identified. Hence, the
research question is derived as following:
What are the success factors for a guerrilla marketing campaign orchestrated by a
lifestyle brand within the context of the Swiss culture?
In pursuance of answering this question, the study is divided into three main categories:
guerrilla marketing, lifestyle brands and Swiss culture. To simplify the research question,
a pool of supporting key questions will lead through this research. It is important to
understand the characteristics of the Swiss culture and lifestyle brands as well as to know
marketing instruments that are appropriate in these contexts. Consequently, the following
five key questions are derived:
To gain a full picture of all important aspects a 360° angle approach is taken. Firstly,
literature about marketing, guerrilla marketing, lifestyle brands, culture as well as more
specifically Swiss culture is analyzed and builds the theoretical framework of this study.
Secondly, the methodology describes the structure of the empirical research and the type
of analysis that was applied. The research is of qualitative nature and includes nine
interviews with academic and practical marketing experts in addition to Swiss society and
culture specialists. In the second part of this section, two topic-relevant case studies are
evaluated and interpreted on the basis of the theoretical framework and aspects of the
interviews. In a third step, the findings of literature, qualitative research and the case
studies are contrasted, evaluated and discussed. The results draw a line from the
theoretical knowledge to the reality and allow to establish a list of success factors for
lifestyle brands which consider a guerrilla marketing action within the context of the
Swiss culture. Fourthly, an overarching conclusion is drawn to connect the findings. The
last chapter serves for reflection; it states the limitations of the study in order to prevent
decision-making processes that are not backed by actualities and highlights areas for
further research.
2. Literature Review
The purpose of this chapter is to establish a theoretical outline of the three main concepts
of this research: Guerrilla marketing, lifestyle brands and Swiss culture. The literature
presented in the first part of this chapter aims to develop a thorough understanding about
the theory and the current state of research of the guerrilla marketing concept. Therefore,
firstly theories relating to marketing in a wider sense are examined and subsequently more
specific theories about guerrilla marketing. Furthermore, this chapter includes literature
research findings about lifestyle brands as well as Swiss culture in order to build a
complete theoretical background for this study. Also, the examination of these concepts
starts with a broad view and as it proceeds it becomes more specific and nuanced.
2.1 Marketing
Marketing is the valuable business function of every organization, if for-profit or
nonprofit, that connects the company with the public and most importantly its customers
(Armstrong et al., 2014; Kotler & Levy, 1969; Patalas, 2006). Basically, it serves to locate
potential customers and stimulate them for the company’s products and/or services
(Kotler & Levy, 1969). Armstrong et al. (2014, p. 4) defined the term as “managing
profitable customer relationships” with the dual objective of increasing the number of
customers and the retention of existing customers. To reach customer satisfaction and
hence customer value, a company does not only have to offer superior value but also to
honor and deliver it (Armstrong et al., 2014).
strategy can be designed (Kotler & Armstrong, 2016). Therefore, a company needs to
answer the two questions of who to serve (target market) and how to serve them (value
proposition) (Kotler & Armstrong, 2016; Kotler & Keller, 2009). Thirdly, an integrated
marketing program determines how the intended value will actually be delivered to the
target segment (Kotler & Armstrong, 2016).
For the purpose of implementing the marketing strategy and eventually build customer
relationships, a set of marketing tools is applied – also called the marketing mix. A firm’s
marketing mix, further known as the four Ps, consist of four spheres: product, price, place
as well as promotion. The market offering (product) has to satisfy human needs in order
to meet the value proposition. Price and place determine how much will be charged and
through which distribution channels the offering will reach the target segment. The last
step of the marketing mix is to spread the word about the offering and convince the target
group to purchase it. This is the promotion or also called communication part which will
be more closely discussed in section 2.1.2 (Blythe, 2005; Kerin, Hartley & Rudelius,
2011; Kotler & Armstrong, 2016; Kotler & Keller, 2009; Kotler & Levy, 1969).
Back to the marketing process, once it is determined how superior customer value and
satisfaction can be generated and communicated, profitable customer relationships have
to be build and maintained (Grönroos, 2004). Customer relationship management is a
crucial step and a decisive factor for success (Grönroos, 2004; Kotler & Armstrong,
2016,). Finally, after having established relationships with customers, the value has to be
captured and translated into numbers which can be sales, market share and/or profits
(Kotler & Armstrong, 2016). Hence, value is captured from customers and not built
anymore for customers, as in the previous steps (Kotler & Armstrong, 2016). Customer
loyalty and retention are vital for long-term and profitable relationships (Kotler &
Armstrong, 2016). All five steps of the marketing process are depicted in the chart below.
- Advertising: Attract consumer attention and arouse interest through a paid message that
promotes ideas, goods or services and is transmitted by a mass-medium such as
newspaper, magazines, television or billboards (Blythe, 2005; Kotler & Armstrong,
2016).
- Sales Promotion: Short-term incentives that are designed to temporarily increase sales
of a product or a service. Widely used sales promotion tools include discounts, coupons
and displays (Blythe, 2005; Kotler & Armstrong, 2016).
- Personal Selling: A salesperson of a firm directly interacts with the customers trying to
match the benefits of the product or service with the customer’s needs. Personal selling
is a very effective but also one of the most expensive communication tools for a firm
(Blythe, 2005; Kotler & Armstrong, 2016).
- Public Relations (PR): PR is all about public7 interactions and building a positive
company image in the public eye. Events and stories are commonly used approaches to
build such a favorable corporate image (Blythe, 2005; Kotler & Armstrong, 2016).
In the 1980’s, Levitt (1983, p. 92) identified the trend toward a “globalization of markets”
with consumers becoming more alike. According to Levitt, technology was the driving
force behind this trend leading to an increased knowledge of international offerings and
merging the world to a single entity with converging needs (Levitt, 1983). Hence, for
homogenous products that are sold on a global scale, traditional communication tools
such as standardized print and broadcast advertisements promise a high effectivity.
However, not all academics agree to Levitt’s proposed homogenization of products and
contrariwise talk about diverging consumer tastes and behavior in the modern world (De
Mooij, 2010). According to this theory, the marketing landscape has experienced major
7A public can be defined as any party, with a potential or actual interest in a company, that might be
able to have an impact on the company’s ability to attain its goals (Kotler & Keller, 2009).
changes which influenced marketing communication (Kotler & Armstrong, 2016). There
is a shift from traditional mass marketing, for instance through television, radio or
magazines, to more targeted communication models which is supported by the explosive
development of the internet and social media (Kotler & Armstrong, 2016). The internet
has created new possibilities of interaction and individualization, hence, direct and digital
marketing – the direct interaction with targeted customers – has been on the rise (Kotler
& Armstrong, 2016; Kotler & Keller, 2009). Digital media led to an age of better
informed consumers, new and faster ways of communication and an increased need for
customized product offerings – which induces companies to closer mange its customers
in more specifically defined segments (micromarkets) (Kotler & Armstrong, 2016; Kotler
& Keller, 2009).
There is an endless list of new communication techniques, however, many of them fall
under the umbrella term word-of-mouth marketing (WoM) which will be discussed in
section 2.2.3. This is also the point where guerrilla marketing, which will be discussed in
section 2.2, becomes important. Another modern technique that has frequently been
discussed and is worth mentioning is the concept of influencer marketing (Agrawal, 2017;
Hall, 2016; Isch, 2017; Maspoli, 2016). The idea of using famous personalities to promote
a brand or product offerings is not new, however, social media has opened the door for
new influencers (Agrawal, 2017; Isch, 2017). Instead of common celebrities, brands are
now collaborating with opinion leaders which are active on social media platforms such
as Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat and/or have their own blogs or YouTube channels
(Agrawal, 2017; Maspoli, 2016). Most successful influencers come from the United
States (US), such as Kylie Jenner; however, also in Switzerland the concept is on the rise
and has an enormous potential (Agrawal, 2017; Maspoli, 2016; Isch, 2017).
One of the oldest and most influential models in advertising research is the AIDA-Model
that was developed in 1898 by Elmo Lewis, an American advertising advocate (Bruhn,
2005; Mayer, 2000). Lewis stated that a successful communication consists of the
following steps: the advertising message has to raise A-ttention, it has to be relevant and
of I-nterest for the recipients, has to be able to satisfy their D-esire and finally lead to an
A-ction meaning a purchase (Moser, 2002). A more recent model that was developed on
the basis of the AIDA-model and also aims to measure the effectiveness of advertising,
is the hierarchy of effects model, or as Kottler and Armstrong (2016, p. 45) called it buyer-
readiness stages, firstly presented by Robert J. Lavidge and Gary A. Steiner in 1961
(Palda, 1966, p. 13, Blythe, 2005). This model is introduced because it is building on the
AIDA-Model, representative for many other advertising research models and widely
spread in the marketing world (Huber, et al., 2009). According to this model, the
perception of an advertisement is decisive to advance a consumer from awareness to a
purchasing behavior (Blythe, 2005; Lavidge & Steiner, 1961; Palda, 1966,). Marketers
have to tailor their marketing tools to their target segment and use an integrated
communication and promotion program in order to pass all six stages and turn potential
buyers into loyal customers (Kottler & Armstrong, 2016).
Firstly, a company needs to attract the customers’ attention – which is one of the most
difficult but crucial steps as described in the problem discussion (Blythe, 2005; Foscht &
Swoboda, 2011). Raising brand awareness is traditionally achieved through mass
advertising; however, this method has lost its effectivity due to diverging needs and
perceptual filters, which are described in the next paragraph (Huber et al., 2009). This is
also where guerrilla marketing becomes relevant and therefore this stage will be in focus
for the further course of this paper. For the sake of completeness, the other steps are
briefly described and depicted in Figure 2. Once marketers successfully raised awareness,
they have to provide information about the offering and the value of it to create customer
knowledge (Blythe, 2005). Convincing advertising, positive media coverage (PR) or trials
should then lead to the stage of liking and if the offering matches the customers’
expectations and is able to withstand competitive offerings it will reach the stage of
preference (Blythe, 2005). Finally, the consumer has to be convinced through several
trials or discussions with sales people to integrate the offering into his or her daily life
and become a loyal purchaser (Blythe, 2005).
There are numerous other models that describe the communication process; however, the
aim of communication, to turn potential consumers that are completely unaware of the
product into loyal purchasers, does not change – and neither does the problem of
information overload (Blythe, 2005; Foscht & Swoboda, 2011). According to Patalas
(2006) and Zerr (2005), in today’s variety of media consumers are daily confronted with
1’500 advertising messages; other academics even argued that the range is up to 5’000
(Armstrong et al., 2014; Huber et al., 2009; Kačániová, 2013). Facing a constant exposure
to attempts of persuasion, consumers try to avoid being influenced by marketing
messages and have established mental filters (Hutter & Hoffmann, 2011; Kačániová,
2013). Scientists assume that only two percent of the information which is communicated
through mass media are perceived and processed by human beings (Foscht & Swoboda,
2011). This implies that marketing has become a fight for the scarce resource attention
(Foscht & Swoboda, 2011; Huber et al., 2009). The author and blogger Haque (2005)
introduced the term “attention economy” and described attention as the scarcest and
strategically most vital resource in a firm’s value chain. Traditional methods of
advertising often are not able to reach consumers anymore and are perceived as boring,
annoying, non-credible and hence cause a wearout effect (Bass et al., 2007; Zerr, 2005).
Due to the mental limited capacity, innovative forms of advertising are needed to reach
consumers – among them guerrilla marketing with its fundamental principle of surprise
(Zerr, 2005).
Over the years, many different definitions of guerrilla marketing have appeared. The
marketing experts Philip Kotler and Friedhelm Bliemel as well as Al Ries and Jack Trout
are also considered to be godfathers of guerrilla marketing; however, they differently
described the term (Huber, et al., 2009). Kotler and Bliemel summarized the concept as
an offensive, competition-oriented strategy to protect and enhance the market position of
small enterprises with limited budgets (Huber et al., 2009); whereas Ries and Trout (1986)
understood it as an agile and innovative strategic option suitable for companies operating
in a market niche. The varying descriptions illustrate that in the course of time academics
have been focusing on different characteristics of the traditional guerrilla tactics and
hence there is not an universal definition for the guerrilla marketing terminology (Huber
et al., 2009). However, academics nowadays agree that successful guerrilla marketing
activities have not only to be cost-effective and unconventional but also surprising,
creative and have the potential to virally spread (Huber et al., 2009). Consequently, the
primary objective is to attract attention and to generate diffusion of the word (Schulte,
2007). Additionally, once designed for resource-poor SME, these days also global
multinational companies, as for example Red Bull or BMW, benefit from guerrilla
marketing instruments (Huber et al. 2009). Therefore, for the further course of this
research a contemporary definition of Hutter & Hoffmann (2011, p. 41) is used:
2.2.2 Principles
Guerrilla marketing reflects the situation of guerrilla fighters in wartime (Guevara, 1986).
Their ultimate objective was to ensure victory with limited available resources (Levinson,
2016). Consequently, Ries and Trout (1986) described guerrilla marketing as a type of
marketing warfare which is the confrontation of marketing problems by means of military
philosophies. According to them, a fundamental principle of guerrilla warfare is “no
matter how successful, never act like the leader” (Ries & Trout, 1986, p. 80). This idea
still lies at the heart of guerrilla marketing, even though, many variations have emerged
over time.
The history of guerrilla marketing illustrated that there has not been a mutual consent
about the basic principles of guerrilla marketing, however, there are interferences.
Levinson (1984) described the elemental principles as creativity, endurance,
customization as well as proximity to customers. He later underlined the importance of
creativity with the statement that guerrilla marketers rely on their “vivid imagination”
instead of an “outsized marketing budget” (Levinson, 2007, p. 5). Zerr (2005) suggested
that guerrilla marketing has to be surprising, question established values and virally
spread. According to Patalas (2006) the most important factors are imaginativeness,
surprise, cost-efficiency and flexibility; whereas, Hutter and Hoffmann (2011) identified
the three basic elements as surprise, diffusion and low cost effects. Nufer (2013)
underpinned concepts like unconventionality, surprise, creativity, cost-effectiveness,
flexibility and added some additional descriptions such as provocative, atypical and
spectacular. From the existing literature, four of the most agreed principles have been
summarized and will serve as a basis for the further sections of this paper.
8 A schema is an individual, unconscious truth about the nature of the surrounding environment,
namely the personal theory about objects, events or situations (Debraix & Vanhamme, 2003).
9
Word-of-mouth is defined as the self-initiated proliferation of information about goods, services,
sellers, and/or advertising messages from one consumer to other consumers (Debraix & Vanhamme,
2003; Huber et al., 2009).
Viral: WoM enables companies to increase the number of people being exposed to the
marketing message through communication between consumers (Debraix & Vanhamme,
2003). It is characterized by physical communication with messages flowing two ways
(between sender and receiver), a higher credibility than commercial sources because the
information is from known and trustworthy people. Moreover, WoM conveys a
description of the experience that is to be expected (Debraix & Vanhamme, 2003). Here
a connection to the principle surprise can be drawn: Rimé, Philippot, Boca & Mesquita
(1992) suggested that consumers which are emotionally aroused have a higher urge to
share their experiences. This implies that the stronger the emotion surprise, which is
explicitly targeted by guerrilla marketing, the more likely people talk about the
experience (Hutter & Hoffmann, 2011). In today’s digital age, this diffusion of
information mostly happens through social media networks which is known as viral
marketing (Leskovec, Adamic & Hubermann, 2007). However, WoM as well as the
modern form viral marketing are two-edged swords: not only positive but also negative
experiences are spread which can end in a shitstorm10 and create unfavorable attitudes
toward products or even entire brands (Folger & Röttger, 2015; Leskovec et al., 2007;
Pfeffer, Zorbach & Carley, 2014).
These are the underlying principles of guerrilla marketing activities. The next section is
devoted to guerrilla marketing instruments which are based on these principles.
10
A shitstorm, also called firestorm, can be defined as a sudden discharge of large quantities of
negative comments on social media against a person, group or brand (Folger & Röttger, 2015;
Pfeffer, Zorbach & Carley, 2014).
2.2.3 Instruments
Guerrilla marketing is an umbrella term for various marketing instruments. Besides direct
marketing, event marketing, product placements and many other examples, also guerrilla
marketing is a non-traditional, highly adaptable and personalized form of communication
and therefore belongs to the BTL activities (Kimmel, 2005; Nufer, 2013; Reinhard, 2012).
Guerrilla marketing used to be seen as a business philosophy with an equal influence on
all four elements of the marketing mix, consisting of the product, price, distribution and
communication (Adeniyi & Ige, 2013; Huber et al., 2009). Over the years, the focus has
been shifting toward single campaigns and, therefore, most guerrilla marketing activities
fall into the category of communication (Adeniyi & Ige, 2013; Levinson, 2007; Schulte,
2007). Consequently, four guerrilla marketing instruments, which are commonly applied
in in practice campaigns and frequently are reviewed in marketing publications are
introduced: Viral marketing, ambush marketing, ambient marketing and sensation
marketing (Huber et al., 2009).
“The placement of advertising in unusual and unexpected places (location) often with
unconventional methods (execution) and being first or only ad execution to do so
(temporal)”.
Advertisements often are placed in the direct social environment of the target segment,
predominantly younger generations, as for example in discotheques, bars or universities
(Patalas, 2006). Ambient medias have no limits concerning material, size or place, they
only have to be placed in the close environment of the target segment, raise awareness,
be relevant as well as accepted by them (Jäckle, 2007; Huber et al., 2009; Schulte, 2007).
Concrete praxis examples are posters in bathrooms of bars, wash-away graffiti, or even
paintings on the forehead of students (Hutter & Hoffmann, 2011; Jäckel, 2007). Ambient
marketing also orients itself on principles of guerrilla marketing trying to reach a great
number of consumers with little financial expenses (Turk, Ewing & Newton, 2006).
Furthermore, there is a lot of potential for a rapid diffusion of the message and for these
reasons, ambient marketing has one of the largest growth rates among all marketing
instruments (Turk et al., 2006).
Sensation Marketing: The concepts of ambient and sensation marketing are diffusing,
both aiming to surprise and fascinate the target group (Nufer, 2013). The profound
difference is the time-horizon (Nufer, 2013). The term sensation marketing refers to
surprising, unusual, spectacular and special activities that go beyond the “scope of
familiarity” and are one-time happenings (Huber et al., 2009; Hutter & Hoffmann, 2011,
p. 44; Nufer, 2013). While both are placed in familiar environments of their target group,
ambient marketing activities span over a specific amount of time, whereas sensation
marketing actions only occur once and cannot be replicated (Hutter & Hoffmann, 2011).
The objective of sensation marketing is to generate an “aha” or a “wow” effect so that the
advertising message sustains in consumers’ minds and will be diffused through WoM
(Jäckel, 2007; Schulte, 2007; Nufer, 2013). A widely-used example are flash mobs11 as
in the form of massive pillow fights or sudden a freezing of people (Veller, 2012).
Firstly, the extraordinary and provocative messages maneuver in a legal, moral and
ethical twilight-zone (Huber et al., 2009; Nufer, 2013). Toedter (2006) stated that
especially offensive ambush – as well as ambient marketing actions as for example
spraying graffiti on illegal ground – might have undesirable legal consequences involving
monetary fines. Moreover, if guerrilla marketing actions cross ethical boundaries of the
11A flash mob can be defined as a pointless performance at a public place that is collectively
executed by a gathering of anonymous people (Veller, 2012).
targeted consumer group, the message might be perceived as obtrusive or irritating and
can cause a feeling of discomfort or even annoyance (Patalas, 2006). In the long run, this
can substantially damage the underlying values and the image of a brand and in the worst-
case lead to a boycott (Kanbach, 2007; Zerr, 2005). An example sets the Italian fashion
brand Benetton which harmed its own brand equity12 by advertising with original pictures
of blood-soaked clothing from slayed soldiers (Appendix 8.2; Galloway, 2017). This
morally and ethically questionable marketing activity crossed a sensitive line and had a
negative impact on the corporate image (Kanbach, 2007).
Secondly, guerrilla marketing lives from its uniqueness and the element of surprise
(Hutter & Hoffmann, 2011; Patalas, 2006; Zerr, 2005). In order to attract attention and
become the point of interest the surprise effect is crucial (Schulte, 2007; Zerr, 2005). This
implicates that an action can only be executed once, because a replication can induce a
wearout effect, lead to boredom and even antipathy toward the brand (Bass et al., 2007;
Toedter, 2006; Patalas, 2006).
Thirdly, the viral diffusion of a message through WoM cannot be sufficiently controlled
(Huber et al., 2009; Leskovec et al., 2007). As mentioned in section 2.2.2 not only positive
but also negative messages can be virally spread. While a successful campaign can
considerably increase the value of a brand, an abortive one can noticeably harm the brand
image and result in a downturn in sales (Schulte, 2007; Toedter, 2006; Zerr, 2005).
As illustrated, guerrilla marketing bears high potential but also considerable risks. In
order to prevent undesirable headlines and negative WoM, which can greatly harm a
brand image, cautious and careful planning is vital (Nufer, 2013).
12 “The differential effect that knowing the brand name has on customer response to the product or
its marketing” (Kotler & Armstrong, 2016, p. 275). If a brand has a positive brand equity, consumers
prefer their products over generic or unbranded versions; whereas, a negative brand equity leads to a
less favorable reaction than to an unbranded version of the same product (Kotler & Armstrong,
2016).
2.3.1 Definition
The American Marketing Association (AMA) defined a brand as a "name, term, design,
symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from
those of other sellers” (American Marketing Association, 2017). The elements described
by the AMA are called brand elements and are, according to Keller (2013), only one part
of the definition of a brand. He complemented “a brand is a set of mental associations,
held by the consumer, which add to the perceived value of a product or service” (Keller,
2013, p. 30). Many managers refer to Keller’s definition as it describes a brand as
something that has created awareness and a certain reputation in the marketplace (Keller,
2013). The key of branding is to create difference among brands and product categories
with the aim to reside in consumer minds (Keller, 2013). In other words, marketers are
creating labels (distinguishing names and/or symbols such as the logo) to identify the
market offerings and assign a meaning to the brand which is regarded as a guarantee for
authenticity and trustworthiness (Batey, 2008; Ghodeswar, 2008; Keller, 2013). This
definition of a brand aims to provide a theoretical background for the subsequent section
about symbol intensive brands, which will be considered in more depth.
13Objective benefits that are based on product attributes, providing functionality such as
performance or durability to the consumer (Saviolo & Marazza, 2013).
14 Emotional benefits refer to the experience that is attached to the usage or ownership of a brand and
add richness and depth to it (Aaker, 2014)
15 A symbol-intensive brand is characterized by meanings and qualities that go beyond functional
the feeling of regeneration through (Developed by Saviolo & Marazza, 2013, p. 39)
drinking Gatorade (Saviolo & Marazza, 2013). In contrast, hetero-directed emotional
benefits allow the consumer to express their own or idealized self in a social context
(Aaker, 2014; Saviolo & Marazza, 2013). According to Aaker (2014, p. 57), such self-
expressive benefits can be identified by answering the question: “When I buy or use this
brand I am …”. This is typical for the luxury segment where brands, such as Louis
Vuitton, are seen as status symbols that make people appear “successful” (Saviolo &
Marazza, 2013, p. 37). As soon as a brand allows to express more than individual aspects
of a personality and connects people to a social group by providing a sense of identity
and belongingness, it offers social benefits (Aaker, 2014; Saviolo & Marazza, 2013).
These benefits answer the question: “When I buy or use this brand, the type of people I
relate to are …” (Aaker, 2014, p. 58). In this case, the social context can define a person
and influences buying decisions (Aaker, 2014). Individuals seek a ”membership to a
certain lifestyle” and satisfaction of the needs for belongingness and self-actualization
(Saviolo & Marazza, 2013, p. 37). Groups of people who share the same values and try
to express these through products of a particular brand, become more than just loyal
consumers but rather act as brand ambassadors, fans or brand champions that perceived
the brand as irreplaceable – a famous example is the Harley-Davidson community
(Saviolo & Marazza, 2013).
The bottom line is that emotional, self-expressive and social benefits can establish deeper
relationships as well as stronger loyalty than functional benefits (Aaker, 2014). According
to Saviolo and Marazza (2013), a brand needs first and foremost strong functional benefits
in order to move into the area of symbolic value creation (offering emotional, self-
expressive and social benefits). Especially lifestyle brands, which firmly associate
themselves to a certain lifestyle, deliver strong social benefits (for a summary of all brands
refer to Appendix 8.3) (Marazza, 2013). Lifestyle brands commonly symbolize change
and target young consumers – promising preconditions for guerrilla marketing (Marazza,
2013).
consumer psychologists Antonides and Van Raaij (1998, p. 377): “Lifestyle is the entire
set of values, interests, opinions and behavior of consumers”. This definition is backed
by Plummer (1974) who further specified the individual elements: interests represent
important things to people, opinions describe the feeling of people about themselves and
their environment, and the behavior of consumers, which Plummer labelled as activities,
refers to individual spending patterns of time and money (Saviolo & Marazza, 2013).
Therefore, as soon as a brand establishes an own world view which is shared by a group
of people and represents a lifestyle in terms of values, opinions and interests, it becomes
a lifestyle brand (Saviolo & Marazza, 2013).
Once a brand has a clear and coherent point of view it has to communicate the relevant
values; a widespread instrument is storytelling 16 (Saviolo & Marazza, 2013). These
stories must engage, be memorable and emotionally involve brand ambassadors in order
to be virally spread among like-minded people (Saviolo & Marazza, 2013). Consistency
and authenticity are the underlying success factors for a way of life to be accepted and its
communication has to be understandable (Saviolo & Marazza, 2013). Communication is
not foremost about persuasion through functional attributes but predominantly about
storytelling and inspiration and heavily relies on symbolic elements as well as image-
based interactions (Saviolo & Marazza, 2013). In order to foster WoM, the story has to
be “simple, unexpected, concrete, credible, emotional and full of anecdotes (stories)”
which is summarized in the acronym “SUCCES” (Saviolo & Marazza, 2013, p. 73).
Another crucial factor is the communication with communities of customers that can be
physical or virtual, which requires properly managed social media activities (Saviolo &
Marazza, 2013). In a nutshell, the story has to be aligned to the brand’s values and the
communication must be emotionally involving in order for the story and the attached
ideology to be spread.
16Story productions that are built around archetypal myths including products and services which
are given an anthropomorphic identity. (Holt & Thompson, 2004; Wertime, 2002)
2.4 Culture
Only recently, Andrea Monica Hug, a Swiss journalist and writer of the blog Chic in
Zurich, described the Swiss culture as introverted and distant, after returning from the
United States (Zanni, 2017). Anne Liebgott, a representative of US-Expats, explained that
many American citizens, which are known for their openness and cordiality, have trouble
understanding the Swiss reservedness (Zanni, 2017a). This raises the question of how the
construct of culture can be defined and to what extend it influences people’s lives.
Therefore, this section starts with presenting a general overview on culture before
focusing on Swiss culture.
2.4.1 Definition
Over the years, social scientists have taken several approaches to conceptualize the term
culture. Various definitions have emerged but none which is generally agreed upon. From
the numerous academics, Herskovits (1955) interpreted culture as the parts of the human
environment that are man-made; while according to Hall (1959, p. 169) “culture is
communication and communication is culture”. Birdwhistell (1970, p. 318) also included
communication into his definition of culture, however, according to him, culture and
communication are two different ways of representing “structured interconnectedness”.
In addition, he added that while culture is responsible for the structure, communication
has its focus on the process (Birdwhistell, 1970).
advocate of the cognitive system, centered common standards that determine feelings,
behavior and the view of the world, Lévi-Strauss (1971), an advocate of the structural
system theory, focused on structuring the components of culture which consists of
common symbolic systems created by the minds. In contrast, Geertz (1966) used for his
definition of a symbolic system the octopus as a metaphor; separately integrated tentacles
all lead to the brain, which connects them to an entity and ensures its preservation.
“Culture is defined as the learned beliefs, values, rules, norms, symbols, and traditions
that are common to a group of people. It is these shared qualities of a group that make
them unique. Culture is dynamic and transmitted to others. In short, culture is the way of
life, customs, and script of a group of people”
17Every human is assumed to belong to a certain nation which are political units and together build
the entire world (Hofstede et al., 2012). In other words, “nations are groups of people linked by
unifying traits and the desire to control a territory that is thought of as the group’s national
homeland” (Barrington, 1997, p. 713).
differences in consumer behavior (De Mooij, 2010). However, these concepts have no
direct relevance to this research and are therefore not further elaborated.
meal) or looking people in the eye while cheering (Oertig-Davidson, 2006). Such
established rituals are a way to express good manner and are highly valued by the
conservative Swiss (Oertig-Davidson, 2006). The apparent reticence of Swiss people is
not only discussed in literature, but it also a topic of conversation in many online blogs
and forums. Many people discussing on such platforms, mainly non-Swiss citizens,
described the average Swiss person as very polite but reserved (English Forum
Switzerland (EFS), 2013).
On the contrary, in diffuse cultures such as Germany or Switzerland, also called coconut-
cultures, there is a clear distinction between acquaintances in the outer layer and friends
and family in the inner layer (Oertig-Davidson, 2006). While in the small public area little
personal information is relinquished, in the inner layer – the private area – each life space
and every level of personality is overlapping (van den Bergh, n.d.). Once the permission
is granted to enter the wide private area, access to all life spaces is available and personal
information is subject to communication which can be the basis for deep and long-lasting
relationships (Oertig-Davidson, 2006; van den Bergh, n.d.). Hence, while specific
cultures can appear as superficial, people from diffuse cultures can be described as caring
and loyal – once the shell of the coconut is cracked (van den Bergh, n.d.). Communication
also is important in a business context which is a sphere to uncover cultural characteristics
form a different angle. Hence, the next section is dedicated to the Swiss business behavior
and way of negotiating.
Katz (2006) confirmed the cultural influence of neighboring countries on the various
Swiss regions; however, he also supported the opinion that many cultural values as well
as the Swiss proudness of their country build a common identity. Swiss have a conflict-
avoiding attitude, are no debating culture and tend to reach resolutions by logical
reasoning and facts (Katz, 2006; Oertig-Davidson, 2002). Swiss business people are
experienced in the interaction with other cultures but also can be ethnocentric and are
known for treating outside influence with caution, especially outside of Zurich and
Geneva, the international business centers of the country (Katz, 2006). Swiss are
described as cautious, reserved and keeping business and private life separate which
prolongs the complex process of building trust and personal relationships; hence, the
concept of a diffuse culture also applies in a business context (Katz, 2006; Oertig-
Davidson, 2002). Consequently, negotiation techniques that involve personal
relationships rarely work (Katz, 2006). In contrast, emotional negotiation techniques,
including arouse a feeling of guiltiness or happiness, can sporadically be employed (Katz,
2006). Generally, in order to win trust, personal integrity and dependability are important
factors (Katz, 2006). Once the necessary trust is established, Swiss people become loyal
business partners (Katz, 2006).
