As the name suggests, ambush marketing raises awareness for brands at events in a covert and unexpected fashion. Ambush marketing takes many forms, one common element, the brand advertising their products or services has not paid for the right to do so. Thus, the business doing the ambushing attempts to capitalize on the efforts made by the business sponsoring the event.
Aspect | Explanation |
---|---|
Definition | Ambush Marketing is a marketing strategy where a brand or company unofficially associates itself with a major event, such as a sports event or entertainment show, without being an official sponsor. It aims to capitalize on the event’s audience and publicity without paying for sponsorship rights. |
Key Concepts | – Unofficial Association: Brands create the perception of being affiliated with an event without official sponsorship. – Leveraging Publicity: Taking advantage of the event’s media coverage and audience without financial commitment. – Creative Tactics: Using innovative and often unconventional tactics to gain attention. – Legality and Ethics: Balancing between clever marketing and legal or ethical boundaries. |
Characteristics | – Subversion: Often involves challenging or subverting the official sponsors’ dominance. – Surprise Element: Aims to surprise and grab attention, often at the expense of official sponsors. – Risk-Taking: Requires taking calculated risks to benefit from the event’s buzz. – Short-Term Focus: Usually focused on the duration of the event. |
Examples | – Setting up unauthorized advertising near an event venue. – Running creative and unofficial social media campaigns related to a major sporting event. – Exploiting loopholes in advertising restrictions to indirectly reference the event. – Using event-related keywords or hashtags in promotional materials. |
Advantages | – Cost Savings: Avoids the high costs of official sponsorship while gaining event-related exposure. – Attention-Grabbing: Often generates attention and buzz due to its unexpected and subversive nature. – Creative Freedom: Allows for creative and unconventional marketing tactics. – Competitive Advantage: Can challenge and compete with official sponsors. |
Challenges | – Legal Risks: Can lead to legal challenges if perceived as infringing on event rights or misleading consumers. – Ethical Concerns: May raise ethical questions if seen as deceptive or unfair to official sponsors. – Reputation Risk: Can damage a brand’s reputation if executed poorly or viewed negatively. – Short-Term Impact: Typically offers short-term visibility during the event’s duration. |
Adoption Trends | Ambush Marketing remains a popular strategy for brands looking to gain exposure during major events without committing to official sponsorship. It requires careful planning to navigate legal and ethical challenges successfully. |
Conclusion | Ambush Marketing is a strategy that involves unofficially associating a brand with a major event, leveraging the event’s audience and publicity without official sponsorship. While it can be cost-effective and attention-grabbing, it also carries legal and ethical risks, and brands must exercise creativity and caution when executing ambush marketing campaigns. |
Ambush marketing explained
Businesses spend vast sums of money sponsoring large events relating to sport, entertainment, and education – primarily as a brand-building exercise.
Despite not paying for the privilege, competitors then gain access to these events and attempt to increase exposure for their own brands. This is ambush marketing at work.
Within ambush marketing itself, there exists direct and indirect ambush marketing.
Direct ambush marketing
A direct ambush describes the actions of a business that intentionally associates themselves with an event without the right to do so.
When Pepsi secured the sponsorship rights to the 1997 Pepsi Asia Cup, Coca-Cola made a deliberate and calculated play for the broadcast rights.
This gave Coca-Cola valuable exposure and left Pepsi unable to capitalize on their sponsorship financially.
Less antagonistic ambush marketing can also be seen in trademark and copyright infringement.
For example, the red cross logo that medical institutions use to market themselves globally is, in fact, a property infringement of the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Indirect ambush marketing
Indirect ambush marketing involves a more subtle approach. The business concerned does not try to take advantage of the competitor who has paid for sponsorship rights.
Instead, it attempts to take advantage of the hype surrounding the event itself.
Any possible affiliation between the ambushing business and the event is unofficial and left for the consumer to decide.
In the lead up to the 2012 Olympic Games, Irish gambling chain Paddy Power put up billboards claiming to be the “official sponsor of the largest athletics event in London.”
In much smaller print, however, they stipulated that the town referred to in the campaign was London, France.
The result was that Paddy Power was able to create marketing hype around the Olympic Games – since consumers knew which London was being referenced – while avoiding any legal ramifications in the process.
Advantages and disadvantages of ambush marketing
The most obvious advantage of ambush marketing is that it is low-cost and has the potential to be highly effective. In successful marketing campaigns, the exposure a brand receives will outweigh any fines or penalties that may be incurred.
Businesses who engage in ambush marketing also create associations with that event in the minds of their target audience.
This increases brand equity or the perceived commercial value of a brand name over a product or service.
In terms of disadvantages, ambush marketing can sometimes involve heavy penalties or lawsuits that exceed the financial benefits of brand exposure.
Since ambush marketing campaigns are relatively spontaneous and unpredictable, it is hard to predict the return on investment (ROI).
Businesses that engage in ambush marketing must also be prepared for long, protracted disagreements with the business they are ambushing.
These disagreements have the potential to erase beneficial exposure and needlessly eat into marketing budgets over time.
Ambush Marketing vs. Guerrilla Marketing
Whereas in a guerrilla marketing scenario, a company focuses on how to generate buzz with unconventional marketing tactics.
In an ambush marketing scenario, a company focuses on gaining attention and exposure over a competitor’s sponsorship arrangement by finding ways to hack that and gain exposure.
