Ambush Marketing: A Way to Connect Your Brand with The World

Do you remember seeing a lot of Olympics-themed marketing campaigns a few weeks ago during Tokyo Olympics 2020? If yes, do you know which brands were the actual sponsor of the said sports event?

Ambush marketing is a technique where you coat-tails the campaign of your competitor or riding the hype of big events that currently happening. It is one of the cheaper tactics used in order to get your brand known in the middle of the competition, as the brands don’t actually pay any fee for the right or are officially affiliated with the events. Usually, massive events that is celebrated around the globe like World Up and Olympics are the prime target of ambush marketing, especially in the local area of the brands. In other occasions, some brands also use this technique to directly shade their competitors.

TYPE OF AMBUSH MARKETING: DIRECT AND INDIRECT CAMPAIGN

A brand can apply this technique both direct and indirectly:

• In direct ambush marketing, the brand intentionally starts the campaign in order to make itself more relatable to the event. It could be done in the form of coat-tailing by connecting the brand to an event or just directly going head-to-head with the competitors. In most cases, this kind of method aims to make it hard for the audiences to distinguish which one is the actual sponsor of the event.
• On the other side, indirect ambush marketing could be said like the more subtle version of making your brand connected to the event. It’s usually done by using creative stocks with “similar feelings” or by doing games in order to introduce your product in the middle of the event. This way, you would be able to get your brand known without exactly stealing the spotlight from the actual sponsors.

AMBUSH MARKETING: PROS AND CONS

It is safe to say that ambush marketing is one of the most cost-effective ways to jump-start the business, especially for local brands or early-stage start-ups where budget is one of the marketing issues. Using this technique allows you to respond directly to the current trend of what’s happening in the world and go a little crazier than your usual creative brand guideline to fit the theme. There isn’t any limitation of what kind of media you can use or what kind of campaign you can put on as long as you’re being mindful of where you stand.

However, the nature of ambush marketing makes it hard for you to calculate the return of investment (ROI), which could be a problem later on if you are planning for a huge campaign. The execution also needs to be planned thoroughly as you need to make sure it wouldn’t get you headbutting with the official partner or have the potential to cause you trouble in the future. And while there are a lot of things to prepare, the brand should also remember that the hype wouldn’t last forever, making the campaign very time-sensitive.

In terms of legality, it could be said that ambush marketing is pretty much on the grey area. While the clever strategies, creatives, and wordplays could get you exposure without spending too much of your marketing budget, the poor application of the technique could land you a lawsuit. One of the prime examples being the lawsuit between PUMA and the Olympics, after the brand registered several trademarks, including for future events like “Puma Beijing 2022” or “Puma Paris2024,” despite not being the official partner of the event.

One of the most remarkable examples of ambush marketing is a beer brand called Stella Artois in the middle of a prestigious tennis championship, the U.S. Open. At that event, Heineken was the official partner. Though the beer brand was not the official sponsor of the story, they set up advertisements around the subway station near the stadium, which tricked a lot of people into thinking that they were the official partner even without them mentioning the event directly.

Given the pros and cons, it’s really important to consider whether ambush marketing is a good step for your brand. While you’re planning this technique, please keep it in mind to not mention the tagline or trademark of the event, also declaring the brand of the official partner of the said event. Because this method is like a double-edged sword, it could either jump-start your brand or getting you in trouble.

Speaking of several cases of ambush marketing that recently happening around the globe, do you know which brands are the actual sponsors of Tokyo Olympics?

Written by Jasmine Raihana

References:

Above The Law. Puma Sued For Declaring War On Olympics Trademarks. https://abovethelaw.com/2021/02/puma-sued-for-declaring-war-on-olympics-trademarks/ [accessed September 13th 2021]

Avada. What is Ambush Marketing? Types, Benefits, and Examples. https://avada.io/resources/ambush-marketing.html#types-of-ambush-marketing [accessed September 13th 2021]

JDSupra. Playing with Fire? Ambush marketing and the Olympic Games. https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/playing-with-fire-ambush-marketing-and-1769170/ [accessed September 13th 2021]

Marketing Optimizer. What is Ambush Marketing? https://www.marketingoptimizer.com/blog/marketing-optimization/ambush-marketing/ [accessed September 13th 2021]

Sales Love Marketing. What is Ambush Marketing? Ambush Marketing Examples in Sports. https://www.saleslovesmarketing.co/blog/what-is-ambush-marketing [accessed September 13th 2021]

Sendpulse. What is Ambush Marketing: Basics https://sendpulse.com/support/glossary/ambush-marketing [accessed September 13th 2021]

Wordstream. Ambush Marketing: What It Is & Why It Works https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2018/04/04/ambush-marketing [accessed September 13th 2021]

World Intellectual Property Review. Olympic Committee sues Puma over ‘war’ on TMs. https://www.worldipreview.com/news/olympic-committee-sues-puma-over-war-on-tms-21078 [accessed September 13th 2021]