Business people tend to slowly speak in a quiet and gentle manner, emotions are not
openly displayed and interrupting others is considered impolite (Katz, 2006).
Communication is typically direct and there is a spare use of non-verbal communication
(Katz, 2006; Oertig-Davidson, 2002). Accordingly, Swiss prefer to start with business
conversations instead of small talk (Katz, 2006; Oertig-Davidson, 2002). Presentations
should be held clear and concise; there is a general suspicious behavior against hype and
exaggerations as well as aggressive sales approaches, which is known from the Unites
States (Katz, 2006). Quite the contrary, Swiss are known for understatement and being
modest (Oertig-Davidson, 2002).
In a nutshell, Swiss are slow negotiators due to their methodical and carefully planned
approach (Katz, 2006; Oertig-Davidson, 2002). Personal feelings and experiences tend to
be considered irrelevant in business negotiations and empirical evidences a well as other
objective facts are primary influencers of the risk-averse decision-making process (Katz,
2006). They have a systematic, monochronic work style and dislike interruptions;
therefore, they are sometimes perceived as closed-minded and overly restrictive by other
cultures. Straightforward and honest negotiations are appreciated and techniques as
telling lies, making false demands and concessions may jeopardize trust which takes a
long time to build and is an essential element for negotiations, especially in Switzerland
(Katz, 2006).
In summary, important elements of the Swiss stereotype 20 that might influence the
success of guerrilla marketing are tradition, wariness and diffuseness. Tradition can be
connected to the attitude of conservativeness and wariness. This construct implies that
Swiss people have a tendency to the known and might try to avoid the unknown/new.
However, Swiss people share a lot of information with their social environment, meaning
once a message has touched their personal space, it has the potential to be widely spread.
The fundamental basis of the standardization school of thought is the believe that there is
no international variance of consumers’ needs and wants (Vrontis & Thrassou, 2007). In
other words, global consumers have the same demands and a single marketing strategy
that provides low costs and consistency should be applied (Vrontis & Thrassou, 2007).
The most influential endorsers of this point of view are Theodore Levitt, Michael E.
Porter and George S. Yip, which argued on the basis of the theory of economies-of-scale
and the potential to enhance product quality (Shoham, 1996). The origin of the later
debate over standardization versus adaption lies in Levitt’s controversial position, arguing
for “standardized products and practices on the entire globe” (Levitt, 1983, p. 102).
According to this position, a company should make use of the same advertising,
promotions, prices and channels in each market to maximize efficiency (Shoham, 1996).
Samiee and Roth (1992) named Coca-Cola, McDonald’s and IBM as examples of
multinational corporations that have standardized elements of their marketing strategy.
On the other hand, supporters of the adaption theory believe that marketers have to adjust
to macroenvironmental factors and tailor their marketing strategy to the local market
environment (Vrontis & Thrassou, 2007). De Mooij (2010) documented that failure of
Therefore, if the same advertising message was used across cultures, it might be irrelevant
or faultily interpreted because the underlying cultural knowledge is missing – especially
in high-context cultures. Not only communication, but all marketing mix determinants
and the marketing strategy have to be altered an adjusted to meet specific market needs
and suit local tastes (Cho & Cheon, 2005; Harris & Attour, 2003; Koudelova &
Whitelock, 2001).
There is no right or wrong approach, it always depends on the company and the situation.
Some advantages of both strategies are summarized in Appendix 8.5. However, by
comparing contemporary academic articles, a pattern emerges. Even though some
marketers suggest homogenous desires of a global youth segment with the internet being
the example of global communication, most communication efforts are localized and
tailored to local markets (De Mooij, 2013). Marketing is a universal concept; however,
its practice varies due to unique countries with unique people (Keegan & Schlegelmilch,
2001). This is appropriately reflected by De Mooij (2013, p. 5): “There may be global
products, but there are no global people. There may be global brands, but there are no
global motivations for buying those brands”. This infers that even if the product can be
the same in many markets, the purchase behavior has to be differently triggered.
According to this statement, some elements of the marketing mix can be standardized,
such as the product; however, the communication has to be adjusted.
can be defined as “ready-made identities” and with the lifestyle concept, they profoundly
shape our way of living (Kornberger, 2010, p. xii). At the same time, the marketing
landscape experienced a dramatic change and the effectiveness of mass media has been
eroded (Bianco, 2004; O’Leary, 2003; Pendleton, 2004). This section analyzes how
modern lifestyle brands can be effectively promoted.
Based on the assumption that all customers have similar needs and wants, companies used
to produce and sell a single product for one single segment, the mass market (Michman,
Mazze & Greco, 2003). As described in the previous section this is no longer the case.
An additional reason for this shift is the technological development that has enabled
companies to collect more information about consumers which is the basis for a more
narrowly defined target market with more specific needs (Michman, Mazze & Greco,
2003). Small homogenous segments can be identified based on their activities, interests
and opinions (AIO research) or their values, beliefs and lifestyle (VALS) which are part
of psychographic segmentations (Michman et al., 2003; Sathish & Rajamohan, 2012). A
lifestyle, which is an umbrella term of a “person’s attitudes, values, interests, opinions
and his over behavior” depicts the entire person interacting with the environment (Sathish
& Rajamohan, 2012, p. 152f). Therefore, an according segmentation allows marketers to
better understand their customers and tailor their marketing efforts toward a carefully
segmented target group (Michman et al., 2003).
Technology and the internet not only changed the segmentation approach of companies,
but also the marketing communication environment while at the same time elevating
branding to a key marketing activity. Branding aims to add value by enhancing brand
equity, the intangible value of a brand, which is based on consumers’ perception about it.
Marketing communication symbolizes the voice of the company and aims to build
relationships with and among consumers. Mass media instruments, above all television
(TV) advertising, used to be successful tools to reach a wide target segment. As an
example, fifty years back, Procter & Gamble was able to reach 80% of US women with
one 30-second Tide commercial synchronously aired on three TV channels. Nowadays,
customers are more fragmented due to an overabundance of media offerings and new
channels to reach them which is why the consulting company McKinsey assumed that
traditional TV advertising has lost two-thirds of its effectiveness in the last twenty years.
In this new media landscape, in which consumers are exposed up to 5’000 advertising
messages a day, many consumers have started to actively avoid or ignore them – changing
the way of advertising (also refer to section 2.1.2) (Keller, 2009; Petrecca, 2006).
Before introducing the model, the purpose of this research is recalled. It is designed to
elaborate success factors for lifestyle brands in Switzerland that plan to engage in guerrilla
marketing. Hence, the influence of lifestyle brands and culture on the execution of
guerrilla marketing is the focal point. The model is constructed in a way that the outer
layers build the basis for the inner layers and accordingly influence them. It illustrates
how both concepts impact the marketing strategy which in turn influences the individual
communication efforts and ultimately the practicability of guerrilla marketing. There
could also be an influence from the inside toward the outside, for instance if lifestyle
brands start to heavily engage in guerrilla marketing activities, a previously rather
conservative culture might become more open-minded. However, because the guerrilla
marketing activity itself is the center of this study, only the influences from the outwards
directed dimensions toward guerrilla marketing are examined and not vice versa.
The planning of a guerrilla marketing activity is an interplay of many aspects and next to
communication and marketing experts, also people that are aware of the cultural
environment as well as people which have a full understanding of the brand have to be
involved. The design and execution of a guerrilla marketing activity is based on
knowledge and experience of all these different fields. This knowledge has to be
amalgamated, hence, the communication process between the different experts is crucial
but also critical; communication between experts from different fields might be subject
of misinterpretation.
This model highlights how the three core pillars of this study are interrelated and also
underlines the importance of expertise from various fields. On the one hand, by linking
the three main concepts of this study it represents the end of the theoretical framework
and on the other hand, it serves as a starting point for the ensuing empirical research.
Before the findings are disclosed and discussed, the research method is revealed.
3. Methodology
The methodology section provides a short review of the underlying objective of this
research as well as an account of procedures that were applied to answer the research
question.
Qualitative researches do not believe that there is a general truth that can objectively be
discovered through research, however, the role of human subjectivity is at the center of
this research process (Langdridge & Hagger-Johnson, 2009; Muijs, 2010). The type of
data in qualitative research is non-numerical which means that it has not been quantified
(Steckler et al., 1992). It is of inductive nature, meaning “discovery and process oriented”
and is primarily concerned with text and meaning (Langdridge & Hagger-Johnson, 2009;
Steckler et al., 1992, p. 2). Text-based data collection often involves case studies or a
small number of interviews in various forms (Langdridge & Hagger-Johnson, 2009;
Muijs, 2010). The qualitative approach often offers more depth, unexpected insights into
the object and also a more flexible research process (Langdridge & Hagger-Johnson,
2009; Steckler et al., 1992). On the other hand, the subjective findings are not statistically
representative and therefore cannot be generalized (Langdridge & Hagger-Johnson, 2009;
Steckler et al., 1992).
For the analysis of success factors for lifestyle brands that engage in guerrilla marketing
within the context of the Swiss culture, secondary literature, professional articles, studies,
statistics, case studies and qualitative interviews were used for data collection. A flexible
explorative research design was suitable for this study due to its thematic variety.
Depending on the field of expertise, the research process could be adapted which allowed
for an in-depth analysis of each thematic area that went beyond the possibilities of
quantitative methods. Moreover, to connect the three varying concepts, human experience
was more valuable than numerical data gathered through quantitative research. The author
waived the option to conduct a quantitative research, such as surveys and questionnaires,
mainly due to its inflexibility to adapt to the environment – close-ended questions have a
limited set of answer possibilities. Moreover, time restraints could have led to an
insufficient sample, impacting the statistical accuracy as described above. Before the
research method is described in more detail, the principal questions are restated to focus
the attention on the purpose of this paper.
3.1 Literature
The review of existing literature served to establish a theoretical framework of all
research-relevant concepts. In order to avoid misunderstandings about the key concepts
of this research, a preliminary terminology delimitation as well as working definitions
were provided in the theoretical framework. Theories, models, definitions and
assessments of numerous academics have been scrutinized and contrasted with each other
to assure validity and reliability. Furthermore, recent publications indicated the current
state of research which was especially valuable for the derivation of the interview
guideline.
3.2. Interviews
Qualitative interviews were conducted with nine interview participants from different
fields of expertise: two experts in the field of cross-cultural competences, three academic
and three practical marketing experts. These three categories are only umbrella terms to
establish categories; however, every interview partner has a different field of expertise
and was accordingly chosen. The participants were selected based on literature
references, individual publications and/or recommendations of other experts.
The leading aim of the interviews with the experts in culture was to identify
characteristics of the Swiss mentality and evaluate their supportiveness of guerrilla
marketing campaigns. The marketing and brand experts were primarily questioned in
order to assess marketing and guerrilla marketing campaigns and commonly applied
marketing instruments in Switzerland. To promote structure and hence validity, a
structured interview with a standardized set of questions was applied and provided to the
participants in advance. The underlying questions of all interviews were identical, just the
approach respectively the context provided around the questions strongly varied with the
expert. In order that areas of interest could be explored, the majority of the questions were
formulated as open questions, enabling the question to be answered based on experience,
or as probing questions to explore responses in a particular direction. To enhance the
quality of the questionnaire, it was tested with a psychologist and expert in qualitative
research from University of Zurich and adaptions in terms of sentence structures and
formulations were conducted. After the first test run, the order of the questions was
rearranged for a smooth transition between the topics. To start with the field of expertise
of the respective expert, two different chronologies were developed, one for cultural and
one for marketing experts. Moreover, the first interview partner as well as the supervisor
of this research provided new insights from a different angle which led to the inclusion
of two additional questions. On the other hand, one question was removed, because it did
not offer any additional value. For the derivation of the interview questions refer to
Appendix 8.6.
For the subsequent analysis of the interviews, a transcription system was needed in order
to convert the spoken words of the interviews into a text document. To assure accuracy
and enable a subsequent scientific evaluation with potential for interpretations, all
interviews, except one, were audio recorded and transcribed according to the system of
Wörtliche Transkription, meaning a word for word transcription rather than a summarized
transcription (Höld, 2007; Ottenschläger, 2004). Mayring (2014, p. 45) also described it
as “clean read” or “smooth verbatim transcript”; a word for word transcription which
excludes utterances as “uhm” or “ah” and decorating words as “you know”. Furthermore,
dialects are not maintained and translated into standard language (Mayring, 2014). The
content-thematic level is in the focus which is also why there was no need of a
Kommentierte Transkription (engl. commented transcription), which includes many
nonverbal aspects (Höld, 2007; Ottenschläger, 2004). The interviews were conducted in
Swiss German, German or English; the language in which the interviewee felt most
confident in. Interviews held in Swiss German, were translated into German according to
Mayring (2002). Thereby, dialects, grammatical mistakes, sentence structure and style
were corrected (Mayring, 2002). All detailed transcription rules, which are based on the
guidelines of Kuckartz, Dresing, Rädiker & Stefer (2008), are stated in Appendix 8.7.
This transcription system could not be applied to one interviewee which did not allow to
be recorded. In that case, as many information as possible were noted during the interview
and a form of summarized protocol was compiled (Höld, 2007).
The expert interviews have a qualitative, no quantitative, nature and were accordingly
treated. For the analysis, the socio-cultural background of the communicator, which is
depicted at the beginning of each interview protocol, was taken into consideration. All
answers were examined within the context of the interviewees background in order to
identify and control potentially biased statements. The next part described the approach
of the interview analysis.
The qualitative content analysis can be divided into three basic forms: summary,
explication, and structuring whereby each of these forms has subforms (Mayring, 2014;
Mayring 2010). In order to extract a certain structure from the qualitative expert
interviews, rather than summarizing it or explaining certain passages, the analysis is based
on the content-analytical method of structuring which is described by Mayring (2014, p.
64) as following:
“The object of the analysis is to filter out particular aspects of the material, to give a
cross-section through the material according to pre-determined ordering criteria, or to
assess the material according to certain criteria”.
At the center of the qualitative content analysis is a category system which builds the
basis for the subsequent systematical extraction from the material (Mayring, 2014). The
three main categories of this study are derived from the problem statement, theoretically
based in the theoretical framework and can be described as: Guerrilla marketing, lifestyle
brands and Swiss culture. In a first step of a trial run-through, all passages of the interview
protocols were revised and assigned to one of these dimensions through differently
colored underlining and marks in the text itself. Concrete passages which can be cited as
typical examples to characterize these dimensions were marked as anchor examples. In a
second step, the marked material was processed corresponding to the structuring intention
and subcategories, based on major points of discussion and theory, were defined. The
definition of these categories is foremost based on objective relevance. For each
subcategory, coding rules were formulated to ensure an unambiguous assignment to a
certain category. Once the category system was established and revised, the main
examination of the material started. It again was dived into two stages: firstly, marking
points of discovery and secondly, extracting and summarizing as well as analyzing them
on the basis of the category system (Hausser, Mayring & Strehmel, 1982). The general
model of structuring content analyses in Appendix 8.9 graphically illustrates all steps.
Subsequently, the explorative findings were contrasted with the existing theory and
accordingly interpreted. This builds the basis for answering the leading questions as well
as the research question of this study, which will be approached in the findings (section
4.). However, before these findings are expounded, case studies will be introduced and
analyzed in order to extend the theoretical background knowledge by means of practical
examples.
3.4.1.1 Backgorund
In 2008, the British car manufacturer Lotus launched the Evora, its first new car in more
than a decade. Lotus appointed the communication agency CMW to build buzz around
the launch of the new model. CMW identified that the target segment of the Lotus Evora
highly valued individuality and was looking for ways to express this value. Combining
this lifestyle of the key target consumer and Lotus’ positioning as an exciting high-end
brand, CMW dismissed a traditional advertising approach and instead focused on a
creative buzz campaign (Miller, 2011).
developed the idea of “faceless” people, models wearing black suits and a flesh-colored
latex membrane to totally obscure facial contours, emphasizing the contrasting
personality and character of the new car (Cockcorft, 2008; Miller, 2011). These faceless
people were placed at high profile events spread across the UK, including Wimbledon,
Henley Royal Regatta and Elton John’s White Tie & Tiara Ball (Cockcroft, 2008). The
campaign was flanked by the microsite www.faceless-people.com where a backwards
ticking countdown indicated the unveiling of the Evora (Cockcroft, 2008). At the day of
the launch, the still-covered car was surrounded by faceless people that disappeared as it
was revealed (Cockcroft, 2008). After the secret was uncovered, the microsite
transformed into a fully functional website with information about the Evora (Milller,
2011).
The publicity created by this campaign was priceless; footages of the campaign were
uploaded on Youtube and the phenomena was covered on blogs and social networking
sites across the globe. Additionally, the leading media press, including the Telegraph, the
Daily Mail, BBC Radio 2 and even ABC News in the USA, covered the topic. Hence, it
reached more than 290 million people over a period of six weeks, 250 unique articles
(excluding coverage on blogs) were written about the campaign and its microsite received
over 100’000 unique visitors in the first two days. The campaign not only raised
awareness but also translated into sales; Lotus achieved 25% of its order book target with
this action alone (UTalkMarketing, 2008). At this point the question arises: what has been
Lotus’ recipe for success?
3.4.1.2 Analysis
For the analysis of the campaign, the central elements of guerrilla marketing are seized
again. According to the theory, the predominant principles of a guerrilla campaign are
creativity, surprise, viral and cost-effectiveness. These fundamentals are now considered
in the context of the faceless people campaign.
Firstly, the campaign does not follow the pattern of a traditional advertising approach
(Milller, 2011). The campaign was unconventional, imaginative and had an extraordinary
appeal. It was something new that people never have seen before (creativity) and therefore
attracted attention. The appearance of these faceless people at many major events across
the UK was something unexpected that happened outside of existing schemas of the
present people (surprise). It can be assumed that the high-profile nature of the events even
led to a higher surprise than if faceless people would have appeared on the streets. One
might expect to see something unusual on the streets, however, at exclusive events this
might be less expected and hence caused a deeper emotional reaction. The surprising
event triggered people to share their experience which unleashed the power of WoM. The
diffusion of the information can be seen as the critical point of this campaign, because
only a handful people could personally witness the faceless people but over 290 million
people were reached in the end. A crucial factor, which also can be derived from many
interviews, is certainly the coverage of the mainstream press. According to several
interview partners, media coverage should be one of the main aims of a guerrilla
marketing campaign, not only because of its wide reach but it also provides some
credibility. On top of that, social media platforms undoubtedly also played a major role
in diffusing the information (viral).
A last fundamental element, which especially was emphasized by the culture expert C2
(Appendix, 8.8.2), is the storytelling aspect of creating a legend or a myth. The figures
provoked much speculations and numerous newspapers and bloggers were writing about
the mystery of the faceless people (Cockcroft, 2008). Some bloggers thought that they
were just random people, others rumored that they were celebrities trying to avoid
paparazzi’s and again others were writing about a group named Anonymous (Cockcroft,
2008). Even though the favorite theory was the one of a viral marketing campaign, no one
could tell with certainty and the identity as well as the purpose of the figures remained a
mystery and upheld a constant media flow, another important element for a successful
campaign (Appendix, 8.8.8).
3.4.2.1 Background
Coop and Swisscom, one of Switzerland‘s largest retailers and a major
telecommunication provider, recently launched the online-marketplace Siroop. The
ambitious aim of the new platform is to advance to the most relevant online-marketplace,
which might be one reason for the heavy marketing expenditures. The company
extensively advertises through traditional channels and above-the-line instruments (ABL)
such as billboard and newspaper advertising; however, they also orchestrated a guerrilla
campaign. Siroop offers local products and wants to collaborate with local suppliers next
to selling their own products. In order to raise awareness among smaller vendors, potential
new suppliers and pedestrians, potential new customers, the company placed colorful
doormats in front of several retailers in Bern, Basel and Zürich (Lenherr, 2016).
3.4.2.2 Analysis
Again, the fundamental elements creativity, surprise, viral and cost-effectiveness are used
for the analysis of this campaign. Additionally, some aspects of the expert interviews
supplement the examination.
Going deeper into the analysis, another reason for the ineffective action might be
delivered by the marketing experts MA2 as well as MP2. Both stated in their interviews
that especially large corporations fear to have an image damage through guerrilla
marketing actions and try to avoid illegal undertakings and fines (MA2, Appendix 8.8.4;
MP2, Appendix 8.8.8). This reluctance to take risks has extracted the teeth of guerrilla
marketing (MA2, Appendix 8.8.4). This also might apply to this case, Coop and
Swisscom, both renowned Swiss enterprises, may acted too risk-averse trying to
minimize the threat of a loss of reputation. They may have chosen doormats because it is
not very abstract and a Sunday to avoid conflicts with the shopkeepers. However, moving
along the borderline of legality and daring something new and unexpected exactly is what
characterizes guerrilla marketing and helps such actions to distinguish themselves (MA2,
Appendix 8.8.4). Hence, by trying to not annoy anyone, the campaign lost its fundamental
guerrilla marketing characteristics (Mächler, 2016). A crucial element of guerrilla
marketing is to think out-of-the-box and to try something unconventional; not everyone
will like the campaign, but also these people can create buzz (MA2, Appendix 8.8.4).
and naturally involves some negative reactions (MA2, Appendix 8.8.4). However, the
target segment should be narrowly defined and in this case, it might have been better to
only target one group, instead of both, possible consumers and suppliers. A message only
tailored to the suppliers might have enhanced the comprehensibility and thus prevented
the misunderstanding and negative perception. Moreover, a guerrilla marketing activity
has to be something unconventional, it has to surprise and induce people to diffuse the
message. The campaign has to be out-of-the-box and dare something. Siroop acted
conservative and inhibited, which made its activity rather a “fake” guerrilla action as MP2
(Appendix 8.8.8) defined it. This analysis reveals that the campaign did not foremost fail
because of the Swiss culture but because of its execution.
At least, the campaign was covered in newspapers as 20 Minuten and BLICK (Lenherr,
2016). Even though it was titled a failed marketing activity, it still raised some awareness.
Coupled with numerous other advertisements and billboards, the company certainly
raised some awareness and underlines an important point that emerged throughout many
interviews; guerrilla marketing activities should not be executed in isolation but rather be
a part of a whole marketing campaign in order to sustainably raise awareness which
translates into sales. This point, Siroop seems to have understood.
4.1 Culture
In order to establish the necessary external preconditions, culture is the first pillar which
is analyzed. This subchapter starts by analyzing the Swiss attitude toward marketing.
Afterwards the preconditions for successful guerrilla marketing are established and the
Swiss characteristics that might influence guerrilla marketing revealed.
characteristic of a diffuse culture (Oertig-Davidson, 2006; van den Bergh, n.d.). The
qualitative analysis aims to reveal some more specific insights in how advertising
generally is perceived in Switzerland.
4.1.1.2 Findings
For many, advertising probably is a necessary evil; one accepts that it exists and that it
has to exist because otherwise no products could be offered (MP1, Appendix 8.8.7).
The majority of the expert opinions gravitate into the direction that advertising is rather
perceived as a necessary evil than something that Swiss people really value. The primary
reason seems to be the issue of information overload which is an international
phenomenon. Due to the flood of advertising messages, people long for ad-free spaces
(MA1, Appendix 8.8.3). MA2 (Appendix, 8.8.4) confirmed this statement and claimed
that there is a general tiredness of advertising. Next to this universal overflow of
advertisements, MA1 and MP1 also argued that Switzerland has no advertising culture.
MP1 (Appendix 8.8.7) and MP2 (Appendix, 8.8.8) amended that this is largely due to the
existing regulatory framework. On the contrary, the United States has looser regulations
which extends the horizon of advertising opportunities for companies, such as the
possibility of comparing two rivaling products – an iconic example would be Coca-Cola
versus Pepsi-Cola (MA1). Because companies can be more creative, advertising is also
more entertaining (MP1; MA1). In the United States, advertising has become part of the
culture and people accordingly celebrate it – a repeatedly named example are the popular
Super Bowl advertisements (MP3, Appendix 8.8.9; C2, Appendix, 8.8.2). Hence, people
accept that certain things, such as universities, are financed by advertising which would
not be possible in Switzerland, as demonstrated by the attempt of UBS to finance the
University of Zurich which was not accepted (MA3, Appendix, 8.8.5).
However, not all arguments are against Switzerland. MA2 (Appendix, 8.8.4) argued that
Swiss people like well-done advertising and this rational is supported by a number of
other experts. The bottom line of numerous statements is that if advertising is intelligently
done in an innovative and informative way, Swiss people will see the benefits and like it,
even though advertising is not culturally embedded (MA3; MA4, Appendix, 8.8.6; C2).
Because these principles do not directly correlate to cultural preconditions, they were
decoded (derivation in Appendix 8.6). While cost-effectiveness stands in no direct
correlation with cultural characteristic, the first three can be translated into cultural
dimensions. Creativity can be seen as the openness toward the new; surprise as attitude
toward the unexpected and viral as willingness to share information. It is hypothesized
that a positive attitude toward these dimensions sets a positive precondition for guerrilla
marketing. The qualitative analysis aims to test these dimensions.
4.1.2.2 Findings
“…supportive factors are spontaneity, curiosity, not being shy, openness to new ideas,
not being so conservative, love to be surprised, which is the opposite of conservative, and
feeling comfortable to act in public” (C1, Appendix 8.8.1, p. 116).
4.1.3.2 Findings
“Swiss identity is a conceptual identity in the sense that it is an idea or a vision” (C1,
Appendix 8.8.1, p. 114).
Both, cultural as well as many marketing experts agreed that the culture of Switzerland
greatly differs among the different language regions. C1 (Appendix 8.8.1, p. 114)
explained that the Swiss people have “little historical connections” which indicates a
weak national identity. According to her, “the identity becomes stronger on local levels
such as regions and cantons” but it remains very abstract (C1, Appendix 8.8.1, p. 114).
Several marketing experts agreed and highlighted the influence of neighboring countries
on the respective regions. C2 (Appendix 8.8.2, p. 120) identified differences even within
the regions themselves and stated: “not every person and not every region is the same”.
This statement was supported by MA1 which claimed that there is not one Swiss person
nor one American person. Nevertheless, some common characterizations, based on
generalizations, also emerged. The experts assessed Swiss as risk-averse, critical, serious,
shy and understating themselves but also as innovative, honest, reliable, precise, loyal
and quality-oriented. Hence, there is a contradicting view; Switzerland on the one hand
is seen as very traditional but on the other hand also was described as innovative. In
comparison, the Americans have commonly been characterized as more open,
entertaining and less shy but also as more superficial.
In order to assess the potential of guerrilla marketing, the participants were asked to rate
both cultures based on the above-noted three dimensions (section 4.1.2) from one to ten
(one being very negative, ten being very positive). Conscious of the generalizing nature
of these evaluations, the numerical analysis is not representative and the assessment only
should serve as a general indication.
Firstly, the attitude toward the unexpected was evaluated which is based on the
fundamental guerrilla marketing principle of surprise. On average, the Swiss attitude was
rated below a five and the American one with nine to ten. Not one participant rated
Switzerland higher than America. MP1 explained this difference with the American
mentality which is more open at the first contact as many other cultures.
Secondly, the openness toward the new, with the underlying guerrilla marketing principle
of creativity, was assessed. A similar pattern emerged, Switzerland being described as
traditional (MA2) and averagely rated just over five, whereas Americans were
experienced as more open (MP2; MA1) which translated into an eight. Only MP2 rated
Americans lower on this dimension; however, he explained that it is very topic-
dependent. Interesting factors arouse from the interviews with the two culture experts. C1
indicated that it heavily depends on the region within the country and C2 emphasized
generation differences. Accordingly, urban areas and young people are supposed to be
more open than rural areas and elderly people.
The last dimension investigated the potential of a viral distribution and was named
willingness to share information. Here, both cultures were very similarly rated, in the
upper range of the scale, with a slight tendency in favor of America. MP1 and MA1
explained this outcome by the social media phenomenon insinuating the interconnected
youth. However, many other factors were mentioned that influence the rating of this
dimension which is why no numbers are visualized. Again, rural areas were rated lower
than urban areas and young people more likely to share than elderly people (C2; MP3).
For MA2 and MA4 the content is decisive; as long as it is appealing and understandable,
the potential for both countries is similar.
4.1.4 Discussion
As could be expected form the theory, Switzerland does not offer the most desirable
preconditions for guerrilla marketing, at least not compared to its country of origin, the
United States. Swiss tend to be perceived as conservative people who stick to established
and proven values and do not like to leave their comfort zone. MP1 believed that Swiss
rather are critical and question things first bevor they can laugh about it. MA3 (Appendix
8.8.5, p. 152) saw the greatest potential in cultures of “gossiping and sharing” and rates
Swiss rather “medium” on this dimension, adding that Switzerland is a small market and
information commonly does not cross boundaries. Restating the contextual conditions
which were rated to be favorable for guerrilla marketing, namely: openness, positive
attitude toward the surprising and unconventionality as well as curiosity; and comparing
them with the characterization of a Swiss person that is perceived to be innovative and
reliable but also risk-averse, critical and shy, there is not many congruities. The Swiss
character attributes rather gravitate toward factors which are perceived to hinder guerrilla
marketing, namely: being conservative, shy and reserved.
However, this evaluation is solely based on generalizations which is not the truth for
everyone and therefore, it is generally agreed that guerrilla marketing can work in
Switzerland, especially in urban areas where people are by tendency more open-minded.
MP1 and MP2 have experienced that people from rural areas have a more conservative
mindset which lowers the potential. MA4 amended that in cities a larger quantity of
people can be reached but also campaigns that start in rural areas can be diffused through
social media and reach a wide mass. If guerrilla marketing can work in a culture which
naturally does not support it, the following questions arise: to what extend does culture
impact guerrilla marketing, or marketing in general? And what are other factors, which
might have a more significant influence on guerrilla marketing? These questions cannot
conclusively be answered within the scope of this research; however, a first approach is
undertaken.
Many interesting points have been made regarding the influence of culture on guerrilla
marketing. The most illuminating insight from the expert interviews was the opinion that
guerrilla marketing can work everywhere. Naturally, guerrilla marketing challenges
established values; hence, if it is appropriately applied, its success might not be dependent
on the location. Even if it was dependent on geographical locations, it is noticeable that
no expert could easily define a Swiss or an American person, neither rate them on the
provided dimensions. Many indicated that their assessment was based on generalizations
and stereotypes, which is a start but cannot be applied to everyone. Common traits
certainly exist, however, there is not only one true culture for one country; hence, the
assessment of the potential of guerrilla marketing should be based on a specific target
segment within a culture. There the question arises, which other factor might influence
guerrilla marketing? Many other aspects could be considered and one that frequently
emerged was the age of the target segment. In a century of social media, geographical
boundaries have become less important. MA4 proposed that it might not be location-
dependent but a generation question and MP2 said that the primary target of guerrilla
marketing are young people, especially the ones that are active on social media. This is
also reflected in the distinction in terms of age that some experts made when rating the
dimensions. Young people were generally rated more open. Thus, there might be factors,
such as age, which have a wider implication on guerrilla marketing than the country
culture.
