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David vs. Goliath Grassroots Marketing:
1. ?The Passion of the Christ? ?
Background: We don?t need to look very far in time to view a great
example of grassroots marketing. According to marketing experts, the
movie ?The Passion of the Christ? by Mel Gibson is one of the best
examples of grassroots marketing. Against all conventional wisdom, it
succeeded in the tough movie industry. Movie executives avoided it and
said that it will tank in the box-office. Now it is getting close to
being one of the most profitable movies of all-time.
Strategies Used:
a. Relied on core and potential market to spearhead the grassroots
marketing campaign.
?The grassroots marketing effort that Gibson undertook for ?Passion?
initially on his own and later through Newmarket Films was a lean one
that relied on reaching the film?s core audience of Christian
moviegoers and potential moviegoers by getting local church groups to
promote seeing the film.?
?Gibson breaks Hollywood's Ten Commandments, and wins?
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4555966/
??A lot of church leaders ... went out and told their congregations to
see the film -- they actually booked tickets themselves," Kilday said.
"Some theaters have ... sold out their opening days to church
affiliated groups, so we really haven't seen this kind of grass roots
campaign take off like this before.?"
?Marketing ?The Passion of the Christ??
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4374411/
b. Limited screening of the movie:
?Instead of generating dull television reports or newspaper articles
with one set of opinions balancing another set of opinions about the
film and its message, the resulting media coverage focused on how
incensed people were that Gibson wouldn?t let them have an early look
at his movie. The more people were told they couldn?t see it, the more
they wanted to see it.?
?Gibson breaks Hollywood's Ten Commandments, and wins?
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4555966/
c. Appropriate movie merchandising and marketing materials:
?The moviemakers are providing churches with free marketing materials
to help fill theater seats ? and pews. Among the items are posters and
postcards for direct mailing with the line: "Best outreach opportunity
in 2,000 years?
d. Unique marketing support:
?NASCAR. Interstate Batteries Chairman Norm Miller asked that the hood
of the race car his company sponsors, Bobby Labonte's No. 18, be
emblazoned with the Passion logo in the recent Daytona 500. Miller
wanted to contribute to the film's promotion.?
?Promoting 'The Passion'?
http://www.usatoday.com/money/media/2004-02-24-passion_x.htm
But amidst all these explanations even including the controversy,
movie executives and even the Mel Gibson camp are still perplexed by
the huge success of this film.
2. Apple Computers vs. IBM
Background: Steve Jobs and Apple built a tight knit community and
advanced the cause that Apple was the symbolism of democracy while IBM
was billed as ?Big Brother?.
Strategies Used:
a. Rallied the developer community in 1980s to develop software for the Mac.
?The evangelism marketing movement fomented at Apple in the 1980s,
with the launch of the original Macintosh under the guidance of Jobs
and Apple's then-chief evangelist, Guy Kawasaki. It was Kawasaki who
helped popularize the idea of a company evangelist by rallying the
developer community to write software for the Mac.?
b. ?Create a clearly defined cause?
?With the launch of the Mac in 1984, Jobs and Kawasaki boldly outlined
their cause: that computing shouldn't be controlled by IBM's hegemony,
that computers should make room for creativity in a democratization of
the desktop. Rightly or wrongly, the positioning then was, ?A computer
for the rest of us.??
c. Listening to customer requests
?In presenting the iMac, Jobs outlined the top three requests of
customers and how that feedback drove the engineering of the updated
iMac.?
?Steve Jobs, hit maker?
http://www.creatingcustomerevangelists.com/resources/evangelists/steve_jobs.asp
3. The Blair Witch Project:
Background: Another film digging in to grassroots marketing was the
late 90s hit the Blair Witch Project.
Strategies Used:
a. Create a scary mock documentary that will appeal to the young audience.
?The site attracted older viewers, too, but that coveted
12-to-17-year-old cohort is the group Hollywood is looking to lure.
