SURYAKUMAR TVIT BS

AMBUSH MARKETINGConsumer Behavior

AMBUSH MARKETING

Ambush marketing is a form of associative marketing, utilized by an organization to capitalize upon the awareness, attention, goodwill, and other benefits, generated by having an association with an event or property, without that organization having an official or direct connection to that event or property

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

 However, it broadly refers to a situation in which a company or product seeks to ride on the publicity value of a major event without having contributed to the financing of the event through sponsorship.

Target: Major sporting events - like the Olympic Games or the world cups in various games.

Attributes Needed: Subtlety Creativity

Forms Of Ambush Marketing

Advertising Spend: 1984 Los Angeles Olympics: Nike v/s

Converse(Official Sponsor)

Deliberate Promotion : In 1996 Olympics, General Motors scored over the

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

Forms Of Ambush Marketing

Being Suggestive :

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.

Forms Of Ambush Marketing

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

Ambush- The Indirect Ways

i. Sponsoring the broadcast of the event – IIFA 2015 Official Broadcasting Partner

COLORS - Viacom 18ii. Sponsor Subcategories within the Event –

IPL Strategic Timeout - CEATiii. Purchasing Advertising Time Around

Ambush – Big Bazaar

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

Ambush – Go air & Kingfisher

Ambush – Audi, BMW

Cricket & Cola

1996 World Cup• “Nothing official about it”

2001 Sharjah Coca Cola Cup• Ballooning the Pepsi way

Ethical Issues

Weakens the integrity of an event and its ability to attract future sponsors.

Ambushers create confusion among consumers, for that reason, negating the official sponsors’

Virtual necessity of law in modern competitive business practice

Conclusion

Healthy Competition is faded out. It is a strategy adopted by rivals of the

official sponsors.Successful ambush strategies feed on ill-

conceived sponsorships and clumsy sponsorsIt is probably just the next step on the

marketing evolutionary ladder. And at times the only option left

Thank you..!