Ambush attacks, guerrilla warfare – both are examples one would typically find in warfare; yet when it comes to marketing, world events are the battle field and market shares are the land each enterprise wishes to claim.
Throughout the last few decades, marketing has taken on a competitiveness unlike no other. At each event – whether it be sports, arts, or alternatives – has been affected to the point where even consumers are feeling the strain. From the scantily clad bottoms bearing the name of a certain business to the most recent 2010 Olympics between Telus and Bell and the FIFA World Cup between Nike and Adidas, ambush and guerilla marketing methods have stirred the debate on protecting sponsorship rights.
With Adidas having spewed out over $350 million US for sponsorship rights to the 2010 and 2014 World Cups, they were choking on their tongues when recent surveys have found Nike to be the most widely recognized company from this year’s games. How can event organizers justify their sponsor investments when other companies can create the same results while spending only a fraction?
Certainly this type of marketing is difficult to control; yet on technicalities, these ambush marketers are simply making optimal use of the resources available, and hitting their competitors hard. Although recent times have condemned the use of such tactics, it is smart and effective and at the end of the day, it produces results.