Guerrilla marketing versus digital marketing : which is the most effective?

Abstract

Research purpose: The purpose of this research is to examine the effectiveness of the innovative marketing technique of guerrilla marketing, as opposed to that of digital marketing. Research methodology: The data was collected through questionnaires targeted at the University of Malta students. Three well-known brands were selected by the researcher, to be able to obtain consistent results. The respondents were presented with a guerrilla advert, and a digital advert next to each other, and were asked questions related to these adverts. The research consisted of which advert is the most appealing, which advert is the most memorable, and how willing they are to mention each advert to a friend. The answers derived throughout this research will determine which marketing tool is the most effective. Research results: The results obtained from the questionnaire were depicted in graphs and tables, these illustrate that guerrilla marketing is more effective than digital marketing since the results of each brand all showed a preference to the guerrilla adverts, rather than to the digital adverts. Practical implications: This research study aims to prove the effectiveness of guerrilla marketing, as opposed to digital marketing to Maltese companies. In the modern, overcrowded, and competitive marketplace, it has become crucial that companies seek alternative methods of marketing efforts - excluding that of digital and traditional marketing – to attract potential customers. Therefore, this dissertation aims to be an eye-opener for those companies which are seeking to be innovative and proactive. Research originality: This research focuses on the effectiveness of guerrilla marketing when opposed to that of digital marketing. Current research does not provide a comparative study between these two marketing tools. Therefore, this was investigated throughout this research study. Limitations and further research: Due to the developing nature of this topic, future studies are recommended. Time was a big limitation of this study, which may have limited the research quality and quantity.