And it consists of moviegoers who aren't allowed into theaters to see
the film without an adult. Indeed, the movie's "R" rating may even
help draw them to the site, where they can see a stripped-down version
of the story told in photos, sounds and video clips.?
?On the Web, Rags to Witch's; 'Blair' Site Built Mystery Long Before
Film Struck Gold?
http://www.shushinluh.com/MyResume/post_blairwitch.html
b. Using this targeted demographic of Internet enthusiast age group,
it was one of the first movies to use the power of internet marketing
to generate grassroots interest.
?Even the marketing campaign has become a sidebar for every major
media outlet. The Web site originally created by Sanchez and taken
over by Artisan treats "The Blair Witch Project" as a real event,
greeting surfers with the ominous introduction, ?In October of 1994,
three student filmmakers disappeared in the woods near Burkittsville,
Maryland while shooting a documentary. A year later their footage was
found.??
?The site goes on to offer the mythology of the so-called "Blair
witch," including a timeline; fake background information on the
filmmakers; evidence from a contrived investigation in the aftermath.?
c. Create additional buzz - ?They've also created a
"pseudo-documentary" for the Sci-Fi Channel which includes interviews
with the parents of the "missing" filmmakers??
?This 'Witch' boasting wicked marketing brew?
http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/Movies/9907/27/blair.witch/
4. North Fulton Regional Hospital
Background: ?With its dominance in deliveries (16,280 in 2000),
Northside required exclusive managed care contracts for obstetrics and
other services with all the big insurance companies. So, rather than
being able to go to the nearest hospital, patients were required to
pass these hospitals to go to the required Northside.?
?North Fulton Regional Hospital was one of several hospitals unfairly
penalized by Northside's exclusionary practices. The hospitals were
shut out of 80 percent of the North Georgia market, and more than
500,000 people were restricted from using their local hospitals.?
Strategies used:
a. North Fulton Regional Hospital used a massive grassroots campaign
by establishing a coalition that includes other aspects of the health
industry.
?To not only chip away at the monopoly's policies but reverse them
would take a multi-pronged effort that brought together elected
officials, the media, the health care and insurance industries,
businesses and, very importantly, patients. It would take community
and political support. To that end, we established the Coalition for
Hospital Choice.?
b. Mobilizing community support
?Mobilizing the community was an important part of the strategy, and
we were able to help coordinate the public outrage over the practices.
Remedies were sought in the state Legislature, requiring us to employ
our extensive government relations experience, including coordination
of testimony.?
c. Network was established between the coalition and community members
?Coalition members networked and regularly contacted the media. DLA
created "tool kits" that ensured consistent messaging by thousands of
supporters. We trained members of the Coalition to be well versed at
breakfasts and other public meetings as well as in one-on-ones with
the media. We also coordinated meetings with local businesses to
enlist their support.?
DLA Case Studies
http://www.dowlinglangley.com/casestudies.html
5. Shareware vs. Software Distribution Channels
Background: One of the most successful forms of grassroots marketing
is the idea of shareware. By passing off usual software distribution
networks, shareware enables customers to download software then try it
out before paying. The developer didn?t need to create disks or CDs to
distribute the product.
Strategies Used:
a. Freely-share the software with anybody.
?Out of a simple desire to freely share a good thing with others,
PC-File was born. It didn't have its final name yet (I called it "Easy
File.") It soon became a hit at the Seattle offices of IBM and
throughout the Seattle area as enthusiastic users of the free program
shared copies of it with friends and associates.?
b. Ask only for volunteer payment if they like the software. Payment
shall have additional service features.
?I decided to place a message in the program. I would ask those who
received it to voluntarily send a modest donation to help defray my
costs. The message encouraged users to continue to use and share the
program with others, and to send a $10 donation only if they wanted to
be included in my mailing list.?
c. Using the support of computer clubs and libraries.
?The biggest computer clubs the world has ever known sprang up all
over the country. Club librarians were hungry for programs to share
with their members. The Shareware approach was perfectly suited to
these clubs. More free publicity - and a perfect vehicle for giving
wide distribution to the shareware disks.?