To sum up, even though, based on the theory, Swiss characteristics are not supportive for
guerrilla marketing, it might be different in reality. On the one hand, it should not be
neglected that Switzerland in general might not have the ideal preconditions for
successful guerrilla marketing campaigns. On the other hand, one should not act based on
generalizations and more accurately segment the market, not only based on geography.
The values and attitudes of people within a country, within a region and even within a
city greatly differ and there are always people in favor and people that disapprove a
campaign. As MP1 stated, also the people which oppose your campaign can create
awareness. Hence, the culture has taken into account for the planning and execution of
the campaign, which will be discussed in section 4.4; however, it is not a barrier.
“The culture is not against guerrilla marketing” (C2, Apendix 8.8.2, p. 123).
Based on the analysis of the Swiss culture, the following key question of this research can
be answered: What distinguishes the Swiss culture from other cultures in terms of attitude
toward marketing? As revealed, there is a common oversaturation of advertising in many
regions of this world (MA4). However, other countries such as the United States or the
United Kingdom, known for black humor, have more entertaining advertisements and
people generally have a more positive attitude toward it. On the other hand, as disclosed
in section 2.4.2.3, Switzerland prefer direct advertising which provide meaningful facts
and is concise. Moreover, based on section 2.4.2.2, exaggerations as well as aggressive
approaches are suspiciously considered. Even though Switzerland’s regulatory
framework does not allow for a more creative advertising approach the question arises if
this even is necessary. Swiss people like advertising as long as it is appealing to them.
According to the expert interviews, this could mean that the message has to be intelligent
and informative but also innovative. Approaches that are repeated cause a wearout effect
and a negative attitude toward marketing, whereas, innovative approaches, which still
provide meaningful facts, are likely to be positively interpreted. Hence, if appropriately
executed the Swiss mindset does not oppose marketing.
4.2.1 Definition
4.2.1.1 Theory Recapitulation
Lifestyle brands belong to the category of symbol intensive brands and have emerged
through an increasingly strong connection between social identities of people and brands
(Saviolo & Marazza, 2013). Lifestyle brands address aspects that go beyond product
benefits and enable individuals to become part of a desired group which share a lifestyle
(Ghodeswar, 2008; Saviolo & Marazza, 2013). There has not been much research done
about the concept of lifestyle brands, which is why this theoretical definition is
complemented by definitions of expert interviews.
4.2.1.2 Findings
Analyzing the definitions of the experts, two typical facets appeared: the inner and the
outer dimension. The inner dimension describes a lifestyle brand as something that
establishes a world in the minds of the people (MA1). Lifestyle brands underline which
lifestyle people live or their desire to “change to another lifestyle” (MA4; C2, Appendix
8.8.2, p. 126). These aspects are about the personal feelings which such brands convey.
The outer dimension refers to something that is expressed to the world through the
lifestyle brand, “it can mirror…, dimensions of who you are” (C1, Appendix 8.8.1, p.
117). It conveys a certain statement, a certain attitude and enhances self-esteem (MP2).
Hence, a lifestyle brand can communicate a statement to the outside world. Another
empirical cognition is provided by MA2 which described a lifestyle brand as a temporary
fashion. New trends will start and people change their lifestyle over the course of their
life. Accordingly, a lifestyle brand will eventually disappear again; examples are Ed
Hardy or Abercrombie & Fitch (MA2). Only luxury brands, such as Louis Vuitton or
Chanel, area able to sustain over time (MA2). MP1 had a similar opinion and stated that
a lifestyle brand has to feel the current zeitgeist and provide an answer, in form of
products, to current needs.
In summary, lifestyle brands fulfill two functions: enhance the personal feeling and serve
as a vehicle to express certain statements. However, as soon as a lifestyle brand cannot
feel and integrate current trends anymore, it will disappear.
4.2.2.2 Findings
Communication has to happen more on an emotional and less on a cognitive level (MA4).
In line with the theory, experts emphasized not a particular instrument but the emotional
aspect that should be communicated. MP2, MP3 and MA4 commonly stated that lifestyle
brands communicate on a psychological level trying to emotionally involve people by
incorporating the values of a specific consumer (as the Lotus example, section 3.4.1,
illustrated). Many believe that any marketing instrument can be applied, as long as it fits
to the brand and the integrated marketing strategy. However, there is also a specific
suggestion of which instruments to use. MA2 claimed that luxury brands organize large
events and collaborate with stars; whereas, smaller lifestyle brands use scene bloggers
and online marketing. Additionally, next to the communication also the underlying
product is important (MP2). Through communication, the brand has to convince that the
product will satisfy the expectations (C2); however, the product also has to deliver what
it promises (MP2).
4.2.3 Discussion
Lifestyle brands are equally described in theory as well as by the experts. The brand
values are the most important asset and also have to be mirrored in communication efforts
which have to emotionally involve the target group. This section about lifestyle brands
enables to answer two of the leading questions of this research. Based on theory, the
expert interviews and a personal assessment the following two key questions are
answered.
The first question about lifestyle brands is concerned with its definition: What
differentiates lifestyle brands from normal brands? To answer this question, several
definitions which have been provided are taken into consideration. As a result, three
distinctive differences can be identified. Firstly, lifestyle brands connect people that share
common values and have similar attitudes. Lifestyle brands establish a world in their
minds. Secondly, lifestyle brands are being used to express this inner world, in which
they live in, to their environment. Therefore, product attributes and functionality are of
secondary importance, first and foremost the product has to serve as a value satisfier and
expresser (emotional-, self-expressive and social benefits). Thirdly, lifestyle brands often
are an ephemeral phenomenon. They have to be closer to the zeitgeist than other brands,
spot current trends and incorporate these into their product offering. Generally, one can
say, lifestyle brands function only on a psychological, emotional level, whereas normal
brands also can convince on a cognitive, functional level.
The second question is as following: Which marketing strategies are successfully applied
by lifestyle brands? In conformity with the definition, lifestyle brands have to market on
an emotional level and promote emotional, self-expressive and/or social benefits. They
have to make the people feel something, if it is personal gratification or belongingness to
a group. Therefore, marketing efforts have to be more individualized in order to touch
people’s feelings and connect to them. Regarding marketing tools, the question arises if
traditional or modern methods are more successful. It has been identified that the critical
point is not necessarily the tool itself, however, it is about aligning all marketing efforts
with the values of the company and convey a consistent image. Successful lifestyle brands
offer solutions to current trends in the form of solid products and satisfy requirements of
consumers. To communicate this solution, various channels which are appealing to
feelings and emotions of a clearly defined target segment can be used.
4.3.1.2 Findings
A noteworthy factor is presented by MA3. According to him “it is not a question of size
but a question of the company culture and the brand image” (MA3, Appendix 8.8.5, p.
151). This belief is also endorsed by MP3 who emphasized the importance of the brand
values. As an example, he named Apple which is a multinational company and in his
opinion suitable for guerrilla marketing because it stands for innovation and rule-breaking
behavior. These findings are more deeply examined in the discussion in section 4.3.3.
“I think it works for every size of a company” (MA3, Appendix 8.8.5, p. 151).
4.3.2 Instruments
4.3.2.1 Theory Recapitulation
Guerrilla marketing belongs to the BTL activities and is an umbrella term for many
instruments (Kimmel, 2005; Nufer, 2013; Reinhard, 2012). Commonly used tools are
viral marketing, ambush marketing, ambient marketing and sensation marketing. Viral
marketing targets the exponential diffusion of a campaign (Carls, 2007; Fong &
Yazdanifard, 2014; Schulte, 2007); ambush marketing pursues to establish a connection
between a major event and the brand without being an official sponsor (Bruhn & Ahlers,
2003; McDaniel & Kinney, 1998); ambient marketing refers to unconventional
advertisements that are being placed in the direct social environment of the target segment
(Luxton & Drummond, 2000; Patalas, 2006); and sensation marketing are unusual
activities that surprise and are one-time happenings (Huber et al., 2009; Hutter &
Hoffmann, 2011; Nufer, 2013). To evaluate the potential of these instruments in
Switzerland, experts were asked to rate them on a scale from one to ten (one meaning
very low potential, ten meaning very high potential).
4.3.2.2 Findings
It is funny, until recently billboard advertising in Switzerland was still increasing (MP2).
To start, commonly used marketing instruments in the Swiss marketing landscape are
examined. Most experts agreed that Switzerland is still on the conservative side and relies
on traditional advertising instruments. MP2 even revealed that billboard advertising still
has been on the rise until recently; whereas, everywhere around Switzerland the statistics
record a decreasing trend. On the other side, the experts unanimously suggested a trend
toward online advertising. MA1 stated that it needs time to let go but there is a change.
MP1 alluded that the media behavior has totally changed over the last years and it has
become increasingly challenging to reach consumers, not matter through which channels.
That is where guerrilla marketing instruments become relevant.
The majority of the experts did not provide numerical ratings but rather descriptive
assessments. Subsequently, the main points about each instrument are summarized.
Starting with ambush marketing, this instrument was rated with a medium potential by
most interview partners. The primary issue which was raised by numerous experts was
that most people are not aware of the main sponsor of an event; therefore, they will not
realize the ambush and it will not create any buzz. Hence, it can create awareness at the
event itself but the sustainability is questionable (MA1; MA2; MA4). Furthermore, MA1
identified little creativity in this free riding approach and C1 suggested that such action
might be perceived as mean and not funny in Switzerland, a culture that complies to rules
and laws (MA3).
The assessment of viral marketing was varying. Still there is one factor which experts,
regardless of a low or high rating, agree upon: the low predictability. MA1 reckoned that
a viral campaign can be successful but it is very difficult to plan and no agency could
guarantee success. MA2 introduced the element of luck, one has to be at the right time at
the right place. MA1 thought that the campaign has to be credible and creative; however,
even then it is difficult to feel if it will go viral. MP2 also raised a reasonable concern
which is connected to the Swiss culture. The viral reach might be limited due to the
different language areas and due to the small size of Switzerland, viral campaigns are
unlikely to cross national borders (MP2).
Ambient and sensation marketing had the most positive resonance. An often-discussed
aspect was creativity, which is central for such campaigns. Representatively, MA2
identified most potential in ambient marketing and claimed that it is currently not very
widespread. MP2 rated ambient and sensation marketing similarly high and hinted that
independent of the instrument, the message has to be short and concise. He also stated
that the interaction with the customer is crucial. People that directly experience such
campaigns are very engaged and it is important to create a positive feeling in order that
they will share this experience. MA3 and C2 added that due to social media, such
campaigns are attractive because they have the potential to be spread. MA4 reckoned that
ambient actions are subtle, whereas, sensation actions can release strong emotions. Lastly,
C2 added that one needs a certain mental distance to the sensation marketing action in
order to perceive it as funny.
4.3.3 Discussion
The influence of the company size on guerrilla marketing as well as commonly used
marketing instruments in the Swiss marketing landscape are the two remaining key
questions that need to be answered. The previous subchapter provided the basis for their
answer.
How does the popularity of guerrilla marketing vary with the company size? According
to the theory, guerrilla marketing was established for smaller companies with a limited
marketing budget; however, these days it is also applied by multinational companies. The
expert interviews provided a valuable insight that depreciate the significance of size. The
concepts of company culture and brand image were emphasized instead of its size.
Correspondingly, every size of company can engage in guerrilla marketing activities,
there only has to be a fit between the campaign and the brand. Naturally, any marketing
activity has to suit the brand personality; however, in the case of guerrilla marketing this
connection has to be even stronger in order that the action is perceived as credible. MP1
described the most important factor, next to creativity, as credibility. If the campaign suits
the company image and transfers the value it stands for in a credible way, every company
can theoretically execute guerrilla marketing. However, it has to be considered that larger
companies typically invest a lot to establish their reputation which can be in jeopardy
when engaging in unconventional guerrilla undertakings. According to the experts, the
top management commonly evaluates the risk of an image damage higher than the
potential value. On top of that, the approval of such a campaign is a long and complicated
process which limits the flexibility of such companies. Hence, the question arises if SME
still might profit the most from guerrilla marketing?
The last remaining key question is: How do companies brand themselves in Switzerland
and what are typical advertising instruments that are used? The theory as well as the
experts suggested that the marketing environment has changed over the last years and it
has become challenging to attract attention. Experts claimed that, compared to other
countries, Swiss companies still rely on traditional marketing instruments and channels,
such as television or billboard advertising. As MP2 stated, billboard expenditures were
on the rise until recently and still constitute a major part. However, Switzerland is in the
middle of a transition toward a more digital marketing landscape; according to MA2,
social media, Google AdWords and related instruments are increasingly becoming
important. At the same time, she thought that this trend will not last long and that there
will be a backward movement toward traditional instruments. According to her, online
media is less efficient because it is easily ignored. This is acknowledged as a valid point.
Traditional advertising is more tangible and not as abstract as online advertising which is
important in a rather conservative culture such as Switzerland. On the other hand,
Switzerland has an innovative vein which is why also modern instruments have potential,
once they have proven to be successful in other countries. Hence, companies use
traditional as well as modern marketing instruments. At the moment, traditional
instruments are prevailing but there is a movement toward more modern tools; and maybe
back again.
What are the success factors for a guerrilla marketing campaign executed by a lifestyle
brand within the context of the Swiss culture?
Human Capital: Behind every campaign and the implementation of each of these
elements are people. Talents which understand their brand, love their brand and think out-
of-the-box are a fundamental element for successful guerrilla marketing campaigns.
Especially for lifestyle brands it is vital that everybody who is involved in the campaign
fully understands the brand values; only then they can accordingly be communicated.
Aim: Before starting with the planning and design process of the campaign, the objective
of it has to be clearly defined. Success can have various meanings and everyone involved
has to be deeply conscious about the target. Naturally, guerrilla marketing is applied to
raise awareness; however, there is potential which goes beyond the element of awareness.
Particularly in Switzerland with a focus on long-term relationships, raising awareness is
not enough to turn cautious Swiss people into customers. Therefore, instead of only
focusing on pure awareness which fluctuates after a short-time, the successive factors are
constellated to exploit the potential of guerrilla marketing and to move Swiss customers
from the stage of awareness to the stage of purchase (section 2.1.2.1) – hence increase
brand value.
maneuvering within a legally diffused area which bears some risks. Particularly, in a
strictly rule abiding society with a strong social control such as Switzerland,
delinquencies can become costly and time-consuming. Hence, the brand has to obtain the
legal-, financial- as well as manpower to face the consequences. Additionally, the
guerrilla marketing activity might impact the underlying brand values of a lifestyle brand,
hence the content and way of communication has to be thoroughly planned and possible
outcomes – also possible damages of reputation – carefully considered. If the best case
will not lead to an increased brand value and the worst case involves high legal costs or
image damages, a less risky, more strategic marketing campaign might be more
appropriate. In case of uncertainty, a trial in a testing environment is advisable.
Authenticity: It is crucial that the guerrilla action fits to the brand and the product/service
behind it. The brand values, the lifestyle which the brand signifies, have to be credibly
mirrored in the campaign otherwise it can lead to confusion. Swiss consumers, which
tend to critically examine and question new information, instantly feel if the message is
insincere. Thus, credibility is key for lifestyle brands, which live from their brand values.
Actuality: Next to incorporating contemporary trends, the subject of the campaign also
should be relevant. Topics that already are discussed in the media have a certain energy
within them. If this vitality is captured and translated into a campaign, the guerrilla
marketing action has a greater potential to be covered by the media, especially if the
campaign includes an unconventional/controversial element. However, also this topic
should be in line with the underlying personality of the lifestyle brand.
Surprise: It is the central element of guerrilla marketing, according to the theory, and was
also one of the most named success factors in the expert interviews which also took the
Swiss culture and lifestyle brands into consideration. It is not only important that the
action is something totally unexpected which deviates from existing schemas of people,
however, it also should leave the people behind with a positive feeling. In a culture of
direct communication, such as Switzerland, it is important that the message is concise and
understandable, so that Swiss people can reflect on it in a positive way. Swiss people tend
to critically examine vague or ambiguous messages which can destroy the positive
association created through surprise.
Unconventionality and Creativity: Also these fundamental principles from the theory
have been confirmed through the expert interviews. A guerrilla marketing campaign has
to be rule-breaking in order to raise from the wide mass of advertising messages.
Therefore, courage is needed and the company has to dare trying something completely
new – something that is perceived as worth sharing – and not copy other campaigns. Swiss
companies tend to be risk-averse and reluctant to push societal limits (refer to case study
3.4.2); therefore, real guerrilla marketing is rarely seen and rule-breaking activities have
the potential to attract a lot of attention. Moreover, innovation is key, the company has to
redefine and reinvent itself over and over again, it has to be dynamic – which is a
prerequisite for lifestyle brands not only in marketing. Lastly, as stated in the last
paragraph, in order to appeal to the Swiss consumers, it is important that the content is
concise, relevant and to the point. Redundant information and exaggerations will reduce
the effectiveness.
Emotional Involvement: Lifestyle brands do not foremost sell functionality but emotions.
Hence, the guerrilla marketing campaign should convey emotions that are in line with the
lifestyle brand’s personality and its values. Storytelling is an instrument which is
commonly utilized to arouse people and also can be effective in the Swiss culture of direct
communication, as long as it evokes feelings. The creation of a story, a legend or a myth
around a brand or a product offering can foster curiosity which Swiss people might not
openly express but also experience. If possible and appropriate, this feeling should be
connected to the lifestyle brand’s values.
Additionally, to increase the potential for media coverage, the topic of the campaign
should be relevant (actuality).
There are also limits in the application of guerrilla marketing (Appendix 8.11.2). Firstly,
even if the campaign maneuvers within the legal framework it should not offend anyone’s
feelings. The cultural, political, social and also religious environments always have to be
treated with utmost caution. In today’s interconnected world, an insulted group can
quickly generate a shitstorm which can have far-reaching consequences and hurt the
overall brand value. Generally, sensitivity is a crucial skill for a successful outcome.
Secondly, one has to be familiar with the legal preconditions. The campaign can and
should push the limits of the law, however, it should not become totally illegal. Thirdly,
guerrilla marketing has to stay a niche instrument and should be cautiously applied. It has
to be special and surprising and therefore cannot become a standard instrument by
definition.
The lists of success factors and limitations are not conclusive but they rather should serve
as a guideline when planning a guerrilla marketing campaign in Switzerland.
For the purpose of illustrating the various opinions, the experts were positioned on the
first three steps of the marketing process (section 2.1.1) according to their attributed
significance of culture in terms of marketing. The closer the experts are located toward
understanding customers the higher the importance they attributed to culture within the
marketing process, because it becomes relevant at an early stage. In other words, culture
has an important role for understanding and segmenting the market. A positioning in the
middle of the continuum, close to marketing strategy, indicates that culture becomes
relevant when targeting the consumers. There, culture still has an impact on the design of
the marketing strategy, however, there are other factors to consider as well. The more the
experts gravitate toward integrated marketing program the more the significance of
culture in the marketing process is decreasing. The outer right boarder means that a
similar marketing mix is applied regardless of the culture and other elements have to be
considered.
MA3
MA1 C1 MP2
MA4 C2 MA2 MP1 MP3
Integrated
Understand Marketing
marketing
customers strategy
program
These findings do not aim to provide an answer to the posed question; in fact, they should
encourage further studies toward this direction. People with different backgrounds seem
to assign different levels of significance to culture in the marketing process, an in-depth
analysis might be able to create a connection between the background and the evaluation.
Furthermore, other factors which might have a more substantial impact on marketing, or
more specifically guerrilla marketing, could be evaluated.
5. Conclusion
This study reports’ insights into the influence of culture and lifestyle brands on guerrilla
marketing activities, contribute toward a better understanding of the potential of guerrilla
marketing within this context.
Findings from theory as well as expert interviews indicated that the Swiss culture does
not provide an ideal environment for the execution of a surprising, unconventional and
creative guerrilla marketing activity. In an age of visual overstimulation, Swiss people
generally perceive advertising as a necessary evil and long for ad-free spaces. On top of
that, the relatively strong uncertainty avoidance nature of the Swiss culture combined
with stereotypical characteristics as risk-averse, critical and rather traditional are not in
line with the deduced favorable preconditions for guerrilla marketing such as openness
and a positive attitude toward surprise. On the other hand, Swiss people share a lot of
information with people within their private space meaning once a message has reached
and touched them, it has the potential to be widely spread. It has to be stated that this
evaluation is based on generalisations which are not the truth for everyone because
cultural diversity exists not only between countries but also within a country. Hence, the
question arises if there is a target segment which is prone to guerrilla marketing in every
country. This research does not provide an answer to this question, however, the results
from the study of the potential of guerrilla marketing within the context of the Swiss
culture questions the underlying connection between culture and guerrilla marketing.
Some experts indicated that the application of guerrilla marketing is location independent,
hence, does national culture play a role? To attract attention, guerrilla marketing activities
maneuver along cultural and legal boundaries. These limits substantially vary among
different countries which underlines the necessity of different ways of execution.
Therefore, it can be said that culture influences the planning and execution of guerrilla
marketing; however, its influence on success cannot be conclusively answered through
this research.
This study also elaborated on the connection between lifestyle brands and guerrilla
marketing. Lifestyle brands connect people with a common lifestyle and serve as a vehicle
of value expression. They accordingly adjust their marketing efforts and focus on
promoting on an emotional rather than on a cognitive level. Guerrilla marketing, with the
fundamental element of surprise, also aims to create an impression and ultimately induce
a positive feeling toward the brand. Hence, guerrilla marketing seems to be a suitable
instrument for lifestyle brands. This point of view is supported by findings about the
relevance, or rather irrelevance, of the company size. Once established for resource-poor
SME, guerrilla marketing nowadays is also applied by multinational enterprises.
Therefore, experts presented the belief that the applicability of guerrilla marketing is not
a question of size but a question of brand values. In order to survive, lifestyle brands have
to be dynamic, be close to the prevailing zeitgeist and so does guerrilla marketing. Hence,
as long as the guerrilla marketing activities are in line with the lifestyle brands’ underlying
values, the size of the company is not an eliminating factor for guerrilla marketing
activities.
Another focal point of research were advertising instruments that are commonly used in
Switzerland. As is evident from the expert interviews, Switzerland, compared to other
countries, still has a relatively traditional marketing approach. The country seems to be
in a transition phase toward a more modern marketing landscape, however, traditional
instruments such as billboard advertising are still prevailing and also highly valued. This
is also mirrored in the assessment of suitable guerrilla marketing instruments within the
context of the Swiss culture which accredits the largest potential to sensation and ambient
marketing, the latter being an instrument that emerged from classical outdoor advertising.
Based on the findings, twelve success factors have been identified that serve as a guideline
for lifestyle brands for the orchestration of a guerrilla marketing campaign in the context
of the Swiss culture. The factors combine guerrilla marketing, Swiss culture and lifestyle
brands, the three main concepts of this research, and highlight areas of consideration. The
diffuse nature of the Swiss and their direct communication style as well as the importance
of the underlying values of a lifestyle brand are the core elements which affect many
factors.
customer and accordingly contribute to an increased brand value. During the planning
process, the target segment has to be narrowly defined (focus) and the possible
consequences of the campaign have to be evaluated. Not everyone will support the
campaign; however, if carefully planned and executed, the positive resonance will
overshine negative voices and the target customers will diffuse the message among their
social environment. In order to execute, the lifestyle brand as well as the action have to
be close to the current zeitgeist and hit the nerve of time. Furthermore, the action has to
be authentic and credible, meaning in line with the company’s values and the lifestyle it
aims to convey. Credibility is an essential factor for persuading warily Swiss people.
Additionally, the action lives from actuality, surprise, unconventionality/creativity and
has to evoke positive emotions among the target segment. The company has to be daring
and orchestrate an activity that maneuvers along the limits of the Swiss rules and laws.
The message has to be clearly formulated without redundant information and at the same
time emotionally touch the target segment. Finally, in order to take advantage of the Swiss
loyalty and not only reach a short-term peak in attention which will evaporate soon after,
the guerrilla marketing activity has to be incorporated into a marketing program which
includes traditional as well as modern methods.
6. Reflection
Nowadays, attention has become a scarce resource and marketing activities often
disappear in the mass of media; hence, guerrilla marketing with its surprising and
unconventional character should be increasingly considered as an alternative marketing
instrument. This research is practically relevant due to its underlying purpose of
increasing a lifestyle brands’ understanding of the concept of guerrilla marketing and its
possible implementation within the Swiss culture. This last chapter starts with a critical
appraisal including limitations of the thesis followed by suggestions for further research.
The theoretical framework was built on the basis of a funnel approach. The analysis of
the concepts started with a broad view and as the examination proceeded it becomes more
specific and nuanced. The academic literature for this analysis was carefully and
selectively chosen and cross-verified to ensure validity. However, due to the specification
of the topic area, this research only is based on an extract of the available literature and
is not representative for other literature about guerrilla marketing and the other concepts.
Another limitation of the present study concern the validity of the questionnaire items.
Although all of the questionnaire items utilized for the purpose of this study were
developed through a systematic approach and validated by a psychologist and expert in
qualitative research, a certain degree of bias cannot be excluded. The formulation of the
questions might have had an influence on the answer and thus the eventual findings.
Furthermore, each interview is influenced by the personal filter of the author, even though
the interviews tried to be conducted from a neutral position.
The experts for the qualitative research were selected according to their field of expertise.
Each expert had a distinct and relevant knowledge of a particular aspect of this research
and could provide another piece in the puzzle on the path of answering the research
question. The background of each interviewee was included into the examination of their
statements to limit biases. Despite that, expert opinions are individual opinions and
therefore are not representative. Translational limitations of the current study result from
the method applied to translate interviews which were held in Swiss German to German
and some statements from German to English. Even though the professional translations
were revised by a German/English linguistic expert, they are not in line with
contemporary methods such as Gentzler (2001) suggested. The primary reason is the
content-focus, the importance of the wording was secondarily considered; therefore,
during the translation process some information could have been slightly differently
interpreted.
Firstly, all statements and assumptions that led to the identification of the twelve success
factors are based on existing theory and qualitative research. In order to analyze the Swiss
attitude toward guerrilla marketing from a different angle, assuming that culture is a factor
with profound impact on the success of guerrilla marketing, a quantitative research with
a representative character could complement this study.
Secondly, one of the most interesting and at the same time critically discussed topics of
this research is the question about the influence of culture on guerrilla marketing. Further
research could be directed into two different areas. Firstly, based on the hypothesis that
guerrilla marketing is location independent, the influence of culture on guerrilla
marketing could be analyzed and tested through case studies from various countries.
Secondly, other factors, which might have a more significant impact on the success of
guerrilla marketing could be evaluated. A starting point could be the age of the target
group, a factor that was frequently mentioned by the interview participants, especially the
culture experts. On the other hand, also the influence of guerrilla marketing on culture
could be examined. An interesting hypothesis would be that repeated exposure to guerrilla
marketing increases the acceptance and hence a culture, or a part of it, might become
more open-minded.
Thirdly, this research was limited to lifestyle brands. Further research could scrutinize
different industries and evaluate if the findings of this study are valid for different types
of company and suggest the industry with the greatest potential. A further specification
would be the lifecycle of the company. Theoretically, guerrilla marketing activities are
cost-effective and hence might be best suitable for young companies that are in the
beginning of their operations and only have limited available capital. This hypothesis
could be tested by examining various companies at different life stages from various
industries.
Fourthly, through this research, the hypothesis emerged that apart from the country
culture, the company culture might be a crucial factor. The company culture should be in
line with the guerrilla marketing activity, hence, a comparison and examination of the
values of companies which successfully apply guerrilla marketing might serve as an
evaluation of a favorable company culture.
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8. Appendix
8.1 Common Communication Platforms
Events and
Direct and Online WoM and related techniques
Experiences
Sports Catalogues Person to person
Entertainment Mailings Chatrooms
Festivals Telemarketing Blogs
Arts TV shopping Viral marketing
Causes Electronic shopping Buzz marketing
Factory tours Fax Influencer marketing
Company museums E-Mail Evangelist marketing
Street activities Voicemail Street marketing
Blogs Stealth/Undercover marketing
Websites
Mobile Marketing
(Based on Beurer-Züllig, 2014; Kotler & Keller, 2011; Kirby & Marsden, 2006)
(Galloway, 2017)
21This first version of the questionnare aimed to compile research relevant questions based on
theory and the research objective.
However, this general attitude might not transfer to all marketing instruments. It can be
assumed that every culture has different factors for success and distinct sets of marketing
tools leading to it. These instruments have to be identified for Switzerland 6. Despite the
fact that Switzerland is a multicultural country which is divided into four different
language regions with obvious cultural differences, some academics suggest that there
are major common cultural traits and the country can be analyzed in its entirety. However,
other theorists believe it is necessary to consider each region on its own; therefore, an
additional expert opinion on this subject is needed 7. For this purpose, it is crucial to
identify the principal cultural factors that decide on the success of guerrilla marketing.
22In order to get a deeper understanding of the questions and test their validity, they were derivated
and some adaptions were made. The superscripted numbers indicate the question numbers.
According to the theory, four of the most fundamental principles of guerrilla marketing
are first and foremost the element of surprise, a creative marketing campaign, the
potential to go viral and cost effectiveness. The first three elements are paraphrased (to
simplify the rating) to the notions: attitude toward the unexpected, openness toward the
new and the willingness to share information8. The dimension of cost-effectiveness might
provide an indication toward companies that are most gravitated to guerrilla marketing.
The hypothesis is that young companies (Start-ups) as well as SME with a limited
marketing budget can tremendously benefit from such campaigns 9. It has to be stated that
the mentioned four elements are not carved in stone and may vary with the interviewee’s
point of views. The aim is to get an assessment about these four, or related, elements for
the Swiss as well as the American culture. Moreover, this structure aims to detect, if there
are assumed cultural deviations among the regions within Switzerland. A further step is
a two-sided analysis of concrete examples of actually orchestrated marketing campaigns
for sources of success10. It is two-sided in the sense that the interviewee is being asked to
provide specific examples of successful (traditional and/or non-traditional) marketing
campaigns (within Switzerland) and subsequently is confronted with specific guerrilla
marketing campaigns (one example each of ambush-, ambient-, sensation-, and viral-
marketing) that proofed to be internationally successful. This might allow for an insight
about success factors of marketing campaigns in Switzerland while at the same time
indicate a direction toward tools to use.
