It was just a matter of time.

Last week’s Ad Age officially marked the spot where that marketing specialty known as “guerilla marketing” jumped the shark. We’re on the downhill slide now, folks. And as he said in the article, Brian Bolain, national sales manager for Scion, is right in stating: “Once anything becomes to mainstream, our job [as marketers] is to stay one step ahead.”

It’s not so much that guerilla marketing has become mainstream. That would be a contradiction in the very name of the discipline.

But guerilla marketing has managed to muddy the stream so badly that most consumers can no longer make out the water from the shoreline. Marketing messages have become an intrusion rather than a diversion.

And many consumers are getting pissed.

Is it smart to piss off the masses with intrusive cleverness? Granted, what one upsets one person can be of little to no consequence to another (look at how many stupid people find SPAM to be entertaining). But the consequences of violating convention for the sake of being clever are too great, in my opinion.

I often make the argument to clients that brands are evaluated by the way they act more than what they say. In this case, to bastardize Marshall McLuan, the message is the medium for what really matters to the customer.

So, what to do …

I’m flattered to be involved in the launch and growth of a new professional marketing group focusing on brand experiences. The Experiential Marketing Forum (EMF) is a dynamic online discussion forum where professionals who work 24/7 (some of them) on breathing life into those promises made by brands share tips and opinions on things that matter to them.

I’m also fortunate enough to know some of the folks who have put this forum together and the plans are to go much bigger very soon. If anyone can get the monkey off the back of guerilla marketing, it’s these folks. They know and understand how to tap into a consumer’s psyche, recognize what’s important and assist the brand in making proper (and most important of all, relevant) connections to that consumer.

Experiential Marketing – remember it. For Scion’s Brian Bolain, it is the way to stay one step ahead.

Later.

BATTLE FOR THE STREETS: MARKETERS VS. AD-WEARY CONSUMERS

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