?The Origin of Shareware?
http://www.asp-shareware.org/users/history-of-shareware.asp
?The History of Shareware?
http://paulspicks.com/history.asp
6. Maine Roasters Coffee vs. Starbucks
Background: ?Like Starbucks, Maine Roasters is in the specialty-coffee
business, albeit on a vastly lesser scale; a "flea on a dog's butt,"
is how the smaller company's founder and president, Rand Smith, puts
it. To compete with Starbucks, Smith has devised a counterforce
strategy. It rests on the simple premise that in a state with a proud
tradition of small locally owned businesses, people will respond to a
"buy Maine" appeal.?
Strategies used:
a. Create the appearance of local ownership.
?Smith had meant to create the appearance of local ownership when he
opened the new stores. Maine would remain the company headquarters.
But Smith had planned to reword the logos on his cups and napkins to
read Massachusetts Roasters Coffee and New Hampshire Roasters Coffee.?
b. Go to enemy territory
?In February, Smith began assigning door duty to two employees one
morning a week. The pair stand outside the doors of Starbucks and hand
out chocolates and Maine Roasters coupons that offer two cups of
coffee for the price of one.?
c. Do marketing research within the gimmicks
?When he posts employees outside a Starbucks store in Portland, he
arms one with the chrome-plated clicker. As the employee hands out
chocolates with one hand, he discreetly counts Starbucks customers
with the other. From the number (the tally one early-morning hour was
67) Smith extrapolates the daily sales and profitability of a
Starbucks store, according to formulas he has developed. The numbers
will guide him in deciding where to open new Maine Roasters stores and
how much he should invest in them to maximize profit.?
?Battle Grounds?
http://www.inc.com/magazine/19990701/822.html
7. Soapworks vs. Procter & Gamble
Background: ?When Amilya Antonetti began to talk seriously about
breaking into the $4.7-billion U.S. laundry-detergent market, in 1994,
industry veterans told her she had to be joking. "They all laughed
hysterically," Antonetti recalls. "They'd say, 'Honey, have you ever
heard of Clorox? Have you ever heard of Tide? There's no place for you
here.'" Time and again, buyers for grocery stores told Antonetti that
none of their customers would be interested in the hypoallergenic
cleansing products she began developing after learning that her infant
son's health problems were aggravated by the chemicals in standard
brands.?
Strategies used:
a. Educational Seminars to the Community
?Having started her day with a solitary predawn yoga session,
Antonetti is in high gear, rattling off a long list of amusements she
intends to bring in for a fair in the parking lot behind the building.
It's going to be a back-to-school bash, and Antonetti is inviting all
San Leandro's young families. She's also enlisting as her cosponsors
the local chamber of commerce, the public library, and San Leandro's
boys' and girls' club, which will help cover the costs of fun stuff
like moon bouncers, balloon twisters, and a petting zoo.?
b. Give Expert Advice on Community Radio Programs
?At the same time, station producers invited Antonetti to talk on the
weekly program Life Line, where she soon became a frequent guest. Her
role on the program involves answering callers' questions and dishing
out tips on how to cope with common little problems.?
c. Personal Advertising
?Instead of having a station announcer present her advertising
message, Antonetti insisted that she do it herself. "I have a pretty
good radio voice," she says. As she has done in all her marketing,
Antonetti deliberately aligned herself with the SoapWorks market,
presenting herself as equal parts mom and CEO.?
?Bootstrap Marketing: Taking on Procter & Gamble?
http://www.inc.com/magazine/20001001/20439.html
--------------------------------
Simply Creative Grassroots Marketing Category:
Sometimes grassroots marketing is also classified guerrilla marketing.
Here are some examples of guerilla marketing to grassroots customer
base.
1. Lucky Strikes
Background: ?George Washington Hill, president of the American Tobacco
Company and an eccentric businessman, recognized that an important
part of his market was not being tapped into. Hill believed that
cigarette sales would soar if he could entice more women to smoke in
public.?