Once guerrilla marketing in the context of the Swiss culture has been discussed and its
likelihood of success as well as a tendency toward instruments have been determined, the
topic will be more narrowly scrutinized with the additional element of lifestyle brands.
The concept of lifestyle brands is relatively new and there is little existing literature about
it, which is why it is the differences to “normal” brands have to be examined first 11.
Especially, variances in terms of marketing have to be recognized and the applicability
of guerrilla marketing evaluated12. According to the theory, lifestyle brands seek to create
an experience for their consumers and become a part of their way of life; therefore, it is
hypothesized that guerrilla marketing, with its element of creativity and exceptionality,
might become a part of this experience. Unconventional activities form a brand’s
character, show which values it stands for, motivate consumers to follow its ideology - if
they share this point of view - and get involved in the community.
Finally, lifestyle brands executing guerrilla marketing campaigns are set in the context of
Swiss culture and all the separate information are consolidated. The most important
findings are reflected, the limits of guerrilla marketing13 examined and the finale question
asked: “Mr./Ms./Mrs. XY, if you had a lifestyle brand here in Switzerland and you want
to launch a guerrilla marketing campaign to increase awareness, which tools would you
use and what are the most important factors you would consider for a successful
outcome?”
23
This version of the questionnaire was tested with a psychologist and expert in quantitative research
from University of Zurich. Some reformulations and changes in terms of structure were conducted and
this questionnaire served as the guideline for a test run and for the first interview (culture expert C1).
• Ambient marketing
• Sensation marketing
• Viral marketing
13. What is the difference between a lifestyle and a “normal” brand?
14. If marketing measures differ among industries, what are the peculiarities for
lifestyle brands (which instruments are commonly used)?
15. Where do you see the limits in the application of guerrilla marketing?
16. If you had a lifestyle brand here in Switzerland and you want to launch a guerrilla
marketing campaign to increase awareness, which tools would you use and what
are the most important factors you would consider for a successful outcome
24 After the first interview, question 10 (colored red in the former verision) was removed because
this question was being answered with other questions and therefore offered no additional insights.
On the other hand, during the first interview and a meeting with the supervisor of this study, new
insights were gained and two questions added, namely 6 and 15 (colored in green). Furthermore,
some adaptions regarding structure and wording were made. Hence, this questionnaire served as a
guideline for the other eight interviews. Depending on the interview partner, the question order was
rearranged to enable a smooth start for the experts, however, the questions were the same for each
interview. Before each interview, some icebreaker questions were posed. Because they were
individually adapted, they are not stated on the questionnaire.
25
The questionnaire was translated into German with the help of a studied English/German
translator. This version was provided to the interview partners if needed; however, the following
interview protocols all are based on the English questionnaire to simplify the analysis.
12. Von 1-10, wie würden Sie das Erfolgspotential in der Schweiz für folgende
Instrumente einschätzen:
• Ambush marketing
• Ambient marketing
• Sensation marketing
• Viral marketing
13. Was unterscheidet einen “Lifestyle brand“ von einer normalen Marke?
14. Welche Marketing Instrumente werden von “Lifestyle brands“ üblicherweise
gebraucht?
15. Was sind fundamentale Skills, die eine Firma besitzen muss, für erfolgreiches
Guerilla Marketing?
16. Wo sehen Sie die Grenzen von Guerilla Marketing?
17. Falls Sie eine “Lifestyle“-Firma in der Schweiz besässen und planen, eine Guerilla
Marketing Kampagne durchzuführen, welche Instrumente würden Sie nutzen und
welche Faktoren würden Sie berücksichtigen?
According to Business Insider, both campaigns rank among the best Ambush marketing
campaigns (Minato, 2012).
Another popular ambient marketing example is one of IWC, which printed its Big Plot
Chrono watch on bus wrist straps on the airport. It perfectly blended in with its
environment and generated a memorable expression (Anders, 2013).
Also, the car manufacturer BMW has been engaging in sensation marketing for years in
order to promote its Mini models. In this example, a Mini was wrapped in suitcase
protective foil and placed at the airport like an unclaimed item of baggage. It generated
a lot of buzz (Nufer & Kern, 2012).
Before Christmas 2013, a Santa Claus appeared on large screens at the boarding gates of
the airports Toronto and Hamilton, Canada. Passengers could make a wish and when the
planes landed a few hours later in Calgary, the gifts were on the baggage carousel –
wrapped and labeled. 250 passengers received their Christmas wishes and experienced
emotions from laughing to crying. However, the most valuable gift received WestJet,
Canada’s second largest airline and the company behind the action, which was called
Christmas Miracle. The video of Christmas Miracle received over 13 million views from
200 countries within the first few days and got media coverage in the United Kingdom,
Australia, Japan, Poland and Malaysia. It was an invaluable branding sensation and,
according to WestJet’s
vice president of
communications and
community relations,
the costs of Christmas
Miracle were a fraction
of the production of
traditional commercials
(Bender, A. 2013).
Q1: How would you characterize the Swiss culture (compared to the American
culture)?
C1: The first thing that comes to my mind is that Swiss people are much more risk-
averse. Americans are more spontaneous, more progressive/multicultural, less shy,
less gehemmt (engl. inhibited), less controlled and naturally more funny. In America,
you learn from an early stage on how to be an entertainer and the necessary
preconditions are provided. Therefore, Americans know much better how to market
themselves. I think, being original and special is more supported by Anglo-Saxon
26This interview could not be recored and was transcribed accoriding to the rules of a
summarized protocol.
cultures. Being entertaining is less a talent here and not so important; however, Swiss
people are not boring. There are fields where Swiss people are innovative, for
example in politics when it comes to drugs (controlled methadone supply) or the
voting about a basic income for everyone where Switzerland can be seen as a pioneer.
The identity becomes stronger on local levels such as regions and cantons. There we
have traditional identity patterns in the form of a common language, a common
history and in a sense a common race. Switzerland in general has no traditional
patterns (different languages, history, ethnicities etc.); therefore, it is a modern
construction. If we look at the history, Switzerland was united for the purpose of
defense with an identity that is defined in what we want to be and not want to be and
what kind of country we want to be. But again, it is very abstract and there is no
strong feeling of belongingness.
In Korea, there are only about 10-20 family names with three dominant ones. There,
we have one nation and one family because only a few tribes have been living
together for thousands of years. This provides a sentiment of connectedness that is
inherited in the blood – all speak the same language and eat Kimchi. This culture is
based on traditional patterns of identity and hence builds a strong national identity.
In contrast, Switzerland is a young country with a more abstract national identity and
the different cantons have different mindsets/cultural identities. For some people, it
is even more important to be a member of this canton than being Swiss. They would
define their canton as their home.
Q3: From 1-10, how would you rate Swiss and American (please indicate if there
are regional differences):
• Attitude toward the unexpected
C1: Switzerland: 4, US: 8+
• Openness toward the new
C1: Switzerland: 4, US: 8, for urban cities in coastal regions; however, America
has some very conservative and traditional regions.
• Willingness to share information
C1: This one I cannot evaluate.
• Is there another element that you would consider as important that
influences guerrilla marketing?
C1: No.
Q5: What distinguishes the Swiss culture from the American culture in terms of
attitude toward marketing?
C1: Swiss people are generally more risk-averse. Not only on the consumer-, but also
on the supplier-side. Companies fear to lose their face by engaging in an
unconventional marketing activity. However, I do not think that Switzerland is a bad
place for marketing activities. Especially, big cities like Zurich are very international
and innovative. People in Zurich want to be hip, want to elevate Zurich to a world
city and in a way try to be American. Among all the places in Switzerland, I think
Zurich is the best suitable for guerrilla marketing because I do not think that there
are many differences in terms of attitude toward marketing in comparison to
American cities.
Q9: What are the most important contextual preconditions for a successful guerrilla
marketing campaign?
C1: Guerrilla marketing needs an audience that is not risk-averse and loves to be
surprised. The crowd has to play along, meaning that people need to have the
willingness to participate in unconventional activities. Other supportive factors are
spontaneity, curiosity, not being shy, openness to new ideas, not being so
conservative, love to be surprised, which is the opposite of conservative, and feeling
comfortable to act in public. Also, people have to be willing to sacrifice their leisure
time but you always find such people. I believe that urban centres are more suitable
for such campaigns. In rural areas, public space is not so diverse and more ritual,
meaning that public space is not open for various usages but only has one purpose.
As an example, a marketplace in a small village has less usage options and is more
traditional than the main station in Zurich.
Q10: What are context-factors that hinder guerrilla marketing from being
successful?
C1: When people feel shy and worry to be spontaneous. This might be applicable
in small villages where everyone has an assigned role to play and everyone knows
everyone.
Q11: Does the popularity of guerrilla marketing (in Switzerland) substantially vary
with the company size?
C1: Smaller companies that need attention might be in more need for guerrilla
marketing.
Q12: How would you rate the potential for success in Switzerland for the following
four examples:
• Ambush marketing
C1: Swiss people might perceive such actions as mean, not fair and hence not
funny.
• Ambient marketing
C1: Such actions are funny and could work.
• Sensation marketing
C1: Nice, could work too.
• Viral marketing
C1: This one I cannot tell.
Q14: If marketing measures differ among industries, what are the peculiarities for
lifestyle brands (which instruments are commonly used)?
C1: Many young kids are on the internet nowadays.
Q15: Where do you see the limits in the application of guerrilla marketing?
C1: As long as it is something special it can work, but if a guerrilla marketing action
is waiting for you at every corner, like billboards, it loses its effect. The effect is
bigger the less you use it. You can destroy yourself if you use it all the time. With
the time, it gets dull so keep it rare.
Q16: If you had a lifestyle brand here in Switzerland and you want to launch a
guerrilla marketing campaign to increase awareness, which tools would you
use and what are the most important factors you would consider for a
successful outcome?
C1: It is important make the brand visible that is behind the campaign. I think that
many people remember the action but not the brand which was behind it. So, brand
recognition is a crucial factor. Also, one has to consider all directions of effects
such a campaign could have and what reactions it might trigger because it is placed
in public places. You do not want to read in the newspaper that someone got hurt
or so. Therefore, the design process is important (what can you trigger - chain
reaction) as well as the cultural environment, where do I put it (urban or rural
areas)?
The second expert in the field of culture has a bi-cultural background and has been
internationally working in several countries in Europe but also in other regions. He is
personally interested in multicultural issues, has been working in numerous consulting
positions and was involved in many multicultural negotiations. Nowadays, he is
professionally working with the Swiss tourism, the federal government and also the
police. On the academic level, he is an expert for international business and is lecturing
several related topics at a Swiss university. This interview not only disclosed
characteristics of Swiss people but also ways to reach them by understanding their
underlying values.
Q1: How would you characterize the Swiss culture (compared to the American
culture)?
C2: I mean that is always a stereotype. When we characterize something we always
generalize and generalizations are not the truth for everyone, but it is a start. Now,
the Swiss naturally are very precise. The intention of the Swiss tourism is to give
maximal service, happiness and fulfillment for the customers but at the same time
for the lowest price. The quality is more important than the other elements, price is
not number one but it certainly should be included because it is a part of the enterprise
which makes business. But quality is first and anything which is disturbing quality,
whether it is coming from suppliers, the company itself or the customer, is disturbing
the Swiss person. Swiss people are very tough because they would like to have
quality and they have a vision about it. They think that their quality is, let us say, the
only right quality. So, if it is not delivered as he has the vision of it, he thinks that it
is not quality. The perception of quality is very limited, tied and closed in
Switzerland. It is not wrong but it is like that. If he says, I give you the room at four
o’clock, it is four o’clock. A quarter to four is not four, a quarter past four is also not
four. So, if the client is coming a quarter to four, he is disturbed and if the lady that
is cleaning the room finishes at a quarter past four, it is also not quality. He is very
tight on this issue because he wants to deliver quality. His perception, his vision of
the quality is closed, limited and not flexible. He is a perfectionist on one side but at
the same time he is, let us say, shooting himself with the same quality. It is good and
bad at the same time.
Q3: From 1-10, how would you rate Swiss and American: (Please indicate if there
are regional differences)
• Attitude toward the unexpected
C2: I think Americans are a 10 and the Swiss are a 5.
• Openness toward the new
C2: Now we have to differentiate because young people in Switzerland are quite
open and the older are less open. So, here I think we have to differentiate in age-
terms. The young in Switzerland, I would say, are quite high. Not as high as in
America, but certainly not far from that. So, I would say if Americans are a 10 the
young Swiss are between 7-8. The elderly people will be between 4-5.
• Willingness to share information
C2: Here I say the young will be an 8 and the older will be between 6-7. The attitude
to speak about an experience, is quite high in both cases (Swiss and American), if
it is good or bad. Because an experience can be this or this one (good or bad).
• Is there another element that you would consider as important that
influences guerrilla marketing?
C2: The speed. I mean in Switzerland we do not like to be in a hurry, we do not
like to be pushed. Guerrilla is something which is short-term. In Switzerland, we
do not like this short-term surprise because we need to swallow the surprise, think
about it and then take the decision. Guerrilla marketing actually is based on not
giving you the time to think too much. For Swiss that is not welcomed.
Q4: How much potential does Switzerland offer in terms of guerrilla marketing
(different regional potentials)?
C2: It depends on where guerrilla marketing will be applied: is it on the internet, is
it in the supermarket or somewhere else? It also depends on which channel of
interaction between the customer and the supplier is used. The second aspect is the
age and the third the technology of the products, or let us say the industry. If you go
to some industries, yes you can do it, in some others you cannot do it. I think we have
to differentiate between these three elements, knowing that the Swiss are more
conservative about it. So, I think yes there is, but one should take into consideration
these elements: that it is not for every industry, not for every age and not for every
channel. The channel depends on the industry.
Q5: What distinguishes the Swiss culture in terms of attitude toward marketing
(e.g. from the American culture)?
C2: I think we are bored with that. The Americans less, it is part of their culture. We
are bored with advertisement, unless it is something that we are interested in. We are
a little bit strange in Switzerland (laughs). We do not want to be bored by the
advertisement but if we want something and we do not get the information we are
angry. That is a little bit the contradiction. Normally, the first objective of the
advertisement is to give you basic information, to create awareness about the product,
the channel how to get it, maybe how to use it or where, in which domain, to use it.
That is part of the advertisement. If it is repeated we do not like it, but when we need
it we say: why is it not explained? Why do we not have the information? The
Americans are used to that. He can sleep while hearing advertisements that does not
disturb him. So, when he needs it, he can get the information. I think we have
different attitudes for advertisements here.
Q7: Which marketing campaigns have been especially successful during the last
years?
C2: (...) To be frank with you, I do not like to look at advertisements. But there is
something that I like. I like is this steady message sent by the Appenzell cheese secret.
It is steadily the same message, always. It is a steady message in a different layout. I
like it as a concept because it is creating, let us say, a legend. It is creating a legend
that there is a secret, of how to make this nice cheese, somewhere hidden. Now,
whether this is a secret or not, I do not know. I think someone that is clever from that
region can make it, it is not so secret like the Coca-Cola formula, if this one also
exists. The creation of a legend in terms of advertisement is very positive. And this
is always in the same way, the same manner. It is steady, always calm, colorful,
traditional and related to the product that you can find everywhere. I think it is a nice
combination.
principles of guerrilla marketing. All is remote, they do not have shops, which is why
they need to attract your attention to that.
Q9: What are the most important contextual preconditions for a successful
guerrilla marketing campaign?
C2: It (guerrilla marketing) should resolve one of the problems that you have. Swiss
are pragmatic. In order to have success in any commercial action you should resolve
a problem. Now why does Zalando and these companies have success? Because they
are resolving the problem of: I do not have time to go to the shop and spend time to
select. I (Zalando) offer you a platform, you can resolve this problem and I can be
successful. The same when you think about the e-shop from Coop or Migros. It is
resolving a problem; I do not have to go to the shop but I receive it at home or at the
Zurich or Winterthur railway station. If you can resolve a problem, you can come
with guerrilla marketing. I do not think that guerrilla marketing for guerrilla
marketing will bring something in the long run. It should resolve a problem. Now
anyone who wants to make guerrilla marketing should find the niche for his product
which can resolve a problem and then he will have success. The culture is not against
guerrilla marketing. The culture is looking for a solution. If guerrilla can combine
these two things together it will be successful.
Q10: What are context-factors that hinder guerrilla marketing from being
successful?
C2: I do not think it is a matter. Again, we have to ask ourselves, what is the
product? An ABB product does not work with guerrilla marketing, people are not
taking it seriously. So, I think it depends on the product.
Q11: How does the popularity of guerrilla marketing (in Switzerland) vary with
the company size?
Refer to the answer of Q4
Q12: From 1-10, how would you rate the potential for success in Switzerland for
the following four examples:
• Ambush marketing
C2: I do not think people will realize that. The ambush is so quick that people are
going to analyze that later but on the spot, there is no one seeing the big difference.
I think that is also the advantage of ambush marketing, because with that you get
the effect before people are thinking about it. I think when people are influenced by
that, for example this Nike thing (Nike ambush marketing example), you made it
and people are not going to realize it. We speak about the large population because
it is also done for a large population and not only for one individual. Now, if you
go to the people which are analyzing, they are not going to like that because it is
impolite in Switzerland. Because you do not pay, you are steeling something.
People, which analyze, will not like it. Naturally, we always have to see the legal
impact of that. We have to take into consideration how it will be considered by the
Swiss law, which I do not know. If there is a legal impact, there is no chance because
Swiss generally respect the law, I think 7.
• Ambient marketing
C2: This will work especially for more individual products. Here, for example, the
platforms will be social media, things like that, where it goes viral. It is nice and
unusual but it should be done in a manner that attracts attention of the target
segment. I would say, this type is more for young, individual persons. Everyone has
to be touched by that, you are not creating an impression. I am influenced by that.
The beer before (Stella Artois ambush marketing example) creates an impression,
it is not for you. Here you say: look how nice it is. It is personal and that it is a little
bit different. Therefore, I would say, it is more for young people, social networks
and things like that and for individual products. Under these conditions I also would
rate it high.
• Sensation marketing
C2: I think the people will like it, it will be attracting. Attracting if there is no
damage. Here we have to come into communication and think about what is funny.
Fun starts when there is a distance. For example, if I fall down the stairs, I am not
laughing about that. If there is somebody I do not know and he falls, maybe I will
laugh. Why? Because I do not know him and nothing happened. So, two things:
there is a distance between me and the person and the event and the second thing is
that there is no big damage. If the guy will be dead, I am not going to laugh. But if
the guy stands up and laughs and is a bit confused then I am going to laugh. That is
the principal of funny. Swiss people are sensitive to that. The principles of funny
should be respected and then, yes, it is attractive. The Amnesty example is funny
because nothing has happening to her and I do not know her. If I will be in there (in
the suitcase) it will not be funny because it is hot, I have muscle problems or
whatever it is. But I do not know her, I know that it is one time, I know that it is an
advertisement and I know nothing will happen to her. If I knew that she would stay
there for three days, then it is not funny. But she was paid for that and if something
was wrong they would take her out. So, it is funny and I accept it.
• Viral marketing
C2: Yes, they are going to speak, especially if it brings an added value. This gift,
for example (WestJet example), is something that is positive in the Swiss culture.
We do not look at the value of these things but we look at the gesture. In the movie
(Blair Witch Project example), people are young, it is nice, they have courage to do
that, we look positively at these things. Anything which can be out-of-the-box,
without putting us under stress, will be okay and people will speak. Here again, we
see that the target segment has an influence on how much it will spread. But I think
Swiss are open as long as it does not put them under stress or require anything from
them. If we have to fill out something to get a Christmas gift we do not do it, because
I am waiting for my luggage and when it comes I want to go. So, I have two or three
minutes and it should be something that takes ten seconds while I am waiting. If it
was three minutes more, it should have value, otherwise I do not like it. For
example, I saw at the airport of Zurich, an advertisement with Roger Federer where
you can take a picture with him. I think it was Rolex. So, he made a movie, which
is on the wall and at a certain time you can stand near him and take a picture so it
looks as if you were next to him. But you have to wait until he is coming and that
is a place where people are going from the passport to the luggage, so nobody will
wait there. Despite that it is Roger Federer, I am not going to wait until Roger
Federer will come to the position where I am going to take a picture with him. Some
people did it, I saw some, but you did not hear about that, many people did not hear
about it and many people do not even remark that. Because when you arrive and
they are speaking about Roger Federer it is only one advertisement more. It should
not cost you time, put you under stress, harm the procedure where you go and it
should be something a little bit out-of-the-box.
Q15: In your opinion, what are crucial skills a company has to possess for
successful guerrilla marketing?
C2: Guerrilla marketing is very emotional. So, you have to have people in your
environment, your testing environment or in the team that are developing that,
which can share these emotions. Otherwise you cannot test it and you have to test
it in one way or another, if it is a conceptual or a real test or whatever, because it is
costly for the action, maybe not for the whole campaign but for the action. If you
take the price per minute, then it is costlier than the other traditional things,
generally speaking. You have to have a good return on that. Since it is short, you
cannot repeat it every day, otherwise it will become boring. So, the short action
should be effective. That is the only emotion. I mean all our decision making, we
know that from marketing and other studies, is built on emotions. Then you need to
have a person who can share these emotions. If you do not have this, I think it is
difficult to concede that. For example, if you are segmenting young people that are
on social media, you have to have somebody that is involved in that. It is not enough
that I understand what it is or have statistics about it – that is static. It is about
emotion and guerrilla is emotion because it is only a short time, intensive and also
should be viral.
Q16: Where do you see the limits in the application of guerrilla marketing?
C2: It again depends on the segment but for the consumer it should be acceptable.
So, anything which is acceptable, whether it is horror, fun, sex, physical trial or
whatever it is, it should be something that is acceptable for the culture where you
are and your target segment.
Q17: If you had a lifestyle brand here in Switzerland and you want to launch a
guerrilla marketing campaign, which tools would you use and what are the
most important factors you would consider?
C2: That is again linked to the emotion that I want to create. It should be intense,
harmless and it should also be profitable. But first I want to see what is the emotion
I want to create, is this emotion a solution for the objective of my marketing
strategy? Then, what is the perception of the others, as we said before, and at the
end of the day it should also be profitable.
After two marketing-related studies at Universität Mannheim and EBS Universität für
Wirtschaft und Recht, this marketing specialist completed his PhD in marketing at
Universität Basel. Thereafter, he was employed in the field of marketing by different
companies in the private sector, including Sunrise, before leaving that path and following
a more academic direction. For more than eleven years, he has been Head of Center for
Marketing at a Swiss university, supervising numerous marketing programs. This
marketing expert has an extensive knowledge of many different facets of marketing and
could therefore contribute to this study by connecting all different marketing parts and
provide complementing information.
Q1: Which marketing campaigns have been especially successful during the last
years?
MA1: Also ich denke mal, ein sehr gutes internationales Beispiel ist für mich ein
Unternehmen was eigentlich gar kein Marketing im engeren Sinne macht. Das ist,
was Tesla macht, weil sie es im Prinzip geschafft haben, mit einer Gallionsfigur auf
der einen Seite und einem konstanten Medienstream auf der anderen Seite, die
Aufmerksamkeit aufrecht zu erhalten. Damit haben sie sehr, sehr viel awareness und
Goodwill geschaffen für ein Produkt, eine Marke und am Schluss das Unternehmen
was bis heute noch keinen Franken wirklich verdient hat. Also verdient schon, aber
noch keinen richtigen Gewinn gemacht hat. Und das ohne, dass man Tesla Anzeigen
oder Banner sieht. Das ist für mich immer wieder ein Paradebeispiel dafür, wie man
sehr virtuos auf der Klaviatur von Marketinginstrumenten im weiteren Sinne spielen
kann und das recht erfolgreich. Das Erfolgsrezept ist sicherlich auch die Person vom
Musk, muss man ganz ehrlich sagen. Der ist selber seht gut vernetzt und sehr präsent
in den Medien, nicht nur mit Tesla aber auch mit anderen Themen wie seinen
Hobbies in Anführungsstrichen. So haben sie eben einen konstanten Newsflow. Dann
gibt es einen neuen Autopiloten, ein Update, einen Ausblick auf das Modell 3, dass
noch keiner gesehen hat aber das tausend Leute blind bestellen und tausend Dollar
anzahlen, dann gibt es das und gibt es jenes. Sie schaffen es mit einem, nicht
klassischen Marketing doch so viel Buzz zu generieren, dass immer wieder über die
Marke berichtet wird und dass sie einfach präsent sind. Das ist effektiv ein
bewundernswertes Konzept.
Q3: What are the most important contextual preconditions for a successful
guerrilla marketing campaign?
MA1: Ich weiss nicht, ob wir in der Schweiz in bisschen stier sind und dann von
solchen Aktivitäten relativ schnell einmal die negativen Seiten sehen. Ich glaube, es
braucht sicherlich eine gewisse Kreativität, eine gewisse Aktualität, eben etwas das
halt am Schluss auch berichtenswert ist und einen gewissen Newsfaktor hat.
Grundsätzlich braucht es eine gewisse Aufgeschlossenheit gegenüber modernen
Massnahmen, modernen Aktivitäten. Ich denke mal, da sind manche internationale
Länder, über unsere europäischen Nachbaren hinaus, wahrscheinlich ein Stück
weiter. Da gibt es ein Stück mehr Freiheiten.
Q4: What are context-factors that hinder guerrilla marketing from being
successful?
MA1: Bei verschlossenen Bevölkerungen wird es halt kritisch angeschaut. Guerilla
Aktivitäten bewegen sich ja oftmals ein bisschen in einer Grauzone, ist es noch
erlaubt oder ist es nicht erlaubt oder brauche ich eine Genehmigung um jetzt an der
Bahnhofstrasse irgendetwas zu machen oder nicht. Es gibt sicher eine rechtliche
Grenze wo ich sagen würde da wird es dann kritisch. Ich meine auch Beispiele bei
denen das Unternehmen nicht genug nachgedacht hat. Vor zwei oder drei Jahren hat
Sunrise irgendeinen Contest gewonnen und hat da eine Ballonaktion in Zürich
gestartet und hunderte oder tausende Ballone in die Luft steigen lassen. Die sind dann
geplatzt und konzentriert in einem Wald in einem Alpengebiet runtergegangen. Dann
hat man festgestellt, dass ich glaub entweder die Verschlüsse oder irgendwelche
Teile davon nicht biologisch abbaubar waren, sodass wieder Tiere gefährdet waren.
Die Aktion war lustig und es ist auch berichtet worden aber zwei Tage später war sie
bereits eher negativ in den Medien. Darum ist es im Prinzip eher nach hinten
losgegangen. Man muss sicherlich die Konsequenzen, die Tragweite einer Aktion,
durchdenken. Ich sag jetzt einmal, wenn Sie auf eine Ampel einen Smiley kleben ist
das ja noch lustig, aber wenn die Ampel am Schluss nicht mehr ihre Funktion erfüllen
kann, sind wir in einem Bereich wo es dann nicht nur illegal, sondern auch gefährlich
wird. Ich glaube, da muss man sicherlich eine scharfe Grenze ziehen und natürlich
bei aller Lustigkeit keine Gefühle von irgendwelchen Menschen verletzen.
Da sind wir in Europa vielleicht auch wieder anders geprägt, in manchen anderen
Ländern wäre politische Korrektheit vielleicht weniger das Thema. Politische
Korrektheit in der USA oder in der Schweiz wäre jetzt ein ganz starkes Thema. Wenn
Sie eine Minderheit verletzten würden, dann könnte das je nach dem welches
Sprachrohr, welche Lobby diese Minderheit in den USA hat, ein Gau werden und
einen Shitstorm auslösen. Ich sage mal in anderen Ländern haben sie vielleicht eher
ein Stück weit schwarzen Humor und stehen ein bisschen darüber und würden
manche Dinge durchgehen lassen. Der schwarze Humor in England, zum Beispiel,
ist ein anderer als in Deutschland oder der Schweiz. Deswegen muss eine Aktion
sicherlich irgendwie in den kulturellen Kontext reinpassen, darf gewisse Grenzen
überschreiten aber es gibt vielleicht irgendwo ein Hartlimit, wo man sagt: dann ist es
nicht mehr lustig. Dann geht es hinten raus.
Q5: How does the popularity of guerrilla marketing (in Switzerland) vary with the
company size?
MA1: Ich glaube es spielt einfach die Kreativität eine Rolle wie auch die
Entscheidungswege. Da trauen sich vielleicht kleinere Firmen tendenziell mehr als
grössere. Ich kann mir schwer vorstellen, dass die UBS eine Guerilla Aktion macht,
weil da wird man sich mindestens über fünf Hierarchieebenen Gedanken machen und
wahrscheinlich primär die negativen Konsequenzen gewichten. Ich behaupte am
Schuss wird das nicht durchkommen, weil man Angst vor dem Reputationsverlust
hat. Ich glaube in kleinere Einheiten haben Firmen kürzere Wege, sind schneller, sind
kreativer. Sie haben dann vielleicht auch eher mal den Mut etwas zu machen, etwas
das auch ein bisschen in die Grauzone hineingeht.
Q6: How much potential does Switzerland offer in terms of guerrilla marketing
(different regional potentials)?
MA1: Letztens gab es gerade eine Aktion in Bern, wo sie die Erdmännchen
fotografiert haben und da stand ein Unternehmen dahinter. So etwas finde ich jetzt
persönlich nicht super witzig, aber es ist lustig und führt die Leute ein wenig an der
Nase rum. Das Problem ist ein Stück weit, man kommt heute relativ schnell in die
Schiene der Fake News und dann finden es die Leute auch nicht mehr lustig. Weil
dann stellt sich die Frage, wem kann ich überhaupt noch trauen. Ich sage mal, wenn
Sie ein kreatives Unternehmen haben, wie eine Smoothie Bar, und die macht in der
Stadt Zürich etwas Lustiges und vielleicht ein bisschen Spezielles, glaube ich,
funktioniert das schon.
Q7: How would you characterize the Swiss culture (compared to the American
culture)?
MA1: Das ist eine schwierige Frage. Wenn Sie sich im Marketing bewegen, dann
sind sie schnell bei dem Thema Zielgruppensegmente und so weiter. Dann zu sagen,
DER Schweizer und DER Amerikaner ist schwierig. Wenn Sie einen Menschen vom
mittleren Westen nehmen und einen von San Francisco, Boston oder New York dann
ticken die auch unterschiedlich. Wenn Sie manche Dinge im konservativen Zentral-
USA machen würden, dann haben Sie schnell mal eine Kugel in der Brust, weil es
jemand einfach nicht lustig findet, Sie auf sein Grundstück gegangen sind und er von
seinem Waffenrecht Gebrauch macht – blöd gesagt. Hingegen in San Francisco
würde man darüber lachen. Es gibt Dinge, die man klischeemässig Nationen
zuschreibt, aber ich finde es immer schwierig.
