Ambush marketing is a marketing strategy where a company tries to associate its brand with an event, team, or individual without actually being an official sponsor. This is typically done by capitalising on the publicity and attention surrounding the event to promote their own brand. This is often in a way that implies a false or unofficial sponsorship.
Ambush marketers aim to gain exposure and visibility without paying the sponsorship fees that official sponsors do. While it can be clever and effective, it can also lead to legal disputes if it infringes on the rights of official sponsors or misleads consumers. Therefore please be aware if you are planning on attempting ambush marketing yourself.
Examples Of Ambush Marketing
However, it may be easier to simply offer some examples of ambush marketing. For example:
1. Nike during the London 2012 Olympics:
Throughout the 2012 London Olympics, Nike launched a marketing campaign featuring amateur athletes competing in places that contained ‘London’. For example, East London in South Africa, Little London in Jamaica, London Ohio in the US and a health club called London Gym. Nike’s ads didn’t mention the Olympics directly! However they still capitalised on the event’s buzz to promote their brand. Ambush marketing is often done at the expense of another company’s (usually a rival’s) official association. The Olympics was actually sponsored by Adidas, who spent tens of millions of pounds to do so. Therefore the classic Nike vs Adidas rivalry was on show.
2. Pepsi at the FIFA World Cup:
During the 2010 FIFA World Cup held in South Africa, Pepsi launched a global marketing campaign featuring football-themed advertisements and promotions. Despite Coca-Cola being the official sponsor of the tournament, Pepsi’s campaign generated significant attention. Pepsi recruited high-profile football players such as Messi, Drogba and Thierry Henry. And they filmed their advert in Africa, with Akon’s ‘Oh Africa’ as the soundtrack. Despite making no direct references to the World Cup, the association was clear. Many people would therefore be forgiven for thinking that Pepsi was in fact an official sponsor of the 2010 World Cup.
3. Beats by Dre at the FIFA World Cup:
Another football World Cup! During the 2014 FIFA World Cup held in Brazil, Beats by Dre released a commercial featuring various football stars wearing their headphones. Although Sony was the official sponsor, Beats managed to create buzz around their brand without paying for official sponsorship.
4. Red Bull at the Super Bowl:
Like Pepsi, Red Bull is known for its ambush marketing tactics. During the Super Bowl, they often run advertisements and promotions that capitalise on the event’s popularity. Despite them not being official sponsors. This contrasts their involvement in Formula One, for example, where they officially sponsor a team.
Piggybacking off the popularity of sporting events is therefore extremely popular. With millions, or even billions of people tuning into events, but sponsorship costing millions, it is perhaps unsurprising that ambush marketers use them as their playgrounds. Such campaigns can reach millions of people and thus have a huge impact on sales and brand awareness.
However, advertising companies also run the risk of legal challenges or negative public perception if their tactics are seen as deceptive or unethical. In reality, however, the public is unlikely to even realise who are the official sponsors. Customer will more likely be impressed by a company’s crafty advertising efforts. On the other hand, companies and even governments, have bought in-laws and guidelines around specific events in attempts to curtail ambush marketing and justify official sponsorship prices.
This post was brought to you by Push Promotions. We are a promotional staffing agency that provides staff to all corners of the UK. We work with event organisers, venues, marketing agencies, and directly with brands. The types of staff that we provide include promotional models, hosts & hostesses, data capture staff, team leaders, product demonstrators, and more. We provide free quotes via email and telephone.