Strategies Used:
a. A publicity stunt parading women while smoking Lucky Strikes.
?On Easter Sunday 1929, facts about cigarettes' harmful effects on
health were still decades away. So, for the American Tobacco Company,
maker of Lucky Strikes cigarettes, Bernays set up a march of young
debutantes down Fifth Avenue in New York City. Carrying the cigarettes
they called their "torches of freedom," their parade was heralded as a
march against women's inequality.?
b. Appeal to Women?s Fashion
?Still trying to increase the number of women smoking Lucky Strikes,
Bernays suggested that the manufacturer change the color of the pack
from dark green to a more neutral color to match women's clothing. The
company refused, so Bernays encouraged Parisian fashion designers to
create their new lines in dark green to popularize the color. Then he
had American Tobacco anonymously sponsor a charity ball at which the
color theme was green. The most-seen accessory of the evening? Dark
green packs of Lucky Strikes, of course. The event, covered in all the
society columns, was a success and helped establish green as a
fashionable color.?
?Guerilla Marketing Revisited?
http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:tyFXpzvBBl8J:www.catdancers.com/webmags/webrevu/2000/09_29/strategists/09_29_00_1.html+%22guerilla+marketing%22+PT+Barnum&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
2. MoveOn.org Campaign
Background: ?Activists' mighty tools can be turned on a dime against a
corporation whose actions or products are seen as reprehensible. Yet
there is not a single politician or corporation ready to mobilize with
equal force.?
?Examining the impact of MoveOn's presidential straw poll and other
actions, it appears that guerilla marketing masters from John the
Baptist to Edward Bernays to P.T. Barnum had nothing on today's online
activists.?
Strategies Used:
a. Fast deployment of campaign materials
?Deploying traditional PR tools at lightening speed Once a MoveOn
member registers and gives his or her mailing address and e-mail
address, MoveOn software can instantly provide a member with a list of
their Congressmen, Senators, local representatives and media outlets.?
b. Improves viral marketing capabilities
?By making it so simple for members to pass along their opinions,
MoveOn and other online activists create a rich environment for viral
marketing. And they bypass traditional media gatekeepers, who are now
paying close attention to, and reporting on, their activities.
Returning power to the people, activists have taken over much of PR
and advertising's role in influencing public opinion. Communications
professionals have much to learn from them.?
?MoveOn has used the Internet to run lightening-fast "flash
campaigns," along with e-mail, to quickly focus a broad and deep
segment of the American public into action within a specified time
period.?
c. Emphasizing Communication Among its Community
?Recently, MoveOn paired members and gave them guidelines for
interviewing each other so they would begin to have personal
connections. Each partner was asked to report to MoveOn about the
other's interests and concerns. Thousands filed reports, though the
group has not announced how the information will be used.?
?Online Activists' Lessons For Online Business?
http://www.webpronews.com/2003/0805.html
3. Instant Messaging
Background: ?Instant messaging began as a grassroots movement,
sneaking into corporate America through the back door with only tacit
permission of IT departments. But instant messaging has quickly
transformed into an essential productivity application. Take Avnet
Computer Marketing, a 1,900-person value-added reseller based in
Tempe, Arizona, that was using AOL Instant Messenger (AIM), in this
case, with management's blessing.?
Strategies used by AIM developers:
a. Net users can communicate instantaneously
?Abbreviated IM, a type of communications service that enables you to
create a kind of private chat room with another individual in order to
communicate in real time over the Internet, analagous to a telephone
conversation but using text-based, not voice-based, communication.?
http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/I/instant_messaging.html
.
b. They can see who is online
c. They can easily share files as well.
?The results of an informal pilot study at Avnet showed IM did boost
productivity. ?Instant messaging is a great tool for multitasking,"
says David Stuttard, Avnet's vice president of application solutions.
"But the greatest benefit is presence awareness. People can see who is
online, so they don't waste time swapping e-mail or voice mail with
people who aren't available.??
?Instant Messaging?
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,842897,00.asp
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