Q9: From 1-10, how would you rate Swiss and American: (Please indicate if there
are regional differences)
• Attitude toward the unexpected
MA1: In dem Bewusstsein, dass man sich jetzt stärker bei Klischee und beim
Aussenbild, wie andere die Schweiz und die USA wahrnehmen, bewegen, dann
denke ich mal man ist in der USA schon spontaner und aufgeschlossener gegenüber
einer kreativen Idee. Pauschal würde ich sagen sind sie in der USA eher bei einer 8
und in der Schweiz eher bei einer 5-6.
• Openness toward the new
MA1: Da geht es in der USA vielleicht noch ein Stückchen weiter hoch. Weil ich
glaube man probiert Dinge eher mal aus und gibt neuen Dingen eine Chance und
schaut ob es passt und funktioniert. In der Schweiz, vielleicht in Europa etwas
weiter gefasst, haben wird vielleicht doch ein gewisses Beharrungsvermögen und
schauen erst einmal ob es wirklich gut ist und funktioniert. Aber eben, das ist jetzt
auch wieder eine sehr pauschale Aussage. Nehmen wir Tesla wieder, der Markt in
der Schweiz ist grösser als der in Deutschland. In 2015 wurden in der Schweiz mehr
Teslas verkauft als in Deutschland, also absolut. Da muss man sagen, das Segment
oder das Cluster von innovationsorientierten Menschen, die sich das auch leisten
können, ist offensichtlich so gross, dass sie Tesla eine Change geben. Deutschland
ist vielleicht auch etwas geprägt durch die Autoindustrie und denken die
Amerikaner können keine Autos bauen und dann kommt der Typ noch aus dem
Internet, ist ja sowieso suspekt. Deswegen finde ich sind pauschale Aussagen da
recht schwierig.
• Willingness to share information
MA1: Tendenziell schlägt das Pendel in den USA auch ein wenig weiter aus, 8 und
in der Schweiz ein bisschen zurückhaltender. Wenn Sie da die klassischen Social
Media Regeln anschauen haben Sie 90% die passiv etwas konsumieren, 10% die
vielleicht etwas liken und 1% am Schluss noch die selber aktiv werden. Das haben
sie natürlich in anderen Ländern ähnlich, sie haben viele passive Beobachter. Die
wenigsten generieren wirklich Content und machen aktiv etwas.
• Is there another element that you would consider as important that influences
guerrilla marketing?
MA1: (...) Dieser rechtliche Aspekt, sich an Regeln halten. Das mag auch mit den
rechtlichen Konsequenzen zusammenhängen, wenn ich es nicht mache (Rechte
befolgen). Da bin ich in der Schweiz schnell einmal in einem Bereich in dem es
nicht mehr lustig ist (lacht). Hier werden Sie vielleicht zu einer Geldstrafe von
40'000.-- Franken verurteilt, dafür haben Sie in Amerika, im mittleren Westen,
vielleicht eine Ladung Schrott im Rücken. Es wird auch viel reglementiert, wenn
Sie an der Bahnhofstrasse ein Schild raushängen oder eine Fahne, müssen Sie sich
das genehmigen lassen. Wenn Sie das nicht machen ist es ein Verstoss und Sie
müssen zahlen. In anderen Ländern würde kein Hahn danach krähen, das muss man
einfach sagen. Das fängt ja schon an beim vergleichen der Werbung an: was hier
tendenziell in den Kinderschuhen steckt wird schnell auch mal verboten. In anderen
Ländern haben sie kein Problem zu sagen: das ist das Angebot von dem und das ist
unser Angebot und dann stellen sie es gegenüber. Das ist absolut legal, legitim,
akzeptiert und es kräht kein Hahn danach.
Q10: What distinguishes the Swiss culture in terms of attitude toward marketing
(e.g. from the American culture)?
MA1: Da gibt es ja Studien und Zahlen dazu und auch da glaube ich ist es immer
eine Frage welches Segment und welchen Teil der Bevölkerung Sie anschauen. Ich
denke mal, es wird tendenziell eher als störender empfunden als in anderen
Ländern, wo es einfach schon eine viel grössere Tradition gibt, das halt bestimmte
Dinge werbefinanziert sind. Wenn Sie sich überlegen, dass es in den USA an
Universitäten Hörsäle gibt; das ist dann halt der GM Hörsaal und das ist der Aldi
Hörsaal, so what? Es ist akzeptiert, dass die Uni Mittel generiert indem sie halt
einen Hörsaal verkauft. Bei uns gab es vor ein paar Jahren diese Diskussion, als die
UBS die Uni Zürich mit 100 Millionen unterstützen wollte, gegen ein gewisses
Branding von den Hörsälen, Gebäuden und so weiter. Welche Konsequenzen
solche finanziellen Mittel haben, kann und muss man sicher diskutieren. Wenn die
UBS der Harvard Business School 100 Millionen geben würde, so what? Dann gibt
es halt das Branding, dann gibt es halt den UBS Campus oder das UBS building.
Das ist naheliegend und vollkommen akzeptiert und da glaube ich sind wir in
manchen Bereichen einfach skeptischer. Generell muss man natürlich sagen, dass
es durch die Flut von Werbebotschaften auf unterschiedlichen Kanälen auch
manchen Menschen einfach zu viel wird und man sich auch ein Stück weit nach
Q12: From 1-10, how would you rate the potential for success in Switzerland for
the following four examples:
• Ambush marketing
MA1: Man muss grundsätzlich sagen, wenn man Leute im Umfeld von solchen
Sportereignissen nach dem Sponsor fragt, dann ist es fast egal ob Geld ausgegeben
wurde oder nicht. Es wird immer gedacht, bei Olympischen Spielen ist Coca-Cola
sicher dabei, ob sie dabei sind oder nicht, sie werden einfach genannt. Oder da war
mal Visa der Sponsor und Mastercard wurde als Sponsor genannt. Das ist natürlich
grundsätzlich ein bisschen heikel, weil manche Dinge in unserer Wahrnehmung
einfach verschwinden. Viele denken, das sind Grosse, die sind da sicher dabei. Vor
dem Hintergrund, kann Ambush Marketing, auch in der Schweiz durchaus
funktionieren. Klar gibt es diese Zonen, innerhalb denen nur die Sponsoren präsent
sein dürfen und nichts Anderes, aber da kann man sich auch darüber hinwegsetzten.
Ich kann mir zum Beispiel durchaus vorstellen, dass jetzt Coca-Cola ein Sponsor
von einem Event ist und Rivella auf dem Weg halt Rivella verteilt. Vielleicht dürfen
sie dann die Rivella Flasche nicht reinnehmen, weil es kontrolliert wird, aber die
Aufmerksamkeit haben sie trotzdem. Wenn man das geschickt macht kann man sich
schon ran hängen. Machbar ist das schon, es ist immer eine Frage wie man es
umsetzt und ob man es schlau genug umsetzt.
• Ambient marketing
MA1: Für mich hat das prinzipiell mit Kreativität zu tun. Wenn man ein kreatives,
passendes Setup findet, funktioniert das aus meiner Sicht eigentlich grundsätzlich.
Wenn Sie etwas schaffen, das zur Marke passt und überrascht, funktioniert das auch
in der Schweiz, ohne Zweifel.
• Sensation marketing
Refer to the answer of ambient marketing
• Viral marketing
MA1: Es funktioniert schon, man muss einfach sehen, der Anteil der erfolgreichen
Kampagnen im Verhältnis zu denen, die es versucht haben ist halt vergleichsweise
klein. Ein Kennzeichen von viralen Kampagnen ist halt einfach, dass sie zum Teil
sehr schwer planbar sind. Einen viralen Effekt anzustossen kann funktionieren, aber
garantieren, kann Ihnen das heute wahrscheinlich keine Agentur, keine würde sich
trauen. Klar kann ich Dinge versuchen die das begünstigen, wie Influencer,
Meinungsführer ins Boot holen. Aber etwas Kreatives zu produzieren und sagen
das reicht, reicht eben nicht. Ich denke man kann sicherlich Dinge machen um einen
viralen Effekt zu unterstützen, aber eine Garantie, das etwas funktioniert, haben sie
nicht. Zumindest nicht in der Schweiz.
Q15: In your opinion, what are crucial skills a company has to possess for
successful guerrilla marketing?
MA1: Ich glaube, man muss die Marke und was die Marke ausmacht sehr gut
verstehen. Die Kampagnenmacher müssen die Marke sehr gut verstehen. Die
Kernwerte, wofür die Marke steht müssen wirklich verstanden werden. Wenn Sie
jetzt eine Kampagne für Migros machen würden, würde ich das nie einer deutschen
Agentur geben. Die können Sie briefen wie Sie wollen aber nur ein Schweizer
versteht eigentlich was hinter Migros steht. Man muss die Marke durchdrungen
haben und die Werte verstanden haben und dann halt intelligente
Anknüpfungspunkte für kreative, für schnelle Aktionen finden. Kreativität und
Schnelligkeit, finde ich, sind auch Themen, die einfach dazugehören. Schnell was
zu machen was in den momentanen Kontext reinpasst, das glaube ich, ist relativ
wichtig für den Erfolg.
Q16: Where do you see the limits in the application of guerrilla marketing?
MA1: Wenn es halt Gefühle von Menschen verletzt. Wenn es nicht mehr lustig ist,
auch wenn es rechtlich eigentlich zulässig ist, muss man sehr vorsichtig sein. Ich
bin jetzt nicht der Verfechter der hundertprozentigen politischen Correctness und
ich denke man darf auch mal einen Witz machen. Aber gibt einfach, auch wenn
nicht trennscharf festlegbar, eine Grenze die man sich für jeden Fall, für jede
Kampagne gut überlegen muss und diese nicht überschreitet. Vor einer Weile
wurden einseitig bedruckte Geldscheine hier in Zürich verteilt, das war heikel, weil
es wie Geld aussah. Strafen müssen einkalkuliert werden und wenn der
Medieneffekt so und soviel höher war, kann es sich lohnen. Aber wenn Sie auf
Kosten von irgendeiner gesellschaftlichen Gruppe etwas machen, muss man sich
die ethischen Grenzen und die möglichen Shitstorm Konsequenzen bewusst sein.
Man muss schauen, dass die dann nicht den positiven Effekt übersteigen. Da
braucht es sicherlich ein gewisses Fingerspitzen Gefühl dafür, es gibt keine Linie
die so scharf ist, dass man sagen kann, bis dahin funktioniert es und darüber hinaus
nicht mehr. Da sind wir wieder bei den viralen Effekten, die einen machen etwas
und die Leute finden es lustig, die nächsten machen etwas Ähnliches und dann
eskaliert es und dann ist es eben nicht mehr gut. Und Sie wissen eben nicht genau
warum.
Q17: If you had a lifestyle brand here in Switzerland and you want to launch a
guerrilla marketing campaign, which tools would you use and what are the
most important factors you would consider?
MA1: Es dürfen keine Gefühle von Menschen verletzt werden (refer to Q16).
Her expertise lies in the field of communication which is built upon her doctorate in social
and institutional communication. Her work and research focus include integrated
communication, strategic communication and corporate communication. The
communication scientist has been employed by Red Bull, has been working as head of
communication and marketing for various institutions and currently oversees the CAS
Marketing- & Corporate Communications of a Swiss university. This interview aspired
to evaluate various ways of communication within the context of the Swiss culture and
get an understanding of commonly used communication instruments as well as current
best practices.
Q1: Which marketing campaigns have been especially successful during the last
years?
MA2: Auf unserem Blog können Sie einige Beispiele von gelungenen
Marketingaktivitäten finden. Es lohnt sich reinzuschauen. Um erfolgreich zu werden,
müssen Marketingkampagnen aktuell sehr authentisch sein und zum Unternehmen
passen. Man merkt es schnell, wenn die Aktion nicht zum Unternehmen passt. Zudem
berühren erfolgreiche Kampagnen auf der emotionalen Ebene, wie die aktuelle
Osterkampagne von Netto Marken-Discount. Es muss auch ein gutes Produkt
dahinterstehen und ein Mehrwert für den Kunden geschaffen werden. Die Kampagne
muss innovativ umgesetzt werden und über verschiedene Kanäle, auch traditionelle
Kanäle, laufen. Gerade Plakatwerbungen sind sehr erfolgreich. Ein gutes Beispiel
sind die Werbungen vom VBZ. Sie sind ansprechend gestaltet und weisen eine
gewisse Kontinuität auf. Werbung soll kontinuierlich und gestalterisch auffallend
sein; Mercedes ist eine andere Marke, welche das erfolgreich umsetzt. Somit
schaffen sie einen sehr schnellen Erkennungswert. Ein weiteres Beispiel ist Red Bull
mit ihren Comicwerbungen. Seit Beginn arbeitet die Firma mit der gleichen Agentur
und bringt so eine gewisse Konstanz in ihre Werbung. Eine langfristige
Zusammenarbeit ist sehr wertvoll.
Q3: What are the most important contextual preconditions for a successful
guerrilla marketing campaign?
MA2: Früher war es dieser leichte Touch von Illegalität, das so besonders war. Am
besten war es, wenn man noch eine Busse kassierte. Dann war die Kampagne
wirklich geglückt. Heute ist das nicht mehr der Fall. Vielleicht hat man sich auch
schon ein bisschen daran gewöhnt. Es muss sicherlich eine sehr aussergewöhnliche
Aktion sein, die mitten im Leben spielt und nicht die gängigen Werbekanäle bedient.
Aber der wichtigste Faktor bleibt einfach das Produkt. Wenn das Produkt nicht gut
ist, dann wird es auch durch keine Guerilla Kampagne besser. Eigentlich bedeutet
Guerilla Marketing, dass man mit einem geringen Einsatz von Mitteln eine hohe
Wirkung erzielt. Ich bezweifle, dass bei den heutigen Kampagnen wirklich wenige
Mittel eingesetzt werden. Ich erachte sie als sehr teuer. Guerilla ist ja eine Taktik aus
der Kriegsführung im Hinterland des Gegners und von dieser Art und Weise ist nicht
mehr viel übrig geblieben. Online kann man mit viralem Marketing noch Erfolge
erzielen, besonders mit emotionalen Videos, aber auch hier ist eine gewisse Sättigung
bei den Konsumenten eingetreten.
Kulturell muss eine gewisse Offenheit da sein. Ich könnte ich mir vorstellen, dass es
im asiatischen Raum schwieriger ist, weil die Länder sehr strukturiert sind. Im
Gegensatz reagieren südliche Länder offener, zum Beispiel Italien. In der Schweiz
ist die Grenze sehr schmal, bei ungewöhnlichen Aktionen sind wir sehr schnell
peinlich berührt. Sampling geht noch, weil das kennen die Schweizer. Es ist immer
eine Gratwanderung und man hat immer solche, die es extrem schlecht finden und
solche, die es gut finden. Es gibt kein Guerilla Marketing für alle. Ziel ist es, dass
meine Zielgruppe die Aktion eine coole Sache findet. Aber auch Leute ausserhalb
der Zielgruppe, vielleicht gerade welche die es schlecht finden, können zum BLICK
gehen und so die Aktion weiterverbreiten, was sich betreffend Aufmerksamkeit
positiv auswirken kann. Aber unter dem Strich muss meine Zielgruppe einfach
angesprochen werden. Was gar nicht geht ist eine Kampagne, die für alle da sein soll.
Es ist eine Zielgruppefrage, man muss diese genau eingrenzen. Dabei spielt auch die
Generation keine grosse Rolle, Red Bull hat mit ihren Girls Leute die in der
Nachtschicht arbeiten, wie Ärzte und Polizisten, angesprochen und Red Bull’s
verteilt. Dies hat gut funktioniert, weil es Zielgruppe bezogen ist und das Produkt
passt; wenn man in der Nachtschicht müde ist, hat man gerne einen Energy Drink.
Q4: What are context-factors that hinder guerrilla marketing from being
successful?
MA2: Die Konsumenten sind abgebrühter und gesättigt. Wir werden von Werbung
nur so überschüttet. Die Unternehmen wollen aber auch nichts riskieren und wollen
keine illegalen Kampagnen mehr, zumindest die Mehrheit. Von daher sind dem
Guerilla Marketing die Zähne gezogen worden und es geht im Informationsrausch
unter. Ich bin überzeugt, dass sehr viele Konsumenten einen grossen Teil der
Kampagnen nicht mitbekommen. Allgemein wenn das Umfeld sehr geregelt ist, zu
viele Regeln existieren, oder die Leute Angst haben, zum Beispiel wegen
wirtschaftlichen Schwierigkeiten oder nach Terroranschlägen, würde ich auf Guerilla
Marketing verzichten. Die generelle Stimmung ist sehr wichtig, so sind Guerilla
Marketing Aktionen tendenziell in Sommermonaten geeignet, im Sommer sind die
Leute gut drauf, oder nicht? Im Winter sind wir hingegen nicht so offen.
Q5: How does the popularity of guerrilla marketing (in Switzerland) vary with the
company size?
MA2: Es ist wie überall in der Werbung. Wer gross ist hat tendenziell mehr Geld zur
Verfügung und kann sich auch solche Kampagnen leisten. Kleinere Unternehmen
können das nicht und bei vielen passt es wohl auch nicht zur Unternehmenskultur.
Theoretisch könnte aber auch ein kleiner Handwerksbetrieb Guerilla Marketing
betreiben, er bekäme aber relativ schnell eine Busse, die er natürlich nicht riskieren
will. Dementsprechend ist Guerilla Marketing sicher besser geeignet für grosse
Unternehmen.
Q6: How much potential does Switzerland offer in terms of guerrilla marketing
(different regional potentials)?
MA2: Richtiges Guerilla Marketing bewegt sich an der Grenze der Legalität und ist
nicht für alle Unternehmen geeignet, aber für gewisse ist es durchaus. Ich erwarte
auch, dass sich Unternehmen an diese Grenzen tasten. Aussergewöhnliche
Aktivitäten, im Allgemeinen, sind notwendig um aufzufallen, sonst geht man unter.
Gerade kleinere Firmen, sollen einfach mal etwas wagen, dann wären sie besser
unterwegs als wenn sie einfach Instagram nutzen. Auch für die Behörden, zum
Beispiel die Polizei, wäre es eine Option, sie könnten daraus einen Nutzen ziehen.
Die Leute haben einfach immer Angst. Klar, Bussen müssen einkalkuliert werden,
aber das ist auch das lustige daran. Man könnte viel mehr machen. Gerade im Sport-
und Autobereich gäbe es viel mehr Potenzial. Smart hat teilweise von Guerilla
Marketing Aktivitäten Gebrauch gemacht und beispielsweise Smarts
aufeinandergestapelt.
Guerilla Marketing eignet sich gut um neue Produkte zu lancieren, wenn es gut
gemacht wird, bleibt es auch im Gedächtnis. Bei einer schlechten Kampagne, wie die
von Siroop, wird hingegen keine Aufmerksamkeit generiert. Natürlich ist es immer
auch ein wenig Glücksache, wie es ankommt. Man muss einfach zur richtigen Zeit
am richtigen Ort sein. Beim Marketing ist es normal, dass ein grosser Teil einfach
verpufft, gerade bei Guerilla Marketing in ländlichen Gegenden. Ausser bei Events
mit grossen Menschenansammlungen, wie das Eidgenössische Schwingfest, sind
Städte tendenziell besser geeignet. Aber es ist immer ein ausprobieren.
Q7: How would you characterize the Swiss culture (compared to the American
culture)?
MA2: Ich bin kein Experte für amerikanische Kultur, habe dort nie gelebt und war
auch noch nie dort. Daher kann ich das nicht beantworten. Schweizer sind sicherlich
sehr stolz auf ihr Land. Wir mögen unsere Dialekte, unsere Eigenheiten unsere
Verschiedenheiten und grenzen uns gerne von anderen ab und das ist auch gut so.
Wir sind speziell und das soll auch im Marketing so wiedergegeben werden. Unsere
Geschichte hat uns geprägt und wir mögen unsere Swissness.
Q9: From 1-10, how would you rate Swiss and American: (Please indicate if there
are regional differences)
• Attitude toward the unexpected
MA2: Schweizer sind recht aufgeschlossen, deshalb würde ich eine 7 geben.
• Openness toward the new
MA2: 5, Tradition ist uns sehr wichtig.
• Willingness to share information
MA2: Im Büro wird Wissen nicht gerne geteilt. Generell arbeitet man eher für sich:
3. Allerdings, Give-aways und Musik wie auch bekannte Gesichter laufen gut.
Sampling ist eines der effizientesten Mittel vor allem für Produkteinführungen. Alle
Aktionen, bei denen man etwas bekommt, finden die Schweizer gut. Gerade
Esswaren und Getränke laufen sensationell. Allerdings muss man aufpassen, kleine
Müsterchen kommen nicht so gut an, dann wird das Unternehmen schnell als geizig
empfunden. Wenn man die Aktion allerdings nicht versteht und nichts bekommt,
wird es schwierig. Alles was ich nicht verstehe und nicht cool ist würde ich nicht
weitererzählen.
• Is there another element that you would consider as important that
influences guerrilla marketing?
MA2: Es muss aussergewöhnlich und innovativ sein, die einen müssen es mögen,
die anderen müssen es hassen. Das ist effizientes Guerilla Marketing, hart an der
Grenze.
Q10: What distinguishes the Swiss culture in terms of attitude toward marketing
(e.g. from the American culture)?
MA2: Schweizer mögen gut gemachte Werbung, aber wir wollen nicht dauernd
von Werbung überflutet werden. Sampling Aktionen laufen immer gut, Rabatte,
sowie Plakatkampagnen. Zum Beispiel VBZ Werbungen sind dezent und lustig,
bringen mich zum Schmunzeln und sehen gut aus. Man merkt, dass sich jemand
etwas überlegt hat. Sachen die Anders sind, auffallen, lustig und emotional sind,
laufen gut. Die Evian Werbung mit den Babies, wiederspiegelt die Schweizer Liebe
und war ein Erfolg. Auch die Plakatwerbungen von Digitec, mit schlechten
Produktbewertungen, fällt auf. Plakatwerbungen sind immer noch da und gut, weil
sie unbewusst wahrgenommen werden. Onlinewerbungen werden viel mehr
ausgeblendet und es nervt. Bei Plakatwerbungen, zum Beispiel beim Warten auf
den Zug, schaut man automatisch drauf und es fällt einem gar nicht so auf, im Laden
kauft man dann unbewusst. Dies wird in Onlinediskussionen häufig unterschätzt.
Mittlerweile wird ja vieles online gemacht und der Trend geht zum
individualisierten Marketing. Ich bekomme die Angebote, die mich auch tatsächlich
interessieren könnten. Wir wissen allerdings noch nicht, wie sich das auswirkt. Es
gibt aber eine deutliche Verlagerung der Marketingaktivitäten in den digitalen
Bereich und ein Zusammenspiel von traditionellen und modernen Instrumenten.
mehr in online Werbungen investiert da die Wirtschaft schlecht ist und online
günstigeres und zielgerichteteres Werben erlaubt. Ich glaube, es wird eine
Rückbewegung geben, wenn Leute merken, was der Wert von offline Werbung ist.
20 Minuten Werbung ist teuer aber wird bewusster wahrgenommen als Werbung
im Onlinebereich. Was sehr gut geht sind direct marketing Aktivitäten, spezielle
Verpackungen (zielgruppen-spezifisch) und individualisierte Produkte.
Wo ich ebenfalls viel Potenzial sehe ist bei Geruchsmarketing, was es noch zu
wenig gibt in der Schweiz. Beim Geruchsmarketing werden die Leute je nach
Tageszeit mit anderen Gerüchen zum Kauf animiert. Solche Sachen würden auch
draussen funktionieren, gerade um die Mittagszeit können Gerüche Leute anlocken.
Tests in Kaffeebars, mit und ohne Kaffegeeruch, zeigen, dass mit Kaffeegeruch
80% mehr Kaffee konsumiert wird. Geruchsmarketing ist effizienter als Musik. Es
ist etwas das nicht kontrollierbar ist und geschieht total unbewusst. Erstaunlich,
dass es nicht mehr gebraucht wird.
Q12: From 1-10, how would you rate the potential for success in Switzerland for
the following four examples:
• Ambush marketing
MA2: Funktioniert gut bei grossen Sportveranstaltungen, wie Olympia oder
Fussball WM, siehe Elektronikhändler, die dann spezielle Aktionen anbieten, und
eventuell bei Openairs. Allerdings kennen viele die Hauptsponsoren gar nicht, und
dann würde die Ambush Aktion nicht auffallen beziehungsweise keinen Buzz
generieren.
• Ambient marketing
MA2: Ambient Marketing hat viel Potenzial. Es gibt vereinzelte Aktionen, ist aber
noch nicht sehr verbreitet. Obwohl es ideal funktioniert, machen es die Leute zu
wenig. Spontan fallen mir VBZ Trams ein, in welchen viel gemacht werden könnte.
IKEA machte mal eine Aktion und hat Einrichtungen in Trams gestellt. Auch
draussen könnte mehr gemacht werden, aber da haben wir in der Schweiz ein
Wetterproblem. Gut war in Zürich die Aktionen mit den Bären, Löwen und Bänken.
Leute fanden es lässig und Unternehmen konnten individuell kreativ sein. Es war
typisch Zürich und ist gut angekommen.
• Sensation marketing
Q15: In your opinion, what are crucial skills a company has to possess for
successful guerrilla marketing?
MA2: Sicher jemand in der Leitung der Marketingabteilung, der out-of-the-box
denkt. Niemand der festgefahrenen ist, aber dafür und noch ein wenig Kind ist. Es
steht und fällt mit dem CMO. Dieser kann auch den CEO überzeugen und kreative
Kampagnen lancieren. Viele machen leider nur noch copy and paste vom letzten
Jahr. Das zweite ist eine super Agentur. Eigentlich ist es nur das Menschliche, alles
andere kann hergestellt und visualisiert werden. Das heutige Problem ist, dass
Marketing- und Kommunikationsjobs boomen und viele Leute einfach reinrutschen
oder ohne fundierte Ausbildung quereinsteigen. So werden viele Fehler gemacht
und es kann nichts Kreatives daraus entstehen. Man muss dafür leben, was man
macht, wer eine Schlaftablette ist verliert. Man muss in die andere Richtung laufen
damit es läuft, ich als Mitarbeiter muss mit den Ideen kommen. Wenn man die
Freiheit nicht hat, wird es schwierig. Zudem kann eine Guerilla Kampagne auch
nicht eins zu eins von anderen Ländern übertragen werden, was in Deutschland
funktioniert muss nicht in der Schweiz funktionieren. Man kann einzelne
Kampagnen in verschiedenen Städten durchführen, allerdings nur in einem kurzen
Zeitintervall. So könne Kampagnen von Genf nach Zürich, Bern oder Luzern
kopiert werden und das wird auch gemacht. Es funktioniert aber nicht bei allen
Kampagnen. Manchmal, je nach Inhalt, muss in der Romandie mit anderen
Gesichtern gearbeitet werden, anderer Humor und andere Sprachspiele verwendet
werden. Das wird bisher zu wenig berücksichtigt.
Q16: Where do you see the limits in the application of guerrilla marketing?
MA2: Wie gesagt, es ist kein richtiges Guerilla Marketing mehr. Die
wirtschaftliche Situation ist angespannt und da sitzt das Werbebudget nicht mehr
so locker, ausserdem will niemand mehr eine Busse generieren.
Q17: If you had a lifestyle brand here in Switzerland and you want to launch a
guerrilla marketing campaign, which tools would you use and what are the
most important factors you would consider?
MA2: Ich muss zuerst sicher sein, dass das Produkt wirklich gut ist und meine
Zielgruppe das Label wirklich mag. Bei einem Kleiderlabel könnte man gewisse
Kleider in Zürich verstecken oder guerillamässig an der ZHAW ganze
Studentenklassen im Unterricht stören und neu einkleiden. Das würde in der
jüngeren Zielgruppe für Aufmerksamkeit sorgen. Es muss eine Kampagne sein, die
zum Unternehmen und zum Produkt passt und die man extrem schnell ausführen
kann. Man muss ja wegrennen, bevor die Polizei kommt (lacht). Ich würde
sicherlich keine klassische Agentur wählen, sondern wirklich auf Innovation achten
und extrem nahe bei meiner Zielgruppe bleiben, ansonsten verpufft der Effekt.
This academic expert has been the head of center for strategic customer relationship
management at a Swiss university for more than ten years. Furthermore, he also
supervises the degree program marketing management and participated in many
publications within these two fields. Before occupying this position, he received a
doctor’s degree in service management, had a job as an academic assistant at a German
university and also worked as a project leader for a research funding project. Next to the
academic path, he also worked in the private sector and was CFO of a web monitoring
company for a few years; however, ever since he has been pursuing a more academic
way. The purpose of this interview was to get a theoretical understanding of how to
interact with Swiss consumers in an appropriate and sophisticated way and get an insight
on how to measure the success of a guerrilla marketing campaign.
Q1: Which marketing campaigns have been especially successful during the last
years?
MA3: I personally think that success of guerrilla marketing is a very difficult
question. Most companies just have some kind of buzz in mind, which of course is
the first step. You create an action and reaction to a certain point. But then you should
also have a connection to success in terms of company figures. New customers, a
more positive image, things like that. In that sense, it is much more difficult to
measure or tell if a guerrilla marketing activity was successful. Most campaigns that
we say have become famous we just look at the buzz. But maybe the most critical
point is the question, if there is a connection to the company at all. For instance, one
of the most famous successful campaigns was the faceless people campaign done by
Lotus. They put faceless people, people with a mask, on famous sights. The message
was: you should buy a Lotus and not be a faceless person, you should individualize
yourself. Later you come to lifestyle brands and one reason to buy a lifestyle brand
is to show your personality through your buying behavior.
The first step of success is to create buzz, but it is not all. The faceless people
campaign is a good example; a lot of people did not realize that it came from Lotus.
If I just know the campaign and it has no connection to the brand that did this
campaign, it is not a success at all. I believe, but one should measure that, that a lot
of people have been disappointed that followed this lead trying to solve this riddle of
these faceless people and then it was a marketing campaign. This is also a critical
thing; it not only should create buzz but also a positive reaction.
Q3: What are the most important contextual preconditions for a successful
guerrilla marketing campaign?
