Guerilla Marketing

I attended a session during lead week about the Truth in Advertising featuring GTM (Guerilla Tactics Marketing). This organization is an Atlanta based, multicultural marketing and media firm. This firm was founded in 2000, by five, young, marketing, revolutionaries with an uncompromising commitment to social responsibility, grassroots outreach and vanguard creativity. The have experienced huge success, specifically with their award winning truth Anti-tobacco Campaign. This campaign is credited with accelerating the decline of youth smoking rates by 22% they are continually acknowledged industry wide for their innovation, creativity and grassroot sensibility. Their other outstanding accomplishments include the "Verb" educational campaign on teen obesity, and the current TV's Take Back TV Campaign. GTM has been covered by PR Week, Bulldog Report, Media Week and Strategy Magazine. They were also named by Catalyst Magazine as one of Atlanta's top 10 Ones to Watch.

GTM attributes much of its success to its own carefully developed proprietary tool, most notably Inter ACTIVISM, a methodology for audience engagement and social responsibility which places the consumer at the center of every experience. As a Marketing student, this is an innovative idea that I can include in class projects at school and in my internship this summer. In marketing we concentrated on the 4 P's (product, price, promotion, and placement), that is still important with GTM, but they put more emphasis on the consumer and their experience versus the product that is being marketed. I learned that purchases are made not only to address a physical need, but that individual also make purchases for social needs, the need to fit in and belong are also key. By showcasing the experience one can have by using the product versus just marketing the products features, companies can have success. When a consumer can relate to an experience and see themselves using the product, that is when the usually purchase. Based on this informative seminar, I think that more companies should use this technique. Currently GTM is employing their winning methodology with such high profile clients as WalMart, Sprite, and Crest Whitestrips and having great success.

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