---
title: "Guerilla Advertising: Transform Boring Ideas into Surefire Sales"
description: For Contractors Guerilla marketing is excellent at influencing consumer purchasing habits. This low cost marketing technique inherently sends a message that your remodeling business is smart and savvy.
image: https://www.shawnmccadden.com/hubfs/Dropping_idea_into_the_brain-WR.jpg
---

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# The Design Builder's Blog

## [Guerilla Advertising: Transform Boring Ideas into Surefire Sales](https://www.shawnmccadden.com/the-design-builders-blog/guerilla-advertising-transform-boring-ideas-into-surefire-sales)

Posted by [Shawn McCadden](https://www.shawnmccadden.com/the-design-builders-blog/author/shawn-mccadden) on Tue, May 10,2016 @ 05:00 AM

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**Guerilla Advertising: Transform Boring Ideas into Surefire Sales**

**![Guerilla marketing for contractors](https://www.shawnmccadden.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Dropping_idea_into_the_brain-WR.jpg?width=147&name=Dropping_idea_into_the_brain-WR.jpg "Guerilla marketing for contractors")If you are Bechtel Construction, with more than $17 billion in operations, you need not worry about advertising under budgets** in such a way that would prevent you from putting food on the table.  After all, most in the construction industry, including designers and architects, are sole owners, with few if any employees. But for those of us who don't have a million-dollar advertising budget, we can turn to and **rely on guerilla marketing and advertising to get our brand message out there.**

 

### **Guerilla Marketing Defined**

Guerilla marketing is generally characterized by unique or unconventional advertisements that create buzz because they are so mind-blowing. Since it [relies more on cleverness than mass reproduction](http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2490374), guerilla marketing is hallmarked by being very cost effective and, in some cases, free.

Michael Serazio, author of *Your Ad Here: The Cool Sell of Guerilla Marketing*, calls this marketing style the “cool sell,” because of its strategy to use buzz to promote brand awareness, as opposed to a hotter sell of directly advertising the product.

### **Goals of a Guerilla Campaign**

![How Remodelers can use Guerilla Marketing](https://www.shawnmccadden.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Surprised_by_a_Secret-WR.jpg?width=239&name=Surprised_by_a_Secret-WR.jpg "How Remodelers can use Guerilla Marketing")Word of mouth is still one of the best marketing tools a business can utilize. In the world of social media, word of mouth is amplified by the power of the Internet.

Likewise, guerilla marketing uses this phenomenon to get people talking about your brand by doing something clever and worthy of conversation. Named for its analogy to guerilla warfare, this [marketing strategy](https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Mark_Camilleri/publication/273137342_The_Effectiveness_of_Guerrilla_Marketing/links/54f97fac0cf2ccffe9e14f20.pdf) ambushes potential customers using the element of surprise, sabotages competitors in the domain of brand reputation, and uses tactics to reach potential target demographics in a more efficient way.

### **Tap Into the Buyer's Persona**

Of course, any marketing campaign has the ultimate goal of driving sales. You want consumers to recognize your company, but you also need them to use your business.

Guerilla marketing is excellent at influencing consumer purchasing habits. Because it relies on cleverness, this marketing technique inherently sends a message that your business is smart and savvy. The assumption is that you can use this brainpower for the benefit of your clients; all they need to do is pick up the phone and call you.

### **Going Green and Other Niches**

Guerilla marketing is limited in size to a specific advertising platform. In business, this is called a niche market.

Working a narrow demographic of like minded people will lower your advertising costs, make it easier to find ideas that resonate with consumers, and increase your brand reputation. The [“green” niche](http://www.studentpulse.com/articles/825/4/examining-green-advertising-and-its-impact-on-consumer-skepticism-and-purchasing-patterns) is particularly well suited for the construction industry. Since regular advertising is generally viewed very skeptically, green guerilla marketing can be a trusted alternative.

### **Case Study**

![Examples of guerilla marketing for contractors](https://www.shawnmccadden.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Plumbers_Truck_uses_Guerilla_marketing-WR.jpg?width=227&name=Plumbers_Truck_uses_Guerilla_marketing-WR.jpg "Examples of guerilla marketing for contractors")Now that you have an understanding of the components for guerilla marketing, it would suit you well to examine the strategies of some of the more successful companies.

As an eye-catching and surprising motif, various zoos across the country have [used the sides of buses](http://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2014/09/22/guerrilla-marketing-examples) drawn to look like a snake or a rhino denting the vehicle for their guerilla marketing efforts.

Because contractors are constantly on the road, it would be beneficial of them to use their vehicles for advertising purposes. If the vehicle is banged up, then look into [purchasing a new or used vehicle](https://www.drivetime.com/) and write it off as a marketing expense. From there, your job is to get creative. Make your vehicle look like it's overloaded, and paint the motto “we are full of your dreams."

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