MA3: Well, special about guerrilla marketing is that it is typically challenging or
even a little bit illegal or totally illegal (laughing). The campaign has to fit to the
culture of the company. However, Migros has done a lot of guerrilla marketing
actions, which shows that it also can be in contrast to the image of the brand. When
they say, we have a boring brand and we have to do something about that, to not be
seen as boring anymore. But it is easier if it fits the culture and the image of the
brand, like we are a young and dynamic company, like technology companies or for
social media brands. It is easier to do guerrilla marketing for brands that are seen as
young, fresh and dynamic.
The second thing is that the culture of the country should be open to rule-breaking. I
believe that Switzerland and the US are interesting examples, because in the US we
have a very strong political correctness and in Switzerland we have a strong social
control. It is not so political and not so public but even more so strong if you are an
outsider and you break the rules. So, the political correctness in the US is very official
and political correctness or social responsibility is more unofficial but even more so
very strong in Switzerland. In Switzerland, it is important to say: do not overdo it
with the guerrilla part. It still has to fit to the humor of the people. They have to think:
what is going on, but in a positive sense. That is a very important prerequisite to be
successful.
Q4: What are context-factors that hinder guerrilla marketing from being
successful?
MA3: I think it can work everywhere. The company should be able to take the
consequences. We do not here from most guerrilla marketing campaigns. Most of
them fail or show no effect, but it is hard to measure for us as scientists because you
actually do not hear from them. But it must be true. There are also legal
consequences. Challenging the rules in Saudi Arabia will work extremely well but
you have to be able to take the consequences. This is a very strict culture but even
more so small things, like showing the neck bone of a person, might be enough to
create a great buzz in Saudi Arabia. But you should be able to face the courts. You
also need the financial and legal power if something goes wrong and communicative
possibilities to react if you overdo it.
Q5: How does the popularity of guerrilla marketing (in Switzerland) vary with the
company size?
MA3: I think it works for every size of a company. It is not a question of size but a
question of the company culture and the brand image. There are different
motivations. Big companies do it to refresh their brands and have also much more
resources to produce films and make settings like the faceless people campaign which
was really expensive. Small companies do it to get known at all. There, guerrilla
marketing maybe has the greatest potential. To give a strong impulse and to still have
a small control about the communication, you have to use contents, you need to have
an influencer network that you can use and you have to be active yourself in terms
Q6: How much potential does Switzerland offer in terms of guerrilla marketing
(different regional potentials)?
MA3: The greatest potential is where there is a strong social media culture of
gossiping and sharing. So, I would say it is rather medium for Switzerland. The
problem for guerrilla marketing in Switzerland is that it is not a large market and it
is connected to large media communities. You cannot separate the German-speaking
Switzerland with the German-speaking internet. And the same with the French-
speaking Switzerland and the French-speaking internet which is so much larger. If
you do a specific Swiss campaign, a large part of French-speaking people are not at
all interested. You have a lot of lost communication, so to say.
Q7: How would you characterize the Swiss culture (compared to the American
culture)?
MA3: Swiss are a lot more timid than Americans, which are much more active to
communication and less shy to speak out loud. That fits guerrilla marketing well and
also the active networking is important in both markets. It is important for guerrilla
marketing that you have networks that distribute the message, but in the US it is much
louder communication whereas here more silent communication. The kind of
message has to be different to the level of emotion. Black humor and offensive
messages are possible to a different extent in Switzerland and the US. Here the
message has to be less offensive and the usage of social media is much stronger in
the US.
factors in the language. In German you are short and precise. That might be a factor.
Virtually, any topic that we research, shows large differences between the different
regions in Switzerland. But I do not know of any research that has made this
comparison, specifically for guerrilla marketing.
Q9: From 1-10, how would you rate Swiss and American: (Please indicate if there
are regional differences)
• Attitude toward the unexpected
MA3: I would say it is higher in the US, 9-10, in an international context and
Switzerland more like a 4.
• Openness toward the new
MA3: Similar thing, maybe 5 for Switzerland and 9-10 for the US.
• Willingness to share information
MA3: Would also be less in Switzerland, like 6 and maybe also close to 10 in the
US. 10 meaning that you will not find many countries in the world where it is higher
for all these three aspects.
• Is there another element that you would consider as important that
influences guerrilla marketing?
MA3: I would say social control and humor, like black humor in Britain for
instance. There you can do a lot of things which in other countries would be seen
as very offensive and totally inacceptable. It is the art, not the science, of guerrilla
marketing to have a good sense of your community and the public. What is still
seen positively, as surprising or new, fresh and daring and what is the point where
it becomes totally inacceptable. It is a small path and nowadays, in the internet
world, you cannot limit communication to one county. What you want to
communicate in English potentially spreads around the world, which makes it really
difficult. It is not enough to say, especially if you are an internationally active
company, this is right for the US, because it might be read in China and seen
completely different and if you are active in China as well you might suffer.
Q10: What distinguishes the Swiss culture in terms of attitude toward marketing
(e.g. from the American culture)?
MA3: I would say they like it less here. If you look at the advertisements in the
Super Bowl break, it is an event itself. There is a tendency to information overflow
and too much advertising messages in both countries but the attitude toward
advertising is more positive in the US than in Switzerland.
Q12: From 1-10, how would you rate the potential for success in Switzerland for
the following four examples:
• Ambush marketing
MA3: It has been a big topic at the EM in Switzerland, we did some research on
that. One result for example is that more people thought that Credit Suisse was the
official sponsor rather than UBS. But you would insult Credit Suisse, if you said
that they were ambush marketing. Because they say we have been sponsoring and
supporting the Swiss national football team for years and years. Also Migros did
ambush marketing campagins: “If you speak M, you speak EM”. Nobody can take
away from Migros that they used their big orange M and they played with that. I
would rate ambush marketing with a 6.
• Ambient marketing
MA3: I think it is difficult to limit it to a certain location. Social media makes
ambient marketing attractive for Switzerland, there you have a local connection. I
would give ambient an 8.
• Sensation marketing
MA3: Sometimes sensation marketing is seen as the top concept and ambush and
guerrilla below. To create sensations and buzz is common for many different
concepts. I am not sure if anyone needs the term sensation marketing at all. I would
give it a 6 though.
• Viral marketing
MA3: I would rate viral marketing with the lowest potential, 5.
Q15: In your opinion, what are crucial skills a company has to possess for
successful guerrilla marketing?
MA3: You need to have specific journalists, for instance, that you can leak some
information or give secret bits of information. You need to have the contacts that
listen to you so that you can spread it through your Facebook community at the first
point. Or an important point could be the ability to connect it to your influencer
marketing and sponsoring to have a lot more reach. The last factor, I would say, is
that you have the talents to create unique experiences.
Q16: Where do you see the limits in the application of guerrilla marketing?
Q17: If you had a lifestyle brand here in Switzerland and you want to launch a
guerrilla marketing campaign, which tools would you use and what are the
most important factors you would consider?
MA3: The one important thing is that the company builds up their network in terms
of social media and classical media contacts before they start the campaigns. So
that they can set the seed effectively and have flanking PR measures. For most
really successful guerrilla marketing campaigns it was important to reach classical
media. The Chocolate Frey campaign made it to 10 vor 10, the most seen news
show in Switzerland, and at this point it was very a very successful campaign. If it
is limited to social media, then it reaches only part of the population. For broad
success, very often you have to reach classical media like 20 Minuten or the Swiss
television.
With two master degrees; one in industrial and organizational psychology & marketing,
and one in business administration and general management, she has been occupied in
many different fields. She has been in a managerial position for various companies in
numerous countries and therefore developed extensive cross-cultural competences.
Moreover, she has been working in the marketing and communication department for
UBS and the European Chamber of Commerce. Today, as a senior manager for business
consulting projects she combines her knowledge and her advisory fields include
internationalization strategies and intercultural management. With the marketing
background, the cultural competences and the experience form consulting services for
various companies, this expert combines all three main pillars of this research and was
consulted to establish a big picture and connect the different concepts.
Q1: Which marketing campaigns have been especially successful during the last
years?
MA4: Was ich vor kurzem ganz Speziell gefunden habe, ist die Kampagne von
Zweifel. Was mir da sehr gut gefallen hat, was mir ins Auge gestochen ist, ist das
sehr Reduzierte. Es war eine Plakatkampagne mit einem ganz weissen Hintergrund
und das I love, also das Herz, war in dem typischen Zweifelorange. Das ist mir
persönlich ins Auge gestochen, weil ich fand, dass sie mit sehr reduzierten Mittel
einige Botschaften transferiert haben. Das eine ist das typische Orange, das habe ich
gerade mit Zweifel assoziert, natürlich müssen sie noch Zweifel hinschreiben, aber
ich konnte gerade den Link machen. Bei einer andere Kampagne im Bereich der
Getränke, ich weiss die Marke gerade nicht mehr aber bei Coca-Cola und Rivella ist
es ähnlich, hatte ich das Gefühl es ist eher unruhig. Da waren viele Menschen darauf,
junge Menschen die Spass und Freude haben und das wird versucht zu vermitteln.
Bei der Zweifel-Kampagne haben sie viele Assoziationen mit sehr, sehr wenigen
Mitteln rübergebracht und das ist mir ins Auge gestochen.
Q3: What are the most important contextual preconditions for a successful
guerrilla marketing campaign?
MA4: Offenheit für Neues, da es viel mit Überraschung arbeitet. (...) Diese
Offenheit, dass man sich gerne überraschen lässt, ist das eine; man muss aber auch
die richtige Intensität dieser Überraschung haben, sodass es nicht ins Gegenteil
kommt, wo es dann zu viel ist. Dann erscheint es einem fremd und man bildet quasi
schon fast eine Gegenreaktion. Es ist nicht nur die Offenheit gegenüber Neuem, aber
auch die richtige Intensität von dem Neuen, von dem Überraschungseffekt. Dann
denke ich, eine gewisse Art von Humor. Aber da kommt es auch wieder auf den
Inhalt darauf an. Ich glaube, die Amerikaner, aber vor allem die Briten, haben diesen
schwarzen Humor und das ist eine ganz andere Art von Humor als zum Beispiel ein
Humor der mit Pointen spielt oder solche Sachen. Inhaltlich gesehen, könnte es da
einen kulturellen Unterschied haben.
Q4: What are context-factors that hinder guerrilla marketing from being
successful?
MA4: Jetzt kommen wir mal auf China zu sprechen. China ist zum Beispiel ein Land,
in dem Werbung noch nicht so verbreitet ist. Man sieht nicht so viel Werbung.
Marketing ist eher sales, also eigentlich das Handwerkzeug und die kreative
Komponente kommt erst langsam dazu. Bislang beinhaltet es weniger dieses
Spielerische. Es ist wie mit HR; HR in China ist eher Personal einstellen und
beinhaltet nicht diese Softkomponente. Der Reifegrad von einem Land, denke ich,
ist auch einer dieser Faktoren. Das Marketing ist einfach anders. Überlegen wir mal,
wäre Guerilla Marketing in den USA in den 20er Jahre möglich gewesen? Das weiss
ich jetzt nicht (lacht).
Q5: How does the popularity of guerrilla marketing (in Switzerland) vary with the
company size?
MA4: Das ist jetzt eine Hypothese, aber man sagt kleineren Unternehmen nach, dass
sie flexibler sind und weniger Geld haben, da könnte ich mir vorstellen, es hängt
natürlich auch von der Unternehmenskultur ab, dass dort zum Teil auch mehr
Kreativität ist. Vom Setup, ich will jetzt nicht sagen aus der Not heraus, aber man
versucht aus den verfügbaren Ressourcen das grösstmögliche zu machen. Da könnte
ich mir schon vorstellen, dass die Grösse einer Unternehmung eine Rolle spielen
kann.
Q6: How much potential does Switzerland offer in terms of guerrilla marketing
(different regional potentials)?
MA4: Ist das ortsabhängig? Kann man Guerilla Marketing überhaupt als einzelne
Massnahme betrachten? Man müsste im Grunde ein ganzes Päckchen schnüren. Also
das heisst, wenn ich eine Kampagne mache im Guerilla Marketing, dann würde ich
schauen, dass ich diese zu möglichst vielen Leute kommuniziere. Da könnte ich mir
gut vorstellen, dass ich eine Kampagne auf dem Land starten könnte und dann zum
Beispiel auf Social Media verbreite, dass ich das gemacht habe. Das wäre zum
Beispiel eine Möglichkeit. Aber sie erreichen einfach schlichtweg mehr Leute in der
Stadt. Dort hätten sie vielleicht auch den kulturellen mindset, aber es gibt
verschiedene Leute die in einer Stadt wohnen. Ich könnte mir auch vorstellen, dass
wie etwas bei den Leuten ankommt, auch generationenabhängig sein könnte. Ich
würde es aber auf jeden Fall versuchen und fände es spannend als Unternehmen.
Ergänzend, ist es eine sehr kreative und frische Art, eine Botschaft zu vermitteln.
Viel wichtiger, als der Entscheid ja oder nein, ist wie es gemacht ist. Das sind die
zwei Sachen, die ich am Anfang erwähnt habe: erstens muss man die Intensität
anschauen, sodass keine Reaktanzen ausgelöst werden und ein Bumerang
zurückkommt, und das andere ist die Art von Humor. Das denke ich ist ganz, ganz,
ganz wichtig und eher Kultur abhängig.
Q7: How would you characterize the Swiss culture (compared to the American
culture)?
MA4: (…) Das kommt darauf an, ob es ein Deutschschweizer, ein Welschschweizer
oder ein italienischer Schweizer ist. Ich würde aber schon sagen, dass der Schweizer
ein sehr umtriebiges Volk ist, um einen gemeinsamen Nenner zu sehen. Das Land ist
klein, hat wenig natürliche Ressourcen und ist eines der innovativsten Länder dieser
Welt. Das ist der Aktivität vom Schweizer gutzuschreiben wie auch seiner Neugier
und dem Willen etwas Neues und Gutes zu machen. Das denke ich, könnte vielleicht
ein gemeinsamer Nenner sein. Allenfalls, da lehne ich mich jetzt aber weit aus dem
Fenster, sind das gerade diese Charakteristiken, die man auch einem kleinen
Unternehmen nachsagt. Das heisst, dass man dort Parallelen ziehen könnte. Ein
grösseres Land würde eher wie ein grösseres Unternehmen funktionieren, eher
traditionell und ein kleines Land wie die Schweiz, welches sehr umtriebig und
innovativ ist, wie ein kleineres Unternehmen. Das würde allerdings wieder der These
mit Amerika wiedersprechen, Guerilla Marketing kommt aus Amerika, also dürfte es
auch mehrere andere Faktoren haben, die da reinspielen. Der Amerikaner hat auf eine
Art eher ein sales mind. Aber das bleibt auf Stereotypen Ebene, da gibt es auch
wieder ganz verschiedene Leute.
Q9: From 1-10, how would you rate Swiss and American: (Please indicate if there
are regional differences)
• Attitude toward the unexpected
MA4: (…) Ich würde die Amerikaner ein weniger offener als die Schweizer
einschätzen. Aber versteckte Kamera funktioniert in beiden Ländern. Von dem her,
ist eine gewisse Bereitschaft sicher da.
• Openness toward the new
MA4: (...) Da bin ich eher zurückhaltend. Ich denke, auch in Amerika ist es sehr
stark von der Region abhängig. Auch die Art was Neu bedeutet, zum Beispiel das
Silicon Valley ist extrem offen gegenüber Neuem und Geschäftsideen und so. In
Bezug auf das Unerwartete, etwas was man noch nie gesehen hat, würde ich auch
den Amerikaner ein bisschen offener einstufen.
• Willingness to share information
MA4: (…) Ich glaube, wenn es guter Humor ist, ist die Chance gleich gross, dass
sie es weitererzählen. Im Sinne von: oh, du glaubst nicht was mir heute passiert ist.
Ich denke, man muss die betreffende Person einfach mit einem positiven Gefühl
zurücklassen können. Dann erzählt man es auch.
• Is there another element that you would consider as important that
influences guerrilla marketing?
MA4: Die eine Komponente, die ich wichtig finde, ist dieses Positive. Also, die
ausgelöste Emotion darf nicht negativ sein, sonst kommt es zu diesem Bumerang-
Effekt den ich vorhin angesprochen habe. Wenn man ein bisschen tiefer in die
Werbepsychologie hineingeht, kann mach auch sagen, dass die betreffenden
Personen nicht das Gefühl haben dürfen, dass man ihnen mit der Aktion ein neues
Produkt aufschwatzen will. Das ist auch wieder dieser Bumerang-Effekt, denn es
gibt diese Abwehrhaltung, wenn man jemanden beeinflussen möchte. Da ist auch
wieder ganz, ganz wichtig, dass man die Balance behält. Werbungen überzeugen
eher wenn der Inhalt balanciert rüberkommt und nicht zu viel ist. Das ist einseitige
versus zweiseitige Kommunikation. Wenn man zum Beispiel nur sagt: mein
Produkt ist super, super, super, super, dann ist der Konsument eher ein wenig
skeptisch und denkt nur super gibt es auch nicht und irgendetwas spricht vielleicht
auch dagegen. In der klassischen Werbepsychologie wird die balancierte,
zweiseitige Kommunikation eher angenommen. Weil Guerilla Marketing eher auf
die Emotionsebene als auf die Kognitive Ebene, also die
Q10: What distinguishes the Swiss culture in terms of attitude toward marketing
(e.g. from the American culture)?
MA4: Ich denke, generell ist bei beiden eine gewisse Werbemüdigkeit vorhanden.
Ich bin ja selber Konsumentin und gerade die ganz klassische Werbung, wie
Briefkastenwerbung, ist etwas, das ich nicht einmal mehr anschaue. Ich habe ganz
am Anfang ja von Roger Federer oder von dieser Kuh im Shuttlezug gesprochen,
das empfinde ich als charmanter. Sie könnten mir irgendwie 20 Prospekte in den
Briefkasten legen, das hätte nicht die gleiche Wirkung. Man muss immer wieder
innovativ sein. Die Idee ist nur frisch gut und greift sich mit der Zeit ab. Man kann
dann vielleicht die Strategie fahren, dass man immer wieder die gleiche
Grundkomponente nimmt, dass die Kuhglocke mit anderen Bildern assoziiert wird
oder so etwas. Diese Neuheit ist einer der Aspekte, die wir bisher noch nicht
angesprochen haben. Das ist sehr wichtig, weil mit der Zeit würde mich diese
Kuhglocke auch langweilen, wenn es immer das gleiche ist. Oder beim Roger
Federer weiss ich jetzt was es ist. Von dem her würde ich mich über Änderungen
freuen, dann wird es wieder interessant und meine Aufmerksamkeit ist wieder dort.
Q12: From 1-10, how would you rate the potential for success in Switzerland for
the following four examples:
• Ambush marketing
MA4: (lacht) Ich denke, den Aspekt mit dem Verwirren, welchen Sie erwähnt
haben, wäre in der Schweiz eher schwieriger. Es würde vielleicht eher ein wenig
irritieren, man wüsste nicht ganz genau wer der Hauptsponsor ist und man kommt
auf eine Art nicht draus. Wir neigen vielleicht dazu, zu viel zu denken.
• Ambient marketing
MA4: Das denke ich ist eher subtil. Es ist weniger mit Pauken und Trompeten,
darum hätte ich ein besseres Gefühl.
• Sensation marketing
MA4: Gerade das Beispiel mit Amnesty International, denke ich, ist etwas das
starke Emotionen auslöst. Dort wäre nicht auf die Art vom Marketing selber zu
schauen, also Sensation Marketing, sondern welche Emotionen werden durch
unsere Massnahme ausgelöst. Es (Amnesty International Beispiel) ist etwas das
challenged und herausfordert, das ist eher die Dimension, die beachtet werden sollte
und nicht die Massnahme an sich. Deshalb denke ich sind die zwei Ambient
Marketing Beispiele subtiler.
• Viral marketing
MA4: Das ist auch wieder so ein Beispiel von: weisst du, was mir heute passiert
ist? Es ist eine sehr positive Überraschung, welche die Leute gerne teilen, denke
ich. Wie weit das es geht, müsste man schauen. Man würde es vielleicht bei
Freunden und Verwandten platzieren, aber ich denke weniger, dass man es im
Social Media verbreiten würde. Weil da kann ich das positive Erlebnis nicht mit
den Leuten teilen, sondern ich gehe mit dem in einen anonymen Raum. Also ich
denke ja, es wird geteilt, aber es fragt sich wie weit.
MA4: Ich denke auch hier spielt die emotionale Komponente eine ganz grosse
Rolle. Einen Lifestyle überlegt man nicht. Man muss mich emotional abholen und
unterstützen. Von dem her denke ich, kann man alle Marketinginstrumente
verwenden, es kommt auf die Art drauf an, wie die Kommunikation gemacht wird.
Diese muss anders, mehr auf der emotionalen und weniger auf der kognitiven
Ebene, sein.
Q15: In your opinion, what are crucial skills a company has to possess for
successful guerrilla marketing?
MA4: Ein ganz grosses Feingefühl, also ein Gespür. Ich denke effektiv, es ist nicht
die Massnahme an sich, sondern die richtige Dosierung der Massnahme. Die
Intensität ist für mich jetzt persönlich das Wichtigste. Das hat man auch bei diesen
Beispielen gesehen, es sollte überraschend aber doch subtil sein. Es sind immer
wieder diese Wiedersprüche, man lehnt sich ein Stück aus dem Fenster, kickt ein
bisschen an und danach holt man wieder zurück, damit man sich mit der
Kommunikation wohl fühlt. Das denke ich, das ist das Feingefühl, das gegeben sein
muss.
Q16: Where do you see the limits in the application of guerrilla marketing?
MA4: (…) Sie wollen ja vermeiden, dass Sie plötzlich eine Kommunikationskrise
haben. Dass man dieses Feingefühl hat, denke ich, ist schon eine Grenze, man sollte
mit einer Kampagne nicht over the top gehen, dass nicht dieses Negative
überhandnimmt. Das ist die Grenze, würde ich sagen. In unserer Gesellschaft ist es
so, dass wir immer offener werden und immer mehr möglich wird. Man versucht
immer wieder an die Grenze zu gehen, an der Grenze zu stupfen und dann merkt
man: ups, das funktioniert nicht. Dann geht man wieder zurück.
Q17: If you had a lifestyle brand here in Switzerland and you want to launch a
guerrilla marketing campaign, which tools would you use and what are the
most important factors you would consider?
MA4: Dieses subtile, der Einsatz von Humor und das Anstupsen und in der gleichen
Kampagne wieder abholen. Das wäre wieder die Intensität, es soll nicht etwas sein
an dem ich einfach vorbeilaufe, sondern es soll meine Aufmerksamkeit fesseln.
Meine Aufmerksamkeit wird gefesselt, indem ich etwas Überraschendes sehe. Es
muss mich schon herausfordern, es soll mich aber positiv herausfordern und mir
nicht so vor den Kopf stossen, dass ich denke: was wollen die von mir. Dann das
andere, wegen Lifestyle, da denke ich muss man eher auf der emotionalen Ebene
arbeiten, weil ein lifestyle brand muss man weniger erklären, sondern eher spüren.
Man sollte versuchen, mit Witz in eine emotionale Richtung zu lenken. Witz
braucht es auf jeden Fall. Die Art von Humor unterscheidet sich ja sehr stark und
da denke ich, kommt die kulturelle Komponente ins Spiel. Der Schweizer erlebt
den Humor anders als der Amerikaner, denke ich.
Die Kampagne muss natürlich auch zum Produkt, zum Inhalt welchen man
transferieren möchte, passen. Das Ganze muss zum Produkt passen, sonst bin ich
als Konsument verwirrt. Produktinhalt und -botschaft müssen schon
übereinstimmen, sonst würde ich es als geschmackslos empfinden. Wenn gerade
eine Amnesty-Kampagne mit Humor geführt werden würde, würde ich es eher als
geschmackslos empfinden. Es sind ernste Themen und die sollen auch mit der
notwendigen Sorgfältigkeit behandelt werden. Der Produktbotschaft und -
kampagnen fit, denke ich, ist auch einer dieser Erfolgsfaktoren und muss auf jeden
Fall auch gegeben sein.
With a Master of Business Administration from Universität St. Gallen (HSG) and an
Advanced Leadership Program degree from University of Cambridge this expert has
ascended to the Global Head of New Business Development in a multinational company
that has a reputation for excellent marketing. In fact, this company is widely recognized
as best practice example for its exceptional marketing activities. This senior executive
has broad experience and a successful track record in the fast-moving consumer goods
(FMCG) industry and has been with the current company for 17 years being responsible
for various global regions. His wealth of professional experience complemented each of
the three cornerstones of the questionnaire and this paper; specifically, guerrilla
marketing, lifestyle brands as well as Swiss cultural idiosyncrasies.
Q1: Which marketing campaigns have been especially successful during the last
years?
MP1: Das ist ganz schwierig, es kommt immer darauf an, auf was man selber affin
ist. Sachen auf die man selber affin ist, bleiben einem besser haften.
Marketingkampagnen, klassische Kampagnen, kommen mir weniger in den Sinn.
Das hat zwar nichts mit einer klassischen Kampagne zu tun, da kommen wir schon
fast wieder in den Guerilla Marketing Bereich, aber ich mag mich an diese Swatch
Uhren besinnen, welche heute nicht mehr so populär sind. Als sie dazumal lanciert
wurden, hat man zu einem gewissen Grad bewusst das Angebot verknappt. Somit hat
man geschafft, was Apple zu einem gewissen Grad heute macht. Wie bewusst sie das
machen, kann ich nicht sagen, aber sie verknappen das Angebot zu einem gewissen
Teil. Wenn das Angebot kleiner ist als die Nachfrage, führt das dazu, dass Medien
darüber berichten und Leute vor dem Shop stehen und sogar für ein Produkt warten.
Dies suggeriert am Konsumenten, dass es etwas gibt, das scheinbar so hoch im Kurs
ist, dass die Leute dafür sogar vor dem Laden übernachten. Solche Sachen bleiben
einem mehr als klassische Kampagnen, die man auf Plakaten, im Fernseher oder
sonstigen Medien sieht und zwar nett findet aber weniger haften bleiben.
Q3: What are the most important contextual preconditions for a successful
guerrilla marketing campaign?
MP1: Aus meiner Warte, denke ich, weil das Ganze als etwas Unkonventionelles
aufgesetzt ist und überraschend, dass die Leute welche angesprochen werden eine
gewisse Offenheit haben müssen. Wobei darüber könnte man ein wenig
philosophieren, wenn etwas Unkonventionelles kommt und auf jemanden trifft der
Konventionell ist, kann man sicher davon ausgehen, dass Aufmerksamkeit erregt
wird. Sehr wahrscheinlich erregt es bei den Unkonventionellen wie auch bei den
Konventionellen Aufmerksamkeit. Bei den Unkonventionellen wird es höchst
wahrscheinlich gerade so ansprechen, dass sie danach einen Kaufakt vollziehen, was
schlussendlich die Idee dahinter ist. Bei den Konventionellen, wo die
unkonventionelle Aktivität hinkommt, löst das wahrscheinlich schon fast Empörung
aus. Diese Empörung wird aber dazu führen, dass irgendwo mediales Interesse
erweckt wird. Das ist auch die Idee dahinter, die Sache funktioniert nur, wenn
Aufmerksamkeit erregt wird und darüber berichtet wird. Auch erst dann wird sie
gross. Philosophisch gesehen braucht es beide. Auf der einen Seite, diejenigen die
auf die unkonventionelle Art angesprochen werden und dies lieben und kaufen; und
die Anderen, die das überhaupt nicht anspricht, aber durch ihre Empörung dazu
beitragen, dass dieses Ding in die Medien kommt und darüber berichtet wird.
Q4: What are context-factors that hinder guerrilla marketing from being
successful?
MP1: Ja gut, es gibt natürlich Grenzen und Tabubereiche, bei welchen es (...) sehr
schwierig wird, wo Leute in religiösen Gefühlen verletzt werden. Ein Beispiel ist
Benetton mit ihren provokativen Plakatkampagnen, ich weiss nicht ob es diese heute
überhaupt noch gibt. Diese Gratwanderung ist natürlich schon sehr eng, sobald es
irgendwo um Religion und Politik geht, sind es heikle Punkte und es kann schnell
umschlagen. Dann kann es unkontrollierbar werden. Da gibt es schon Bereiche, bei
welchen es wahrscheinlich eine rote Linie gibt und wenn man diese überschreitet
kann es sehr negativ werden.
Q5: How does the popularity of guerrilla marketing (in Switzerland) vary with the
company size?
MP1: Ich könnte mir vorstellen, dass es sehr wahrscheinlich, auf Grund von der
Definition von diesem Instrument, eher mit weniger Mitteln auszukommen und
unkonventionell zu sein, für kleinere Firmen fast ein bisschen einfacher ist, um zu
exekutieren. Also einfacher und zu einem gewissen Grad auch interessanter, weil sie
die Mittel nicht haben. Grössere Firmen haben die Schwierigkeit, dass sie durch Ihre
Grösse mehr an Reputation aufgebaut haben und diese zu einem gewissen Grad
leiden kann, wenn nicht goutiert wird, was gemacht wurde. Ich mag mich besinnen,
dass Emmi, guerillamässig für eine Produktlancierung von einem neuen Getränk,
welches im Markt gefloppt ist (...), Lacto Tap hat es geheissen, bei der Kappelbrücke
einen Sicherheitsturm wie das Getränk eingekleidet hat. Das ist bei der Luzerner
Bevölkerung nicht wirklich gut angekommen. Erstens weil sie (Emmi) dort einfach
ihren (Bevölkerung) regionalen Stolz verletzt hat, weil die Kappelbrücke angefasst
wurde und auf der anderen Seite hat man auch gesagt, das hätte Emmi gar nicht nötig
so etwas zu machen. Also, je grösser die Firma, desto mehr steht auf dem Spiel, wenn
man solche Geschichten macht. Jetzt ist es so (…), ja sagen wir mal die Einkleidung
von irgendetwas halb ohne Bewilligung, erregt für eine kurze Zeit Aufmerksamkeit.
Aber es gibt Guerilla Marketing Aktivitäten und Guerilla Marketing Aktivitäten.
Solche die vielleicht so clever gemacht wurden, dass sie ein Schmunzeln
hervorrufen, und solche bei denen ich sagen muss, das ist eine reine Effekthascherei
um irgendwie darüber zu reden. Aber das ist ganz schwierig, man kann es
wahrscheinlich auch nicht planen, je nachdem wie es umgesetzt wird, kommt es
besser oder schlechter an.
Q6: How much potential does Switzerland offer in terms of guerrilla marketing
(different regional potentials)?
