In this edition of How’d They Do That, we examine a guerrilla marketing program from the cultural community. Guerrilla marketing is a cost-effective strategy to get attention and drive word-of-mouth engagement. In an AllBusiness.com collection of profiles on successful guerrilla marketing programs, you’ll find inspiration from the Chicago Museum and Science. Artifacts and experiments aside, the museum’s guerrilla marketing strategy, tactics, execution, and outcomes combine for a valuable study for any small business. Here’s an overview of the museum’s Month at the Museum campaign.
Objective: Attract young, Web-savvy fans to the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago.
Payoff: Local and national media exposure; record traffic to the museum’s website.In July 2010, Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry, seeking to pep up its image and drive patronage, promised one person the chance to spend a “Month at the Museum” — as in, actually live there in a hotel-style room. The winner of the contest would then become a social media machine, Twittering, Facebooking, YouTubing and Flickering about the experience, earning $10,000 for the effort.
The museum expected a few hundred entries, which included essays and videos. It received more than 1,500 from all over the world. The process of selecting the winner engaged more than 400 blogs, almost doubled the museum’s Facebook fan base, and drew in local TV and radio, along with ABC’s “Good Morning America” and other national news and entertainment shows. The contest was so successful, a second one is underway.
Read 10 Wild and Crazy Marketing Ideas That Worked, which includes this profile, at AllBusiness.com.
Guerrilla marketing is an unconventional, out-of-the-box, and off-the-beaten path, strategy. But don’t be fooled, just as traditional marketing requires knowing your target audience and planning, so too does guerrilla marketing. Here’s an infographic with a few basic facts about guerrilla marketing.
Has your small business gone commando with a guerrilla marketing campaign? Feel free to share your experiences in the comments section of this post.
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