Ambush marketing is indeed a form of guerrilla marketing.
But Guerrilla Marketing can be broader and look into unconventional ways to create buzz around a brand.
The example below of ambush marketing in action is the example of Newcastle mocking Stella Artois and its “chalice” campaign:
Ambush Marketing vs. Grassroots Marketing
Whereas ambush marketing focuses on gaining attention from a competitor’s marketing attempt, grassroots marketing instead involves creating targeted content for a niche audience.
Case Studies
1. Pepsi vs. Coca-Cola (1997 Pepsi Asia Cup): Pepsi secured the sponsorship rights to the 1997 Pepsi Asia Cup cricket tournament. Coca-Cola engaged in direct ambush marketing by acquiring broadcast rights. This move allowed Coca-Cola to gain valuable exposure and overshadow Pepsi’s sponsorship.
2. Paddy Power and the 2012 Olympics: In the lead-up to the 2012 Olympic Games in London, Irish gambling company Paddy Power put up billboards claiming to be the “official sponsor of the largest athletics event in London.” However, in small print, they clarified it was London, France, not London, England. This indirect ambush marketing tactic generated attention and hype around the Olympics without violating any sponsorship agreements.
3. Nike at the 2012 London Olympics: Nike, not an official sponsor of the London Olympics, ran a marketing campaign featuring athletes wearing Nike gear with slogans like “Find Your Greatness” during the event. This indirect approach aimed to associate Nike with the spirit of the Olympics without violating sponsorship rules.
4. Beats by Dre at the FIFA World Cup: During the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Beats by Dre, a competitor of official sponsor Sony, launched an ad campaign featuring top soccer players wearing Beats headphones. This tactic indirectly associated Beats with the World Cup and garnered attention.
5. Bavaria Beer at the FIFA World Cup: In 2010, Dutch brewery Bavaria Beer used an indirect ambush marketing tactic at the FIFA World Cup in South Africa. They dressed a group of attractive female fans in orange mini-dresses (the Dutch national color) with the brewery’s logo. This generated significant media coverage and created an association with the event, despite Bavaria not being an official sponsor.
6. Nike and the Olympic Rings: In the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Nike erected billboards near the Olympic venues that featured a swoosh (Nike’s logo) in the shape of the Olympic rings. Although Nike wasn’t an official sponsor, the visual connection to the Olympics drew attention.
7. Guinness and the Rugby World Cup: Guinness, not an official sponsor of the Rugby World Cup, launched an ad campaign featuring fans and rugby players holding pints of Guinness in the shape of a rugby ball. This indirect approach associated Guinness with the tournament.
8. Red Bull and Felix Baumgartner’s Space Jump: Red Bull sponsored Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner’s record-breaking space jump in 2012. The event garnered global attention, indirectly promoting the Red Bull brand.
9. Nike’s “You Don’t Win Silver” Campaign: During the 2012 Olympics, Nike launched an ad campaign with the slogan “You Don’t Win Silver, You Lose Gold.” Although Nike was not an official sponsor, this campaign sought to associate the brand with elite athletes and competition.
10. Under Armour’s “Rule Yourself” Campaign: Under Armour launched the “Rule Yourself” campaign featuring Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, even though Nike was the official sponsor of the U.S. Olympic team. This indirect ambush marketing effort aimed to align Under Armour with Olympic athletes.
Key takeaways
- Ambush marketing describes the scenario in which a business ambushes a competitor’s event sponsorship arrangement in an attempt to gain more exposure.
- Ambush marketing can be direct or indirect, depending on the objectives of the company and its ability to absorb fines or litigation costs.
- Ambush marketing is a high risk, high reward strategy. It increases brand equity and is a cost-effective form of advertising. But the ROI is hard to predict and it can lead to public battles between organizations.
Key Highlights:
- Ambush Marketing Definition: Ambush marketing is a strategy where brands seek to raise awareness during events in a covert and unexpected manner, often without officially sponsoring the event. This strategy aims to capitalize on the efforts and attention generated by the event’s official sponsors.
- Direct Ambush Marketing: In direct ambush marketing, a business intentionally associates itself with an event without proper sponsorship rights. For example, a competitor might secure broadcast rights for an event sponsored by a rival company.
- Indirect Ambush Marketing: Indirect ambush marketing takes a more subtle approach. Businesses do not attempt to challenge the event’s official sponsors but aim to leverage the event’s hype. This affiliation is unofficial and left for consumers to interpret.
- Advantages of Ambush Marketing: Ambush marketing is cost-effective and can generate significant brand exposure. It creates associations with the event in the minds of the audience, enhancing brand equity.
- Disadvantages of Ambush Marketing: Ambush marketing can lead to penalties or lawsuits that may outweigh the benefits. It is difficult to predict ROI, and disputes with the event’s official sponsors can erode the positive effects of exposure.
- Ambush Marketing vs. Guerrilla Marketing: While ambush marketing focuses on gaining attention over a competitor’s sponsorship arrangement, guerrilla marketing employs unconventional tactics to generate buzz around a brand. Ambush marketing is a subset of guerrilla marketing.
- Ambush Marketing vs. Grassroots Marketing: Ambush marketing aims to gain attention during specific events, while grassroots marketing involves creating targeted content for niche audiences, with the hope that it spreads to a broader audience.
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