MP1: Ich denke, die Schweiz ist einfach, das hat mit unserer Kultur zu tun, eine
ernstere Gruppierung. Sicherlich der Deutschschweizer ist eher kritisch, anstatt dass
er einfach (...), sag ich jetzt einmal, sich etwas anhört und darüber lachen kann. Er
hinterfragt es sicherlich einmal. Da gibt es sicher Kulturen, die Sachen viel lockerer
nehmen als wir und dementsprechend so etwas sehr wahrscheinlich mit weniger
Risiko umsetzbar ist als in der Schweiz. Tendenziell, ohne pauschalisieren zu wollen,
ist die ländliche Bevölkerung konservativer als städtische Bevölkerung. Und je
konservativer man ist, desto mehr Mühe hat man mit solchen Aktionen, das ist
sicherlich so.
Q7: How would you characterize the Swiss culture (compared to the American
culture)?
MP1: Der Schweizer, sage ich jetzt einmal, zeichnet sich dadurch aus, dass er Sachen
kritisch hinterfragt und es braucht sicher länger bis man ihn überzeugt hat. Wenn
man ihn allerdings mal überzeugt hat, steht er auch dahinter und hat weniger Tendenz
seine Position wieder zu verändern. Aber er hinterfragt die Sachen schon und ist ein
wenig ernster im Alltag als dies vielleicht andere Kulturen sind. Der Amerikaner ist,
sicher prima vista, offener und hat vielleicht auch das Flair, schneller mit jemandem
in Kontakt zu treten, aber ist je nach dem aus welchem Kulturkreis man kommt, nicht
so nachhaltig in seinem Wesen wie man das Gefühl hat. Mit dem Amerikaner kommt
man schnell in Kontakt und man redet schnell mit ihm, dies macht man mit einem
Schweizer viel weniger schnell, da braucht es länger, aber wenn er (der Amerikaner)
in seinem Gespräch drin ist und nach einer Minute sagt: komm mich mal besuchen,
dann meint er dies nicht wirklich so, sondern mehr als Floskel, die er im Gespräch
sagt. Wenn man dann aber zwei, drei Tage später vor seiner Tür steht, wird er schief
schauen. Wenn der Schweizer sagt: komm mich mal besuchen, meint er es auch so.
Ich will das nicht als gut oder schlecht werten, beides hat so seine Sachen. Aber durch
die Eigenheit, dass der Amerikaner am Anfang offener ist, wird er sicher auch besser
auf solche Aktionen anzusprechen sein.
Q9: From 1-10, how would you rate Swiss and American: (Please indicate if there
are regional differences)
• Attitude toward the unexpected
MP1: Sicher ist der Schweizer dem Unerwarteten gegenüber schlechter
gegenübergestellt als der Amerikaner. Ich würde sagen, der Schweizer ist irgendwo
bei einer 4 und der Amerikaner irgendwo bei einer 7. Also nicht, dass der
Amerikaner jetzt absolut offen ist, das auch nicht. Aber durch seine Mentalität und
Kultur ist er beim ersten Schritt/ersten Kontakt relativ offen.
Q10: What distinguishes the Swiss culture in terms of attitude toward marketing
(e.g. from the American culture)?
MP1: (holt tief Luft) Das ist eine gute Frage (lacht). (...) Wir realisieren alle, auch
gerade mit dem Aufkommen von den ganzen Onlinediensten und Onlinemedien,
dass alles irgendwie finanziert werden muss. Entweder bezahlen wir direkt dafür,
in dem wir sagen ich will etwas und zahle gerne dafür, oder man sagt nein, wo die
Leute dafür direkt bezahlen, akzeptieren aber indirekt, dass es durch die
Werbeindustrie finanziert wird. Für viele ist Werbung wahrscheinlich ein
notwendiges Übel; man akzeptiert, dass es sie gibt und dass es sie geben muss, weil
sonst einige Dinge gar nicht angeboten werden könnten. Diese Gratiszeitungen,
zum Beispiel, 20 Minuten und so, würde es ohne Werbung nicht geben. Das
Hauptinteresse dieser Zeitungen ist primär Werbung zu verkaufen und nicht
Informationen zu liefern. Informationen liefert man noch dazu, ja, aber eigentlich
geht es darum Werbung zu verkaufen. Der Schweizer, als solches, akzeptiert
Marketing und Werbung und ich spreche jetzt wirklich von klassischen Werbespots
die eingeblendet werden, aber eher als notwendiges Übel, als das er ein Fan davon
ist. Der Amerikaner hat vielleicht noch ein bisschen mehr das kreative Element, wo
er auf gewisse Sachen gespannt ist. Bei dem Amerikaner gibt es natürlich
werbetechnisch auch noch mehr Möglichkeiten, welche es in der Schweiz nicht
gibt. Möglichkeiten im rechtlichen Bereich, dass man Produkte miteinander
vergleichen darf. Man darf sagen Produkt A ist besser als Produkt B und Produkt B
darf man namentlich zeigen und nennen. Der Klassiker wäre Coca-Cola vs. Pepsi
Cola welche schon einen gewissen Kultstatus bekommen haben. Wer nimmt den
anderen besser auf die Schippe? Aber man muss auch klar sehen, dort kann die
Werbung nachher ein wenig zu einem storytelling, um Geschichten zu erzählen,
mutieren. Geschichten erzählen über eine Konkurrenzsituation. In der Schweiz geht
das nicht, da wäre dies unlauterer Wettbewerb. Also geht es hier nur darum, sein
eigenes Produkt in den Vordergrund zu stellen und das ist natürlich ganz schwierig,
dass dies gut rüberkommt und jemand sagt: wow, das hätte ich jetzt gerne. Beim
anderen (in Amerika) wartet man noch auf das "aha"-Erlebnis, die Werbung beginnt
und man weiss, es kommt noch eine Pointe zum Schluss. Das ist natürlich bei der
Werbung hier nicht der Fall, oder kann wegen den Rahmenbedingungen nicht der
Fall sein.
Sendung, gibt es heute nicht mehr. Heute wird konsumiert, wann man will und was
man will. Mit dem haben viele ein Problem bekommen. Jetzt können sie sagen, sie
nehmen ihren Werbespot und platzieren in hier drin (zeigt auf dein Smartphone).
Aber auch hier drin ist es immer schwieriger geworden, dass es jemand anschaut.
Also klar, bei gewissen Sachen kann man zappen, bei gewissen nicht, es gibt
verschiedene Sachen. Das sieht man auch bei den Anbietern von diesen
Instrumenten. Die sehen auch, dass sie es nicht zum Exzess betreiben können. Bei
den meisten Anwendungen, kann ein Spott acht Sekunden oder zehn Sekunden
laufen und danach muss man die Option zum Überspringen geben. Wenn man es
ganz laufen lassen würde, gehen die Leute weg, diese Geduld haben sie nicht mehr.
Es ist auch interessant zu schauen, wie viel es leiden mag, bis jemand weggeht, weil
es einfach zu viel Werbung ist. Es ist ganz schwierig geworden, die Leute heute in
den Medien noch abzuholen und das ist eine grosse Herausforderung für viele
Firmen. Da gibt es natürlich schon wieder Mittel, wie man das gut angehen kann.
Ich mache jetzt trotzdem kurz die Brücke zu Red Bull 27. Wir haben zum Teil auch
klassische Sachen, wie unsere Cartoons und so weiter, aber was wir schon immer
gemacht haben seit es uns gibt ist ein Content Marketing. Wir produzieren eigenen
Inhalt, eigenen Content, von Athleten die wir unterstützen oder was auch immer,
und erzählen eine Geschichte. In dieser Geschichte kommen wir natürlich vor und
bewirtschaften den ganzen Content. In diesem Film kommt niemand vor und sagt:
du musst Red Bull trinken, damit du weniger müde bist und länger magst. Vielleicht
muss es nicht mal jemand trinken, vielleicht kommen wir nur als Marke vor oder
so im Branding von einem Athleten, aber wir kommen so vor, dass wir glaubwürdig
sind. So, dass jeder sagt: ja klar, das ist ein Sportler von ihnen. So kommen wird
durch dieses Storytelling zum Konsumenten. Der Konsument schaut uns wegen der
Story, weil er diese Story sehen will und nimmt uns innerhalb dieser Story wahr,
anstatt, dass er uns in einem klassischen Werbespott sieht. Dies muss gut gemacht
werden und ein natürlicher Bestandteil sein, nichts Aufgesetztes. Eine Marke die
nie im Sport aktiv ist aber Sport cool findet und die Marke jetzt in dieses
Sportumfeld setzt, ist nicht glaubwürdig. Wenn man das schaut, sagt man dann:
Was macht jetzt diese Marke im Sport. Wenn man aber sowieso Aktivitäten in
diesem Bereich hat und man produziert so etwas, dann ist das nicht wie die Faust
aufs Auge, dann macht das irgendwo Sinn für den Konsumenten. Wenn er es schaut,
denkt er nicht, das geht jetzt gar nicht. Mit dem will ich sagen, es gibt schon
Möglichkeiten wie man an den Konsumenten kommen kann, aber es wird immer
schwieriger.
Q12: From 1-10, how would you rate the potential for success in Switzerland for
the following four examples:
• Ambush marketing
MP1: (…) Dieses Trittbrettfahren hat durchaus Potenzial, da kann man taktisch
etwas machen damit man dabei ist. Wenn man es witzig und clever macht, kann
man dies immer in Erwägung ziehen, sofern dies selber für einen Sinn macht. Eine
Note zu geben ist aber noch schwierig, da es mehr eine taktische Geschichte ist, bei
der man die Situation ausnutzt. Strategisch macht das so gesehen keinen Sinn. Aber
taktisch, wenn es etwas gibt das man erzählen will und man nicht mitmachen konnte
oder wollte (als offizieller Sponsor), dann kann dies durchaus Sinn machen.
• Ambient marketing
MP1: Diese würde ich weiter oben einstufen als Ambush Marketing. Ambush
Marketing erkennt natürlich jeder, wenn man sich an etwas anhängt, ist man nicht
der Erste. So gesehen, bleibt da immer etwas ein bitterer Nachgeschmack, auch
wenn es taktisch vielleicht sinnvoll sein kann. Hier kommt eine ganz andere
Kreativität, eine eigene Kreativität, zum Tragen. Beim anderen (Ambush
Marketing) fragt man sich was man zu einem bestimmten Anlass machen kann und
hier gibt es keinen Anlass an und für sich, sondern es geht darum sich kreativ zu
bewegen und wie man etwas zum Thema machen kann. Wenn man gewisse
Umsetzungen sieht, gefallen mir diese am besten, welche ganz einfach gemacht
sind und eine Botschaft ausstrahlen. Da muss ich sagen: mol, das ist noch clever
überlegt.
• Sensation marketing
Refer to the answer of ambient marketing
• Viral marketing
MP1: Es ist ganz schwierig zu spüren, ob etwas viral geht oder nicht. Es ist wichtig,
dass die Idee kreativ ist und für mich ist noch fast wichtiger, dass das wo man hier
macht glaubwürdig ist. Wenn es nur lustig und witzig ist stellt sich die Frage, ob
das Vertrauen in die Fluggesellschaft und ihr Produkt (vom Beispiel abgeleitet)
gestärkt wird, sehr wahrscheinlich eher nicht. Zu einem Geschenk sagen die
Wenigsten nein, aber habe ich jetzt als Konsument wirklich etwas mehr? Ich
schmunzle darüber, ja, und eine gewisse Aufmerksamkeit habe ich auch aber ob
diese nachhaltig ist, weiss ich nicht. Die Nachhaltigkeit würde ich in diesem
konkreten Beispiel in Frage stellen. Es gibt sicher andere, die sich näher mit der
Marke assoziieren, bei denen es mehr Sinn machen würde.
Q15: In your opinion, what are crucial skills a company has to possess for
successful guerrilla marketing?
MP1: Ich denke, dass was ich vorhin gesagt habe, dass man wirklich den Zeitgeist
spürt. Welche Werte sind derzeit im Vordergrund, das ist natürlich
landesspezifisch, ist die Gesellschaft eher ein bisschen konservativer orientiert oder
ein bisschen offener, ist der Wohlstand ein bisschen besser positioniert oder gibt es
grosse Spannungen zwischen sozialen Schichten. Das ist sehr, wie soll ich sagen,
eine schwierige Aufgabe. Da kann man nicht irgendwelche Werte nehmen, sondern
man muss es spüren, auf was sprechen die Leute, auf die man sich fokussiert, die
Zielgruppe, an und wie kann man sie abholen. Ich glaube, das ist sehr
wahrscheinlich am wichtigsten, dass man das noch besser spürt als andere und
dementsprechend mit einem Konzept kommt, dass die anderen (die Zielgruppe)
dann auch akzeptieren und sagen, das entspricht unserem Zeitgeist. Vielleicht ist
jetzt Naturnähe ein Thema oder in der Lebensmittelindustrie ist seit einigen Jahren
ein BIO-Trend festzustellen. Leuten wird es immer wichtiger von wo ihre
Lebensmittel kommen, vor 30 Jahren war es noch Wurst, weil es damals einfach
darum gegangen ist, dass man satt wird. Aber jetzt sind wir bei einem gewissen
Wohlstand und können uns fragen: wie werde ich satt? Und da muss man schon das
gewisse Gespür haben: was ist derzeit “in“, was bewegt derzeit und was ist den
Leuten wichtig. In der Schweiz haben auch Umweltthemen eine gewisse
Wichtigkeit. Wenn eine Lifestyle Marke gegen gewisse Sachen, die aber wichtig
sind, verstösst und diese nicht ernst nimmt, kann der Schuss nach hinten losgehen.
Der heutige Zeitgeist gibt einem gewisse Rahmenbedingungen vor, worin man sich
bewegen muss um etwas zu kreieren.
Q16: Where do you see the limits in the application of guerrilla marketing?
MP1: Ich denke, jedes Land hat ein anderes kulturelles Empfinden und eine andere
Wertedefinition, ist in gewissen Punkten offener oder geschlossener als andere
Kulturen. Das sind solche Sachen die man sicher berücksichtigen muss, sonst fällt
man gnadenlos auf die Nase. Zum Beispiel in Asien, ich will das nicht werten aber
es ist einfach so, ist es das A und O, dass man sein Gesicht nicht verliert. Also wenn
man jemanden dort in einer Art und Weise bloss stellt, sodass er sein Gesicht
verlieren kann, dann ist das ein no-go. So kann das von Land zu Land
unterschiedlich sein. Was natürlich der Klassiker ist, sind religiöse Sachen, wo man
sehr schnell die Finger daran verbrennen kann, weil man findet immer jemanden
der das Gefühl hat, das geht gar nicht. Politische Sachen sind natürlich auch solche
Themen die zum Teil sehr heikel werden können. Auf der anderen Seite will man
natürlich einen gewissen Positionsbezug machen. Da stellt sich halt auch die Frage,
was man erreichen will und was die Zielsetzung der Aktivität ist. Wenn die
Zielsetzung nur ist Aufmerksamkeit zu erhaschen, kann man sehr vieles machen.
Wenn die Zielsetzung, was wahrscheinlich bei den meisten der Fall ist, auch ist die
Leute dazu zu bewegen, dass sie näher zu der Marke stehen, beziehungsweise die
Kaufbereitschaft zu steigern wenn sie mit dieser Marke in Kontakt kommen, dann
muss es natürlich schon nachhaltig sein. Da kann man nicht jemandem vor den Kopf
stossen. Es ist eine Gratwanderung die sehr schnell kippen kann.
Q17: If you had a lifestyle brand here in Switzerland and you want to launch a
guerrilla marketing campaign, which tools would you use and what are the
most important factors you would consider?
MP1: (...) Egal was man macht, die erste Frage ist: was ist die Zielsetzung und was
will man erreichen. Hier muss man auch klar definieren um was es geht, was
erwartet man. Sehr wahrscheinlich erwartet man, neben einer gewissen
Aufmerksamkeit die man bekommt, dass es zu gewissen Verkäufen kommt. Es ist
schwer vorstellbar, dass eine Firma nur provozieren will. Irgendwann provoziert sie
so viel und verkauft nichts, dass einfach fertig ist. Die meisten, denke ich, haben
schon das Ziel Aufmerksamkeit bei ihrer Zielgruppe zu erreichen und diese soll
dazu führen näher zur Marke zu rücken beziehungsweise die Kaufbereitschaft bei
diesen Gruppierungen zu steigern. Dementsprechend, muss man genau wissen, was
man sich erlauben darf und was nicht und was diese Gruppe gut und nicht gut findet.
Da sind wir wieder beim gleichen, dass man den Zeitgeist dieser Gruppe spüren
muss, dass man wirklich genau abklären muss wie das bei grösster
Wahrscheinlichkeit aufgenommen werden wird. Auch hier glaube ich nicht einmal
mit einem Test kann man das wirklich vorfühlen. Das kann manchmal ganz
spezielle Dimensionen annehmen, die man nicht steuern kann.
Es ist etwas Unkonventionelles, etwas Unerwartetes und natürlich kann man sagen:
Dies wird wahrscheinlich beim gros meiner Zielgruppe folgendes auslösen. Aber
vielleicht wird es gerade bei jemand anderem, der ein Ausreisser ist, etwas Anderes
auslösen und der macht mit dem etwas ganz Anderes als man geplant hat und
nachher ist man, ja, (lacht) ist man irgendwo ganz anders. Es ist, wie soll ich sagen,
ein solch schmaler, enger Pfad wo man ausrutschen kann. Man muss sich wirklich
gut überlegen, ob man wirklich so etwas machen will. Man kann es sicher machen
aber soll so gut wie möglich Abklärungen treffen, ob die Aktion wirklich zu
erhöhter Kaufbereitschaft führt. Sonst macht es fast mehr Sinn, etwas strategisches,
This company can be seen as a European pioneer in ambient marketing and has been
successfully implementing over 1’700 unconventional marketing campaigns in
Switzerland for more than 20 years. Meanwhile 70 creative employees are working in
four different locations in Switzerland, from the idea development stage to its execution.
Their customer portfolio ranges from Swiss brands such as Dar Vida to internationally
renowned brands such as P&G, Coca-Cola or Nike. For this research, the interesting part
of their clientele is the great share of lifestyle brands such as Porsche, Axe, Heineken,
Mini, just to name a few. To recapitulate, a lifestyle brand within the context of this
research, is defined as a brand that connects people with a common point of view by
becoming part of their life and serves as a vehicle of self-expression. The experience and
expertise in developing a marketing campaigns for such brands can provide a valuable
insight into commonly used temporary marketing tools. The interview was personally
conducted with a consultant and project manager which has been with the company for
many years and also is the founder of another marketing agency.
Q1: Which marketing campaigns have been especially successful during the last
years?
MP2: Pepsi-Coke und Nike machen international wirklich spannende Sachen, wie
auch Apple. Im europäischen Raum gehören meines Erachtens Swisscom,
Graubünden Tourismus und Zalando zu den Firmen mit erfolgreichem Marketing.
Es stellt sich natürlich auch immer die Frage, wie Erfolg gemessen wird. Auch
kleinere Marken, die nicht wie Zalando oder Coke permanent in den Medien gesehen
werden, können durch kleine Werbungen und Samplings erfolgreich sein. Solche
Firmen machen teilweise wenig aber haben einen mega Return on Investment.
Einerseits braucht es das konzentrierte targeting, zum andern einen
Wiedererkennungswert, dass sich die Synapse im Kopf auch versetzt wenn man die
Marke sieht. Ein Brand muss qualitativ und quantitativ top sein, das gibt auch eine
gewisse Markenstärke. Ein anderes Beispiel ist Lego, die mit ihrem Film einen
riesigen Hype ausgelöst haben und sonst fast nichts machen, vorallem in der Schweiz
nicht. Die Konkurrenz ist da riesig und sie hatten einen rücklaufenden Markt, vor
allem auch weil Mädchen nie damit spielen konnten. Dann kam der Film, ein
storytelling, in dem Frauen auch eine gute Rolle gespielt haben und das hat die Leute
wieder animiert Legos zu kaufen. Es ist schon ziemlich spannend, welche Tools es
gibt. Ich glaube in der heutigen Welt gehört es auch dazu, immer wieder neue Wege
auszuprobieren. Viele die immer das gleiche machen, gehen wieder in diesen Pool
rein und das sieht man in den Verkaufszahlen. Es wird als 0815 angehsehen und nicht
als etwas, das herausragt.
Q3: What are the most important contextual preconditions for a successful
guerrilla marketing campaign?
MP2: Sicher Offenheit aufs Thema hin und ein genereller offener Geist für Sachen,
die man vorhin noch nicht gekannt hat. Vielleicht auch eine gewisse Neugierigkeit,
wo man sagt: hey das kenne ich noch gar nicht, das möchte ich kennenlernen. Auch
dieses Multikulti-Feeling, der Wille eine neue Kultur kennenzulernen, braucht es
bestimmt. Und auch Entertainment und Spass muss von den Leuten gewährleistet
sein. Sie müssen gerne entertained werden. Natürlich muss das Gezeigte immer
einen unterhaltsamen Effekt haben und nicht billig daherkommen, es soll qualitatives
Entertainment sein. Aber die Leute sollen es auch toll finden, wenn etwas gemacht
wird das unterhaltend ist und ein gutes Gefühl vermittelt. Das ist etwas, dass die
Gesellschaft mitbringen muss, damit es funktioniert.
Q4: What are context-factors that hinder guerrilla marketing from being
successful?
MP2: Gesellschaften mit konservativen Richtlinien. Auch ein falscher Stolz
beziehungsweise Völker, die niemals einen Witz über sich machen würden sind
keine optimale Grundlage, da funktioniert es nicht. Guerilla und auch andere
unterhaltsame Kampagnen funktionieren nur, wenn man auch über sich selber
lachen kann, wenn Unternehmen auch über sich selbst mal einen Scherz machen
können. Im Endeffekt ist ein falscher Stolz nie positiv.
Q5: How does the popularity of guerrilla marketing (in Switzerland) vary with the
company size?
MP2: In der Schweiz gesehen, sind es bis vor ein paar Jahren, vor allem Grosse
gewesen, wie beispielsweise Migros. Für Migros haben wir sehr viele Guerilla
Aktionen gemacht. Irgendwann ist dann der Cut gekommen, und Migros, als
Beispiel, musste aufpassen, weil sie halt als Genossenschaft daherkommen. Als
fundierte Unternehmung, die jetzt gerade der Generation M auch etwas zurückgeben
will und möchten sozusagen den Werbefranken, meines Erachtens, sehr konservativ
einsetzen. Vielleicht nicht konservativ, aber sehr bedacht, sorry, sie wollen überhaupt
keine negativen Schlagzeilen erzeugen und einen Shitstorm auf das vehementeste
vermeiden. Man merkt, dass gerade solche Unternehmen heutzutage faked Guerilla
Aktionen machen. Der, der nicht aus der Werbung kommt, weiss aber nicht, dass es
faked ist. Vielleicht hast du die Werbung von Graubünden Tourismus auch gesehen,
mit dem Alp-Öpi der live in einem TV auf einer Alp hockt, und Leute zu ihm
raufgeschickt wurden. Alle Leute die auf die Alp gingen, waren Schauspieler. Alle
rundherum haben gedacht: voll cool. Es war auch eine gute Aktion als solches, aber
die Leute die dort mitmachten waren Schauspieler und es war inszeniert.
Wir haben vor kurzem auch eine Toilettenwerbung für die Pille danach gemacht und
die ist dann guerillamässig gestreut worden, obwohl es eigentlich ein klassischer
Ambient Media Kanal ist. Wir haben auf die Pille in Clubs aufmerksam gemacht,
weil wir gewusst haben, dass wir die Girls dort nochmals ein wenig sensibilisieren
müssen. Eine Journalistin hat es gesehen, redaktionell in die Zeitung aufgenommen
und wir sind auf die Titelsite und die dritte Seite gekommen. Auch das ist eigentlich
Guerilla, etwas Extravagantes das so aufgefasst worden ist und verbreitet wurde, die
Kampagne ging bis nach Deutschland. Zurück zum Thema, viel grössere
Unternehmen stellen etwas wie inszeniertes Guerilla Marketing dar. Die Kleinen
wagen eher etwas und es ist auch okay wenn sie mal eine Busse bekommen. Ich
glaube, die können besser damit umgehen. Bei den Grösseren kann dann doch der
Imageschaden relativ hoch sein. Es ist ein Trend zu den Kleineren, zu der neuen
Generation die aus diesem “Hipstertum“ rauskommen. Sie wollen anders sein und
sind stolz anders zu sein und wollen sich auch so darstellen. Das ist eher bei den
KMU’s anzusiedeln, bei den Grossen soll es Guerilla sein aber es ist eher wie ein
Drehbuch. Man weiss genau, was, wann, wie, wo kommt.
Q6: How much potential does Switzerland offer in terms of guerrilla marketing
(different regional potentials)?
MP2: Von der Bevölkerung her eigentlich schon. In der Stadt hast du mehr
Befürworter als auf dem Land, das ein sehr traditionelles Denken hat. Ich denke, der
Schweizer ist zum Amerikaner sehr ähnlich, wenn man die Städte vergleicht. Zum
Beispiel in Bern kann man Sachen einfach machen, braucht nicht einmal eine
Bewilligung und die Leute haben Spass daran, wie auch in New York. In Zürich
hingegen, wirst du gerade angezeigt. Wir haben da zwar viel gemacht, aber haben
auch schon viel Bussen kassiert (lacht). Es ist je nach Stadt anders, Zürich und Basel
ist sehr streng, Luzern eher easy-going solange es unterhaltsam ist und Bern sowieso
ist sehr liberal, da kannst du Promotionen in der Nähe des Bundesplatzes machen und
brauchst für drei Leute nicht einmal eine Bewilligung. Auf dem Land, sind sie noch
ein wenig konservativer und sagen schnell: das ist ein Seich. Wir haben gerade eine
Aktion gemacht, bei der wir einen SZU-Waggon, der zu einem Wildnispark beim
Sihlwald fährt, mit Bäumen und Tieren eingekleidet haben. Es ist explizit der Wald,
in dem du nachher auch bist. Die Leute, welche dort arbeiten, halt eher “Büetzer“,
haben das nicht toll gefunden und als Marketinggag abgestempelt. Dabei war die
Aktion auch für sie, wir wollen ja auch, dass die Leute ihren Zug nutzen, dass es am
Schluss auch wieder rentiert und sie ihre Jobs haben. Aber ich glaube, die sehen
manchmal gar nicht wieso man gewisse Sachen macht. Dementsprechend, glaube
ich, sind sie auch im Alltag unterwegs. Eher mal nein sagen, anstatt ja. Ich glaube
diese Unterschiede gibt es schon zwischen den Regionalitäten (Stadt/Land).
Q7: How would you characterize the Swiss culture (compared to the American
culture)?
MP2: Ich finde der Amerikaner hat manchmal ziemlich viele Ähnlichkeiten mit dem
Schweizer. Wir haben beide einen gewissen Stolz, auch wenn er dort (in Amerika)
ein wenig mehr zelebriert wird. Je nach Region in der Schweiz ist es aber schon auch
unterschiedlich, ich merke schon, dass die Deutschschweizer in gewissen Ansätzen
und Korporationen oftmals offener sind als Westschweizer. Die Tessiner sind auch
mega offen, das ist auch das Schöne an den Italienern, alles ist cool und alles ist
machbar. Da merkt man schon Unterschiede. Ich glaube, es steckt auch ein bisschen
ein Generationenkonflikt dahinter. Die Jüngeren finden schnell etwas cool.
Der Inhalt ist doch auch sehr entscheidend, ob eine Guerilla Aktion gut ankommt
oder nicht. Es gibt sicher Themen, die über Generationen hinweg gut ankommen,
und die eine Mehrheit gut findet. Aber Guerilla ist schon etwas, das auf die Jungen
fixiert ist und diese erreichen soll. Der 40-jährige ist in seinem Leben angekommen,
also die Meisten, hat seine Schiene mittlerweile und findet somit nicht mehr jeden
Gag lustig. Die Jungen wollen eher ausbrechen und etwas cooles, spannendes. Das
merkt man auch mit diesen ganzen Foodfestivals und dem ganzen anders sein, das
kommt bei uns immer mehr. Wie ich es interpretiere, von der Zielgruppendefinierung
die man erreichen will mit solchen Aktionen, ist man schon eher aufs Alter und Städte
fokussiert, da Städter eher weltoffener sind. Ob das Genf, Lausanne oder Zürich ist,
kommt nicht so darauf an, meistens sind unsere Briefings auch so darauf angesetzt.
Die Kernzielgruppe, mit welchen man zusammenarbeiten und spielen will, ist in
Sachen Alter zwischen 15-25 oder mittlerweile 30 Jahren. Sie sollen auch in den
sozialen Medien die Informationen viral über sich streuen. Da kommen auch Medien
wie Watson ins Spiel, die eher ein solches Klientel haben, als eine Sonntagszeitung.
Ich denke schon, dass es ein Generationen-Ding ist.
Q9: From 1-10, how would you rate Swiss and American: (Please indicate if there
are regional differences)
• Attitude toward the unexpected
MP2: Sagen wir mal der Amerikaner ist bei 8-9. Dieses Celebrating-Ding ist schon
etwas, dass er gerne hat. Bei Events, wie bei den US Open, wenn die Kamera
unerwartet auf sie kommt, gehen sie voll ab. Ich glaube, das haben sie schon gerne.
Der Schweizer findet es schon auch cool, aber er ist ein wenig bedeckter. Er hat
vielleicht eher eine innere Freude, aber das äusserliche zeigen fehlt ein wenig.
Sagen wir mal so 6. Das merken wir auch, wenn wir mit der Kamera unterwegs sind
und Emotionen, wenn sie etwas sehen, filmen. Sie schauen schon, aber sind nicht
so begeistert wie ein Amerikaner, der schnell mal rumschreit. Bei uns ist es eher so:
es ist cool, danke, ciao. Aber ich glaube schon, vor allem die Städter, finden es
schon cool.
• Openness toward the new
MP2: Der Amerikaner hat gewisse Themen, gegenüber welchen er überhaupt nicht
offen ist, denke ich mal. Ich war auch schon einige Male in Amerika und sie haben
halt schon einige Sachen wo sie ziemlich konservativ sind. Gerade bei
Waffengesetzen und so, sogar die Jungen, Studierten. Da glaube ich, ist der
Schweizer ein bisschen weltoffener. Da kann man besser über Sachen diskutierten
und man hört anderen lieber zu. Der Amerikaner hat seine Meinung und that is it,
empfinde ich so. Ich würde dem Schweizer eine 8-9 geben, der Amerikaner ist eher
so bei 5. Aber kommt ganz auf das Thema darauf an.
