Above the line or below the line. These are the classical categories of the advertising techniques .
Above the line is a type of advertising through classical media (e.g. television, print, radio, print, banners and web search engines).
Below the line is a type of advertising which does not use classical media (e.g. sponsorship, PR, direct marketing…).
More recently, the neologism "through the line" describes an existing process as a mix of ATL and BTL, used to integrate a marketer's efforts and optimize returns from these separate investments.
But you can find also something out of these schemes and sometimes you can have some doubts about what kind of advertising you’re looking
at: that is "out of the line".
Here are described the basic principles of advertising you can categorized as guerrilla
marketing (maybe) or buzz marketing (also), or viral marketing (why
not?). Above the line and below the line… well there are something “out
of the line”.
Guerrilla Marketing basic
1. Use it for new product or
innovative services.
2. Got an original idea.
3. Promote viral spread.
4. Use a teaser strategy to increase curiosity.
5. Be in the web community, in the forums and blogs in order to increase
product awareness and give an answer to the teaser idea.
6. Be honest, show fairness and transparency.
7. Do advertising consistent with the objectives.
8. Use an emotional campaign in order to achieve empathy with the
target.
9. Humor: it is important to understand when it’s necessary and when
it’s not.
10. Follow the rules and know the risks.
Guerrilla marketing: cases history.
In advertising, thinking of something “out of the line” we have to mention Guerrilla Marketing events, or advertising campaigns which stand out not only for their messages, but also for the unique media and way of promotion.
The stronger is the advertising the more it’s related to the product or service promoted, especially if the same message can’t be used in other product category.
DHL is a good example of this (“If it is where it belongs, it was probably delivered by DHL”). The simplicity is all, the message is strong, and this advertising “on
the street” can meet every target.
Also “Formula” toothbrush (“Builds strong teeths”) builds his message on a great visual impact.
and “Jobsintown” advertising (“Life’s too short for the wrong
job”) is also a good example of creatiity of the message.
Referring to Guerrilla Marketing, we can describe it as an unexpected and unconventional way of marketing, potentially interactive, with the consumers targeted in unexpected places. The aim is to catch people attention in a different, surprising and sometimes provocative way. It can meet also consumers in times and places where their defense against advertising is lower.
Even if Guerrilla Marketing, as Jay Conrad Levinson said (the first man to coin and use this term in 1984), is especially useful for start-ups, small and medium enterprises with small budgets, this kind of advertising is becoming increasingly important.
That’s why Nike or Sony use it in order to promote their products... and very soon... IamaSource will do it.