Events are a powerful marketing strategy and can take place offline or online. Since the photo booth business is already event-based, you already know that successful events also require a certain level of marketing. As consumers become increasingly desensitized to modern tactics, marketers are finding success by going back to the basics, essentially “shouting on street corners.” However, they do it with incredible creative flair using street marketing (or guerilla marketing) to generate buzz. Whether promoting upcoming events or creating a unique opportunity for brand promotion, we created this guide to street marketing to help you grow your business.

Street Marketing is all about Creative Genius

If you’ve never heard of street marketing, the idea behind it is to introduce your business to new potential clients in unexpected ways. It’s also called guerilla marketing because these creative tactics go far outside of the box. From placing a giant pair of underwear on a statue to utilizing elevator floors to induce an extreme experience, street marketing can be very simple, while also requiring planning and innovative thinking to pull off correctly.

Set up a unique picture-perfect opportunity.

Create an unexpected image that pedestrians will just have to stop to gawk at and photograph.

1. Think about giant lego men washed up on the beach.
2. A moving statue of your business mascot.

Have fun with graphics.

1. Transform an elevator floor to make it look like guests are falling to the cityscape below.
2. Turn a sidewalk into a waterfall with a chalk drawing.
3. Turn a street light into a camera flash.

Make it a competition.

People love games. So if you can turn your event into a competition, you’ll get people to buy into your idea and help you spread the word by merely participating. Of course, prizes are powerful motivation as well! Here are some specific ideas for gamification.

1. Scavenger hunts.
2. A giant game of chess where the players are the game pieces.
3. 4 square or hopscotch.
4. A pillow fight.
5. A dance-off.

Create an experience.

You provide the props that create a story, and people create their own experiences and build on the narrative. Better yet, if you can give the appearance that everyone else is already doing it or create an air of exclusivity, you’ll capitalize on FOMO, or fear of missing out, and get people excited.

1. Dinosaurs on Main Street
2. King Kong on the beach
3. Surviving a spider attack on a mountain
4. A Zombie escape.
5. A flash mob.

Use photo booths.

Whether an iPad photo booth like Onebooth is the focus of your street marketing technique or a way for bystanders to memorialize the outlandish idea you’ve produced, they can be a great way to capture leads. After taking the photo, they can send it directly to their phone, and opt-in for future updates from you.

How to Create Events That Sell

Go big or go home, does not mean “blow the budget.” Moreover, you don’t need an extravagant marketing budget to put on an exciting, loud, newsworthy event.

Instead, guerilla marketing tactics allow you to utilize whatever is already there: staircases, statues, buildings, rock formations, lamp posts, trees, benches, sidewalks, floors, ceilings, water fountains, manholes, the list goes on.

Capitalize on your surroundings to build a scene, design an experience, or build a story. Creating events that appear impromptu builds a layer of exclusivity and creates a desire for your product or service.

There are No Rules

Regardless of whether or not the art of RSVP is dying, you can utilize the power of street marketing and guerilla marketing to create genuine interest in your event. There are no rules, and you may find that coloring outside of the lines pays off big.

You can further capitalize on the guerilla marketing tactics listed above with a plan for what to do with the buzz you’re generating.

If your street marketing is promoting a specific event, you can send out special “invitations” to people who sign up, making your new fans feel like you’re including them in the “Cool Kids Club.”

Furthermore, to generate a sense of mystery, you can create content that talks about the event, without providing an exact time or place until the day of the event or shortly before. This is a common marketing tactic for food trucks and it can be wildly successful.

Word of Mouth Never Dies

The entire point of street marketing is to get people talking. There is nothing better in today’s marketing space than word of mouth referrals, and building a buzz is the best way to get those rolling in.

Don’t be afraid to make people laugh or get a little risque. There’s a caveat here: as long as it fits your brand. People appreciate brands that don’t take themselves too seriously. You only need to look to brands like Wendy’s, BarkBox, Netflix, and even Charmin to see how they are creating a conversation by saying unexpected things on social media.

Wrapping it Up

When it comes to street marketing, you want to be radical. Simultaneously, whatever you choose to do it should be clean, well put together, attention-grabbing without feeling like spam.

Your goal is to create a sense of excitement that makes people ignore the fact that you are selling to them. The buzz builds every time they talk about it on social media and with friends and family.

As a result, they’ll start building a relationship with your business by going to your event, website, social media page, or physical location. Better yet, they’ll want to do it to learn more about the creative genius behind this unique tactic.

Building a buzz can be tricky in today’s marketplace, but it doesn’t have to be expensive when you utilize street and guerilla marketing tactics. Will you use any of the ideas in this post to grow your business? Tell us your favorite in the comments below.