• Willingness to share information
MP2: Der Amerikaner macht das mehr als wir. Ich folge auch gewissen Start-ups
auf Instagram und die haben fast keine Klicks. Sie versuchen es schon auch, aber
die Bereitschaft Sachen zu sharen ist bei den Amerikanern schon höher. Er ist schon
entertainmentgeil und attraktionsgetrieben, wir finden Sachen vielleicht auch eher
für uns selber cool. Ich habe es zwar gesehen und finde es lässig, aber die
Bemühungen dies noch weiter zu sharen nehme ich beim Amerikaner stärker wahr,
als bei uns. Da denke ich, ist sogar der Deutsche noch näher am Amerikaner. Ich
würde sagen 7-8 beim Amerikaner und 5-6 beim Schweizer. Nein, geben wir eine
4-5 beim Schweizer (lacht).
• Is there another element that you would consider as important that
influences guerrilla marketing?
MP2: Tagesaktualität, was am Tag passiert ist, ist sicher auch mitentscheidend ob
eine Kampagne überhaupt aufgenommen wird. Wenn wir eine Guerilla Aktion
machen, haben wir auch unsere Reporter unterwegs, die Bilder machen und diese
dann an die Medien schicken. Das Ziel ist, dass so viel Leute wie möglich
kommunizieren und dies den Medien zuspielen, aber man kann es nie garantieren.
So plant man halt in diese Richtung und hat ein Team von fünf verschiedenen
Leuten, die den Inhalt zu unterschiedlichen Zeiten den Medien zukommen lassen,
sodass die Medien sehen, dass etwas läuft. Wenn du jetzt aber einen Tag erwischst,
an dem ein Krieg losgeht, hast du no chance. Dann ist es halt wieder überhaupt
nicht wichtig. Man muss das Ganze auch wieder ein bisschen relativieren, es ist
cool und lässig aber vom Weltgeschehen her nichts Spannendes. Es gibt natürlich
viele Faktoren, welche eine Rolle spielen, so auch das Produkt an und für sich. Wie
wird es schon vorher von der Gesellschaft wahrgenommen? Welchen Stellenwert
hat das Produkt, welches guerillamässig präsentiert wird bei der Gesellschaft? Zum
Beispiel dieses Ricardolino, welches später OLX hiess, hatte null Stellenwert. Der
Namenswechsel hat nicht verhindert, dass es nach einem halben Jahr oder Jahr
gecancelled wurde.
Bei Guerilla Marketing ist es häufig so, dass in dem Moment, in dem du die Aktion
umsetzt, nicht viele Leute die Aktion mitbekommen. Am Schluss ist es wichtig,
dass du es viral weitertragen kannst, ob über die Medien oder Facebook. Es ist auch
wichtig, dass du es mit andern Kampagnen koppeln kannst, es gehört zum gesamten
Tool-Mix. Ich empfehle auch immer, wenn man Guerilla macht, dass es nicht
eigenständig gemacht wird, das ist viel zu wenig. Du musst es weitertragen können.
Gerade heutzutage, wo du die ganze Zeit so viele impressions, eine riesige
Reizüberflutung, hast. Wir leben heute in einer Tradition von Werbung, wo man
schon auch merkt, dass man auf den Werbefranken oder auf das Produkt viel mehr
investieren muss, damit man am Schluss auch wieder rauskommt. Der Streuverlust
ist riesig, weil wir irgendwann auch sagen: ich mag nicht mehr, ich kann nicht mehr
aufnehmen. Das Überraschungsmoment, in dem Moment wo es die Leute sehen,
muss sicher Bombe sein. Ich merke auch immer wieder, der Inhalt ist sehr
entscheidend. Was kommuniziert wird, wie es kommuniziert wird, es soll nicht
langweilig daherkommen und muss einen gewissen impact haben. Man will auch
eine gewisse Nachhaltigkeit schaffen, dass jemand der eine solche Aktion gesehen
hat, auch zum Kaufen animiert wird. Das ist sicher auch sehr entscheidend. Guerilla
geht schon mehr in Richtung awareness und Image durch die Darstellung von
etwas, wie zum Beispiel diese riesigen Nike Bälle in den Wänden oder die Bänke
bei denen sie die Sitzflächen weggenommen haben. Dabei geht es um ein Statement
der Marke und nicht darum, den Verkauf mega zu puschen. Es ist mehr um eine
Erinnerung im Gehirn zu setzen und sagen: für das stehe ich als Brand. Du kannst
nie die Masse erreichen, die sagt: jetzt gehe ich wirklich kaufen. Es geht eher in die
Imagepflege.
Q10: What distinguishes the Swiss culture in terms of attitude toward marketing
(e.g. from the American culture)?
MP2: Wenn du den Inhalt betrachtest, liebt der Amerikaner die Werbung schon
mehr. Ich glaube auch der Amerikaner, ich meine im amerikanischen TV-
Programm gibt es alle fünf Minuten Werbung, zelebriert Werbung mehr. Sie haben
auch Brands sehr, sehr gerne und machen sich ein Spektakel daraus. Wenn man
zum Beispiel die Werbung beim Football, Super Bowl nimmt, ist das ein riesiges
Highlight, im Gegensatz zu uns, wo es als störend empfunden wird. Die TV Boxen
von Swisscom und Co. gehen weg wie warme Semmel weil die Leute einfach keine
Werbung mehr sehen wollen. Ich gebe ihnen aber auch recht, unsere Werbung ist
nicht unterhaltsam. In Amerika hat man wieder dieses Entertainment-Ding und
surprise, so wird teilweise ein ganz klassischer Spot zum Highlight. Wir haben auch
Statuten und Gesetzgebungen, die das einschränken und so können wir bei dem
Ganzen nicht ein wenig ausflippen. Da kann man oftmals fast gar nichts machen,
was ein bisschen schade ist. Auch auf Grund dieser Überreglementierung, wird
Werbung oftmals auch schon fast als störend angesiedelt. Auch Werbeanrufe und
Hausbesuche sind bei uns schon fast verpönt, in Amerika funktioniert das noch
besser. Generell denke ich sind sie offener gegenüber Werbung und wollen zuerst
mal hinhören, vielleicht ist es ja etwas das ihnen passt. Bei uns ist es zuerst mal ein
nein und du musst versuchen über die Hintertür mit den Leuten darüber zu sprechen
und an sie ranzukommen, was es relativ schwierig macht.
Der Schweizer ist auch sehr markentreu im Gegensatz zum Amerikaner. Der
Amerikaner probiert gerne mal aus, der Schweizer ist entweder ein Migroskind oder
ein Coopkind, man entscheidet sich schon so früh was man ist. Aber ich glaube, da
ist auch wieder ein Generationenwechsel. Die Jungen möchten auch gerne
ausprobieren. Das merkt man bei der Generation 16-20, die einfach mal das
Sortiment durchprobieren wollen. Vielleicht sind wir Schweizer auch schneller im
uns finden und definieren uns als Volkswagen- oder Daccia-Fahrer. Bei den
Amerikanern ist es immer ein Wandel, von GM zu VW und wieder zurück, viel
schneller als bei uns. In der Schweiz ist es auch sehr schwierig, jemanden von einem
Brand abzuwerben. Man muss viel machen, ihn umwerben und schon fast heiraten
damit man ihn bekommt. Man muss viel machen, dass er sich auf dieses Abenteuer
einlässt und dann muss man rocken. Wenn du dann nicht rockst, hast du sowieso
verloren. Da merkt man schon ein bisschen die Markentreue. Auch die top zehn der
treusten Brands der Schweiz sind immer die gleichen, sie wechseln nur die
Positionen.
Q12: From 1-10, how would you rate the potential for success in Switzerland for
the following four examples:
• Ambush marketing
MP2: (...) Ich habe mir mal eine 5-6 aufgeschrieben. Es kommt sicherlich immer
auch auf die Welt drauf an, aber es geht häufig ein wenig in diese Me-too-Produkte
rein. Wir machen das gleiche einfach unter einem anderen Namen, das läuft häufig
gut. Für mich geht es ein bisschen in diese Richtung, natürlich ohne den Kontext,
dass ein Event im Vordergrund steht. Ich könnte mir schon vorstellen, dass es nicht
schlecht läuft. An der WM oder EM haben wir für Schützengarten, als Carlsberg
Nr. 1 war, bei den Public Viewings ein bisschen mitgehyped und das funktionierte
nicht schlecht, was mich überraschte. Bei speziellen Kampagnen ist es natürlich
immer wichtig, dass es schnell verstanden wird. Man muss es sehen und gerade
drauskommen. Aber ich glaube, in der Schweiz wurde Ambush Marketing noch nie
so stark dargestellt.
• Ambient marketing
MP2: Beim Ambient Marketing ist man sehr konzentriert und beim Sensation
Marketing ist man schon etwas breiter und versucht etwas zu schaffen. Hier
(Ambient Marketing) liegt der Fokus qualitativ wirklich bei der Zielgruppe,
Ambient ist sehr, sehr nahe. Ich kenne die Umsetzung vor allem von unseren
Buchungen und die sind in den letzten Jahren wieder sehr angestiegen. Das hat auch
mit dem Erfolg zu tun, viele nehmen es jedes Jahr wieder in ihr Portfolio von ihren
Werbekampagnen. Sagen wir mal 7 bis 8, 9. Aber auch hier ist der Inhalt sehr
entscheidend. Man kann einen TV-Spot machen, der wie eine Bombe einschlägt,
oder Plakate, wie Ali Hebab, welche polarisieren, aber auch solche die keiner cool
findet. Ambient Marketing ist schon etwas, dass von nationalen und internationalen
Unternehmen oft gebraucht wird, also so um eine 8 herum. Die Botschaft muss
kurz, knackig und prägnant sein, soll kein wischiwaschi enthalten. Alles andere ist
Verwässerung von der Botschaft. Auch mit der Wortwahl soll man sich abheben.
Zuerst soll man sich aber überlegen, was will man kommunizieren und nicht einfach
tausend Sachen auf das Plakat klatschen. Damit überfordert man die Leute völlig.
• Sensation marketing
MP2: Das ist cool. Ich würde es ähnlich wie Ambient bewerten, geht aber ein
bisschen mehr Richtung Guerilla im klassischen Sinn. Man kann, für die Art und
Weise wie es weiterverbreitet wird, natürlich auch bestehende Kanäle nutzen. Ich
finde, um Aufmerksamkeit zu generieren, ist es ein super Tool. Die Leute, die im
Umfeld einer solchen Aktion sind, sind gerade Feuer und Flamme wenn der Inhalt
auch stimmt. Wie bei unserem Peugeot Beispiel, als wir Schlüssel in Eisblöcke
eingefroren haben, waren die Leute so fasziniert, dass sie sich diese halbe Stunde
Zeit genommen haben und sogar Werkzeug kaufen gingen. Die Interaktion mit
Konsumenten ist wichtig.
• Viral marketing
MP2: Die Chance auf Erfolg würde ich auch mit 8 bewerten. Die Gewichtigkeit
der Botschaft ist sicher auch entscheidend bei solchen Aktionen. Sagen wir mal, bei
uns ist die Challenge, dass wir drei Sprachen haben. So etwas hier aufzugleisen ist
immer viel teurer, als wenn man es von Deutschland oder Amerika aus plant. Weil
den Deutschen interessiert es nicht gross, was in der Schweiz passiert, sage ich
einmal. Die Schweiz ist einfach zu klein und solche Sachen leben von wo sie
kommen. Auch Amerika ist viel grösser und der Drang es zu vermitteln ist auch
grösser. Auch Snapchat und all diese Apps kommen von dort, auch wenn von uns
oftmals die Technologie kommt. Ich glaube, wir können das auch aber es ist einfach
ein bisschen schwieriger, weil wir auf viel mehr Sachen schauen. Oftmals glaube
ich auch, machen wir uns viel zu viele Gedanken. Wie bei unserer Guerilla Aktion
mit der Pille danach, die Journalistin, welche das nachher aufgefasst hat, hatte das
Gefühl, wir wollen die Frauen dazu animieren die Pille zu nehmen. Das stimmte
aber gar nicht, es war eine Aufklärungskampagne. Weil die Journalistin das so
kommuniziert hat, gab es auch kein Zündfeuer und man konnte über das Thema
nicht diskutieren. Ein guter Journalist, der das Thema dementsprechend hyped ist
hier sehr wichtig. Das Thema muss einfach auch ein bisschen polarisieren, damit es
funktioniert, was bei uns seltener ist.
Wie gesagt, vieles ist sehr inhaltsabhängig, was ist die Botschaft und wie wird sie
vermittelt? Manchmal sollte man auch einfach weniger Ängste haben und einfach
mal machen. Natürlich sollten dadurch keine Gruppierungen angegriffen werden,
aber das ist normaler Menschenverstand. Sonst feel free, die Hauptsache ist, dass
du die Leute positiv unterhalten tust. Im Vergleich zu Amerika, sind wir aber
vielleicht einfach auch zu klein und denken schnell, dass es sowieso niemanden
interessiert, wenn wir etwas machen. Dieses kleinere Denken, so ist die Schweiz
schon immer ein wenig gewesen, die Insel in Europa die mehr auch für sich ist. Der
Amerikaner prahlt schon mehr und zeigt was er hat. In der Werbung muss das halt
auch so sein, da sind wir wieder zu scheu in unserem überregulierten Land.
auch permanent Marktanteil. Nestlé hat es jetzt schwierig, weil sie als eine solche
Unternehmung angeschaut werden.
Q15: In your opinion, what are crucial skills a company has to possess for
successful guerrilla marketing?
MP2: Ich denke sicher, es braucht Mut um anders zu sein. Man sollte auch keinen
falschen Stolz für diesen fun factor haben. Man muss seinen eigenen Brand lieben.
Wenn du deinen Brand nicht liebst, wie sollen ihn die anderen lieben? Es ist schon
fast wie bei sich selber, wenn man sich selber nicht gerne hat, wie sollen einen
andere gerne haben? Ich glaube, diese Zelebrieren merkt man vor allem bei der
neuen Generation, welche am kommen ist mit diesem “Hipstertum“. Der Burger ist
nicht mehr nur ein Burger, jetzt kommt er mit Avocado und allem und wir zelebriert
und die Leute lieben es, weil du es eben auch liebst und es liebevoll darstellst. Ich
glaube, diese Skills waren immer in uns, wir haben sie einfach vergessen in der
Gier. Gier macht viel kaputt. Gerade auch am Anfang bei Unternehmungen, die
sagen, ich will nur noch Profit. Unternehmen, die Liebe zum Detail und Produkt
gezielt einsetzten, werden längerfristig auch davon profitieren. Grössere
Unternehmen wie P&G müssen viel mehr machen, um wieder dahin zu kommen,
wo sie mal waren. Die müssen Millionen reinstreuen, damit es funktioniert. In
Deutschland gibt es eine Burgerbude, die nur Facebook Werbung macht, aber
extrem erfolgreich ist und jetzt eine Kette eröffnet. Er hat einfach gesagt, mein
Burger ist mein Baby und wird dementsprechend zelebriert. Seine Bilder sind sehr
stark und authentisch. Ich glaube, authentisch muss man auch sein. Diese
Marketingskills sind learning by doing, wenn mal man beginnt weiss man schnell
welche Möglichkeiten es auf dem Markt gibt. Man muss sich in diesem Markt auch
immer wieder selber neu erfinden und sich selber neu definieren. Man soll es mal
so machen aber dann auch wieder ganz anders. Man soll sich innerhalb des Kanales
neu erfinden, wie Calanda, die ein Plakat inwendig mit Kühlelementen bestückt
haben, damit das Plakat einfror. Man soll in seinem Kanal rocken und etwas Neues
machen. Das geht auch wieder in die Richtung den Mut und Willen zu haben, anders
zu sein. Mit diesen zwei Elementen, kann man sehr erfolgreiche Kampagnen
starten.
Q16: Where do you see the limits in the application of guerrilla marketing?
MP2: Im Endeffekt darf niemand beleidigt werden. Ich finde es auch nicht
schlimm, wenn man den Fussgängerstreifen bemalt, wie die FDP bei den Wahlen
in Bern, solange niemand verletzt wird. Die FDP kam dann auch im 20 Minuten
und bekam eine kleine Busse. Aber ich finde das super, es soll einfach unterhaltsam
sein und glücklich machen. Beleidigungen hingegen hat niemand gerne und bringen
einem auch nichts. Schlussendlich sind wir ein Team auf dieser Welt und es wäre
schade, wenn Marken dazu aufrufen, sich gegenseitig zu “dissen“. Eher sollte man
unsere multikulturelle Welt fördern.
Q17: If you had a lifestyle brand here in Switzerland and you want to launch a
guerrilla marketing campaign, which tools would you use and what are the
most important factors you would consider?
MP2: Sicher der Faktor, dass du von den Tagesmedien aufgenommen wirst. Dass
du etwas entwickelst, wo es wert ist, darüber zu berichten, auch nachhaltig. Auf der
einen Seite hat man die Aktion, welche cool, lässig ist und so noch nie gesehen
wurde; und auf der anderen Seite muss man versuchen eine gewisse Nachhaltigkeit
in dieser Guerilla Aktion zu sehen. Die Medien sollen einen Bericht über die Aktion
machen und die Menschen dahinter kennenlernen wollen. Sie sollen sich fragen,
was ist das für eine Firma die dahintersteckt? Auf Grund von Analysen der
Zielgruppe und den Geschehnissen, kann man etwas in diese Richtung entwickeln
und das Potenzial ausschöpfen. Klar, kann man es aber niemals garantieren. Bei uns
ist es auch wichtig, dass man mit gewissen Influencern zusammenarbeitet, gerade
im Bereich Social Media, wo wir nicht so starke Gruppen haben. Wenn ein Roger
Federer etwas postet, sind wieder alle begeistert. Er ist ein starker Charakter, der
viel Vertrauen ausspricht und die Leute haben ihn gerne. Vielleicht kann man etwas
in diese Richtung integrieren. Sunrise hat ihren Turnaround sicher auch wegen
Roger Federer geschafft, was Salt nicht geschafft hat, obwohl sie noch mehr in
Werbung investiert haben. Sie haben recht viele Kunden eingebüsst, klar geht man
bei einem Rebranding auch davon aus. Aber Sunrise hat sich mit Federer ein
Gesicht gegeben und mit bekannten Gesichtern kann man viel rausholen. Influencer
darf man sicher nicht unterschätzen.
Aber bei uns, wenn die Tagesmedien darauf aufmerksam werden, bringt es schon
recht viel. Man hat einen enormen traffic auf 20 Minuten oder Blick und somit hat
man schon mal zwei Plattformen, die einen mega puschen können. Optimalerweise
hast du dann noch ein paar Influencer auf sozialen Medien. In der Schweiz bist du
schnell am Peak angelangt, aber das ist auch egal, man will auch nur die Schweiz
erreichen. Natürlich ist es cool, wenn die Kampagne bis nach Kambodscha oder so
geht, aber schlussendlich soll der Schweizer Markt kaufen, alles andere ist einfach
nice to have und nicht relevant für dich.
Eine Guerilla Marketing Aktion ist häufig ein Auslöser für kommende
Interaktionen von Werbemedien. Viele Aktionen werden durch andere Kanäle
weitergeleitet, wie Plakate, Flyer, Inserate, Online Pages und so weiter. So versucht
man den Wiedererkennungswert mitzunehmen.
The current CEO of a Swiss premium service platform has extensive experience in the
area of marketing and sales. He had been working for several companies in the
corresponding department, before starting at Nike in a sales position. He then internally
changed to product marketing and was involved in many campaigns, some of them in the
field of guerrilla marketing. He left Nike to found an own business in the Swiss luxury
industry where he could successfully establish himself. He not only is an expert in
marketing but also in the area of lifestyle, because he made it to his everyday business.
Q1: Which marketing campaigns have been especially successful during the last
years?
MP3: That is a tough one. I think the campaign that impressed me the most is
probably one form Nike in which we were also involved in. Because it was so new
at that time. It was the campaign with the Brazilian soccer players at the airport, I
really loved that one. It depends on how you measure success but it was probably
one of the most successful campaigns of Nike because it changed the way the people
looked at football. Before it was a sport and then it became a lifestyle. (…)
Everything was there and you had it viral at that time, people talked about it, you had
some music that became trendy afterwards, so there are all kinds of elements that
were embraced in that campaign. It changed the way people were looking at the sport.
Before it was big, hardcore guys playing soccer and the campaign brought something
entirely new to it, it was delight, the fun factor, it was the game again.
Q3: What are the most important contextual preconditions for a successful
guerrilla marketing campaign?
MP3: Again, it depends on how we define success: is it awareness, is it sales, is it
brand value, I do not know. I give you an example of a campaign we did at Nike.
Whether it is a success or not you might want to judge but it was very unconventional.
Nike tried to buy themselves into Bayern Munich with lots of money, ten times more
than Adidas was able and willing to pay. The head of Adidas at that time was good
friends with Franz Beckenbauer, the former president, and they made kind of a
gentleman’s agreement that Nike would not be able to buy into Bayern, although they
were willing to pay a lot more. At Nike, we decided to bomb them with guerrilla
marketing. Nike Germany owned a Hummer, this big car, which they were using for
events. We painted it yellow with a big black swoosh on the side. About three or four
hours before the match Bayern against Dortmund in the Munich arena, we drove the
car to the front of the main entrance and we said we had to deliver products for the
game. They did not allow us to drive inside and said we have to leave. While we were
talking to the security people, we took out the Zündkerzen (engl. spark plugs) of the
car, so that it would not start. Because it is so big and so heavy you cannot easily tow
it away. So, we had this huge car just in front of the main entrance where everybody
had to walk by and it got picked up by the media.
Now, back to your question, is there a cultural link to this? Would that be accepted
in Switzerland or was it in Germany? No, it was not. But somehow the nature of
guerrilla marketing is to crash these boundaries, even on purpose. I think to the
question of your work, if there is a cultural context: yes of course there is but it
depends on your goal. Maybe if you are a kickass company like Nike used to be, you
do not have to care. The aim of guerrilla marketing can just be to crash this cultural
context. I mean if the private bank UBS for instance that goes after trust, which is
even represented in their key symbol, went for such a campaign, it would not be in
line with their values. I would say depending on what the value of your brand is, you
need to attach this into the guerrilla campaign that you are focusing on.
Q4: What are context-factors that hinder guerrilla marketing from being
successful?
Refer to the answer of Q3
Q5: How does the popularity of guerrilla marketing (in Switzerland) vary with the
company size?
MP3: Apple is a big company and I would give Apple a guerrilla marketing
campaign. Because they are about invention, about rule-breaking, about individuals,
so why not. I would not give that a private bank or an insurance company. Since they
are dependent on the trust of people, they need to be in line with cultural expectations.
Them being rule breakers would not fit. In their guerrilla marketing campaigns, they
could still do unusual things but it would need to be in the context of their brand
values. I think large brands have higher expectations of their brand value. So, there
might be a link (between size and guerrilla marketing) but I would not say that is the
defining point of a guerrilla marketing campaign.
Q6: How much potential does Switzerland offer in terms of guerrilla marketing
(different regional potentials)?
Refer to the answer of Q3
Q7: How would you characterize the Swiss culture (compared to the American
culture)?
MP3: I do not know too much about Americans. But the normal Swiss person does
not exist, but the expectation of a normal Swiss person would be something that we
see in a Ricola advertisement. A kind of understatement, not very extravagant,
reliable, on time, clean – I think these are the values that you are playing with.
Q9: From 1-10, how would you rate Swiss and American: (Please indicate if there
are regional differences)
• Attitude toward the unexpected
MP3: 2 (Switzerland).
• Openness toward the new
MP3: 3 (Switzerland).
• Willingness to share information
MP3: Rural regions are sharing with a small group only; so, they are very unlikely
to share. Cities are more open to share. 2 for rural, 7 for cities across all ages
(Switzerland).
• Is there another element that you would consider as important that
influences guerrilla marketing?
MP3: Personally, I think that the key to success, at least of the viral campaigns or
guerrilla campaigns that I know for being successful, is to draw attention. With the
10’000 influences that you have every day, this one has to stick out by far. To an
extent that I feel it is worth to share at one point. (…) Somehow, unconventional
hits it. Surprising, unexpected, shocking to a certain extent can all be summarized
in unconventional. What I really like on the other side is the tradition of the 1 st of
April in Switzerland. The newspapers come up with these April jokes, which is to
a certain extent also comparable to guerrilla marketing. They always have things
that seem to be true. I think this could be a quality of guerrilla marketing as well if
you are looking for another dimension. Is it true or is it not? I got hung up ones. In
Rüschlikon, we have this wonderful Badi. Everyone in my village loves it. At one
point, it was written in the newspaper that they were going to take it down and build
a ferry station. We were sharing this like hell and we were talking together a lot.
So, another dimension could be, is that true or false? And another one, am I
connected to that?
Q10: What distinguishes the Swiss culture in terms of attitude toward marketing
(e.g. from the American culture)?
MP3: (…) It is tough to say. But I would say it is annoying, who likes advertising?
Q11: Which marketing instruments are commonly used by companies in
Switzerland/US to brand themselves?
MP3: (unsure how to answer) We are only online. We are obnoxious. This is
because we are building a brand. When you visit our website, you might end up
being chased by us for three or four weeks. We place banners everywhere you go
on the internet. Personally, we try to hammer our brand into your mind and we are
focusing on that. We do not want to be nice, we just want you to remember us. For
us, it is super good, because we are not a well-known brand. It is different for Apple
or for IWC. But we are not known, so we go to Google and say chase this guy.
Google will show adverts all the time and it does not cost us anything, only when
they click. We have, I would say a good ten more touchpoints with you. For us it is
an important tool. Unconsciously, you may have this stored somewhere and the
next touching point of with our brand might be the success. We are looking for
touchpoints all the time.
Q12: From 1-10, how would you rate the potential for success in Switzerland for
the following four examples:
• Ambush marketing
MP3: I mean that is basically a sort of product placement. Especially, in the context
of sports, this has one of the highest values. You can weaken a sponsor, just as we
did (Nike Hummer example). I would say, 9-10, very high.
• Ambient marketing
MP3: (really excited) That is super, it is so unexpected. I could see something like
the coffee stuff for us in combination with wellness holidays. I also would rate this
high, it is really cool.
• Sensation marketing
MP3: Here again, you see this is rule-breaking. This might be one of the success
factors of a good campaign; breaking the rules. Maybe for your work you can
analyze this a bit deeper, whether someone who has an image as a rule breaker,
such as Mini, has more successful guerrilla marketing campaigns than companies
that do not have this kickass value in their brand value.
• Viral marketing
MP3: Same here, it is a big surprise, it is totally unexpected, it is fun and it is
positive. You should look into different ways of measuring success of a guerrilla
campaign. I personally would be interested in that as well, because I know for
instance, one of the most successful beer commercials is the one of Kronbacher,
which is just a commercial of this lake and a forest. It is super boring and all they
say is: pure nature, pure beer, or something like that. It is more or less always the
same, no big changes over the years. Whereas Heineken does many funny things
every year. However, they (Kronbacher) have the best sales figures. Now, is it the
beer? I do not know. But I have read that a lot of beer consumers love this advert,
although it is not spectacular and boring but sales figures are really good on that
one. Because people might just look for purity and calmness and associate this with
the beer. Maybe it is also the sales point, I have no idea. This is difficult to measure
anyway.
gums, something I would consider as fast consumer good. I buy these that are good
for the teeth so there is a lifestyle approach in it because I want to live healthy.
Q15: In your opinion, what are crucial skills a company has to possess for
successful guerrilla marketing?
MP3: First, you need to be aware of your values. Then you need to think about how
can I incorporate these values into a campaign, yet still being somehow creative.
Creativity is the key. Then, as we defined, it needs to be surprising. Again, the key
element is a mix between understanding the own brand values and being surprising
without hurting the brand values.
Q16: Where do you see the limits in the application of guerrilla marketing?
MP3: The limit is the brand value. One of our clients is the CEO of a big watch
company from the Richmond Group. He always says: the only thing that matters to
me is the brand value. As a watch maker, I am selling just the brand value, the watch
itself is useless. We are actually doing a campaign now with IWC and we will bring
them into our book in some sort of guerrilla marketing, but only with design
elements. You will not see IWC but you will recognize them. They are tying into
our brand, they like the premium aspect and the Swissness.
Q17: If you had a lifestyle brand here in Switzerland and you want to launch a
guerrilla marketing campaign, which tools would you use and what are the
most important factors you would consider?
MP3: We do not to guerrilla campaigns as such. What we are doing is that
whenever we have something that is culturally on the edge in Switzerland and I
have enough resources to spot it, we will launch a small campaign, mostly PR-
driven. For instance, when we had the Burkaverbot in Tessin we launched a
campaign for Halal-tourism. We knew it was in the media and that it was going to
be picked up and that drew attention to us. All of a sudden I was in SRF1 and 10
vor 10. Or one or two Christmas ago, the Sheik of Qatar broke his hip and they flew
in at night. They breached the Nachtflugverbot. They came in with two big
Boeing’s, landed at night and had an emergency surgery. Everybody was like: why
can the Sheik breach this Verbot? And that is what we do. Whenever there are social
discussions in the society it is a value-breaking thing. In Switzerland, you are not
supposed to be extravagant or make exceptions, everybody should somehow be the
same. But the Sheik flew in and did not care about the rules and Switzerland allowed
him to. There was some energy in the discussion and this is where we tap in.
Because we do not have enough resources to do big things, apart from the
interesting things that you showed which are really cool. We really do the approach
that whenever we feel something energetic, like when Trump was putting the
Muslim ban for the first time, we tap in. This is what we do for guerrilla marketing,
whenever we spot this cultural discussion, we tap in with something unexpected.
It can happen that a negative buzz is created but that is something that you just have
to take. I am pretty often in the media because some media people have me as an
expert for health or Muslim things. One thing was about health tourism and I made
an interview for Tagesanzeiger. Our business is kind of strange, because people
come in and spend thousands for a suit, jewelry and so on and I said: I think it is
really cool for Switzerland that people come here and spend so much money. People
were discussing it in the chat and personally attacked me, saying really tough stuff
because they feel that all the money is corrupted and they (the clients) are all
gangsters. Well, to a certain extent it is true. But I have a bit more of a Samariter-
approach and I say: it is good that they spend it at least. If they steel it from
somewhere it is good that they spend it. Better than just being on some kind of bank
account. Not that I think that it is good what they are doing, I do not like the fact
that some royal families suppress people, not at all, but we take the money and
spread it. It is very controversial and that is always the downside. If you shock, if
you open the oppose against something, then you get the pressure but also visibility.
8.11.2 Limitations
Partner Question Anchor Example Limitation
“As long as it is something special it can Niche Instrument
work, but if a guerrilla marketing action is
C1 Q15
waiting for you at every corner like
billboards, it loses its effect”
Feelings
“It again depends on the segment but for
C2 Q15
the consumer it should be acceptable”
Feelings
Q16 When feelings of people are hurt
MA1
Feelings
Q17 Feelings should not be hurt