AMBUSH MARKETING

By-Yashsvi Shah

Jay Gadhia

Submitted to: Ms Preeti Menon

WHAT IS AMBUSH MARKETING?

‘It is the unauthorized association of a business or organization with the marketing of a particular event-gaining benefit for the marketing right or licensing fee applicable in order to be associated with an event, such as sporting event’.

- Jerry Welsh

HISTORY OF AMBUSH MARKETING

The word “Ambush” as used in the expression ambush marketing means “An attack from a hidden position” and is derived from the old French word embuschier having the meaning “To place in a wood”

The term ambush marketing was coined by marketing strategist Jerry Welsh while he was walking as the manager of global marketing efforts for the American Express Company in 1980’s

PERCEPTIONS OF AMBUSH MARKETING

Ambush Marketing is not illegal• Few rules and only inexperience ambushers break them

Ambush is controversial but…• Most brand marketers consider to be just another marketing

option• A strategic not ethical choice.• Properties and media are much more likely to be calling

“foul”

WHY DO AMBUSHER DO IT?

Sponsorship-type results with no rights fee Sponsorship type results when they have no

access to the sponsorship itself. Competitor is sponsoring. Complete Creative Freedom.• No partnership to manage.• No approvals required.• No sponsor hierarchy to respect.

THE ONLY RULES

Don’t breach property laws Don’t call yourself a sponsor if you are not. Some major events also have proximity rules.

TYPES OF AMBUSH MARKETING

Advertising Spend: 1984 Los Angeles Olympics,Nike v/s Converse(Official

Sponsor)

Deliberate Promotion : In 1996,General Motors scored over the

official sponsor Toyota in terms of brand recall by promising a Golden Holden car to all gold medal winners.

Block Out: • 1992,Barcelona Olympic Games - Reebok (Official

Sponsor)

• Nike sponsored Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley who came to the podium by covering the Reebok logos on their tracks with the US Flag due to their personal obligations with Nike

Pulling Stunt:• Also known as ‘Guerilla’, ‘Stunt’ or ‘In Your Face’

ambush marketing.

ADVANTAGES:

Advantage of a major event to increase brand awareness while not spending the money to be a sponsor

When there is an increase in competition the prices go down

DISADVANTAGES:

It decreases commercial value of the event It creates unhealthy competitive environment It may adversely effect the funding of the

event as it will be beneficial for the company to be an ambusher

AMEX VS VISA: “1994 Winter Olympics, American Express

cards launched a campaign stating, ‘If you are traveling to Norway this winter you will need a passport but-you do not need a Visa.

Around 66% of the respondents of a consumer poll identified American Express as the ‘official sponsor’ instead of Visa.

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 During FIFA world cup 2010 was when 36 women entered the South Africa’s soccer city stadium for the Netherland Vs Denmark match. The official sponsor was Budweiser, but Bavaria very smartly dressed up the women in orange (the Dutch national colour. The reaction of those in charge however was swift and ruthless. 2 women were arrested and later released. But was the campaign successful even with its fair share of collateral damage?

Bavaria..

PEP

SI!!

T he most notable and widely successful ambush marketing campaign of the past decade was carried out by Pepsi during the 1996 cricket world cup where Coca Cola was the official sponsor. People still remember Pepsi’s “Nothing official about it” campaign. With such clever use of words, and wise ad slots during the world cup, the campaign gathered so much attention that it almost became synonymous with the ’96 world cup..

Nothing Official about it

AMBUSH-BIG BAZAR

Keep West-aSide. Make a smart choice ! Shoppers! Stop. Make a smart choice ! Change Your Lifestyle. Make a smart choice !

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‘A Mystery Shampoo!! 80% women say is better than anything else’. P&G was prepping up for a product launch. Fair enough. But the flanks weren’t up. HUL saw this as an opportunity to score an ambush in the sky. In less than a week even when Pantene’s hoardings were still standing tall amongst the Mumbai skyline, there was another, all across the city that announced ‘There is no mystery. Dove is the No.1 shampoo’.

Ambush @ FMCG

COCA-COLA & PEPSI:

AMBUSH WITH TRIDENT SENSES

CONCLUSION:

Healthy Competition Successful ambush strategies feed on ill-

conceived sponsorships and inept sponsors It is probably just the next step on the

marketing evolutionary ladder And at times the only option left

THANK YOU