The History of Guerrilla Marketing. Agencies struggled to make an impression on consumers and consumers were tired of being marketed to. It was time for a change.
In 1984, marketer Jay Conrad Levinson introduced the formal term in his book called, “Guerrilla Marketing.”
Levinson comes from a background as the Senior Vice-President at J. Walter Thompson and Creative Director and Board Member at Leo Burnett Advertising. In Levinson’s book, he proposes unique ways of approaching and combating traditional forms of advertising. The goal of guerrilla marketing was to use unconventional tactics to advertise on a small budget. During this time, radio, television and print were on the rise, but consumers were growing tired. Levinson suggests that campaigns need to be shocking, unique, outrageous and clever. It needs to create buzz.
Small businesses started changing their ways of thinking and approached marketing in a brand new way. The concept of guerrilla marketing continues to develop and grow organically.
You can find more information about Jay Conrad Levinson at the Official Site of Guerrilla Marketing.