With Unconventional Marketing, we refer to all those advertising strategies that are used through some unconventional communication techniques, with the intent to pique curiosity and stimulate consumer interest in a particular product or service.

One of the most important themes of Unconventional Marketing is word-of-mouth: it is the users themselves who spread the advertisement because they find it enjoyable, attractive, or interesting.

The purpose of unconventional marketing is to surprise the user to such an extent that it establishes a memorable effect, which is very useful at the time of purchase decision.

Imagination and amazement are qualities of unconventional marketing; it aims to provoke emotions in the consumer and also creates expectations even before the launch of a product.

Forms of Unconventional Marketing

Within this type of marketing fall various forms of alternative promotion such as: ambush marketing,

guerrilla marketing, buzz marketing, are all types that use unusual environments to promote products and rely on word-of-mouth, also called WOM, that is, word-of-mouth.

• Marketing Environment or Advertising Environment: the physical environment is exploited for the dissemination of brand or product messages in a different scenario, where there are not many advertising messages;
• Buzz Marketing: consists of a set of marketing techniques that leverage both online and offline, with the aim of increasing conversation and interest in a specific brand.

Guerrilla Marketing: is a communication strategy aimed at spreading an unconventional message through the use of images or videos.

An example of Guerrilla Marketing is the famous brand McDonald's, which used crosswalk lines to create an impactful promotion. Indeed, it turned pedestrian lines into french fries coming out of a packet, prominently displaying its logo.

What Unconventional Marketing Entails

For years, advertising has been offering the same patterns. Consumers are tired of seeing the same images and hearing the same messages, so much so that they no longer pay proper attention.

This is why, in this scenario, today various companies decide to stand out by experimenting with new forms of communicating their brand and products, aiming to capture the customer's attention by adopting techniques of unconventional marketing.

Unconventional marketing leverages viral marketing to identify products that have a tendency to spread spontaneously among people, usually through social media.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Unconventional Marketing

This way of promoting products aims to intrigue and amaze the potential customer. One of its advantages is certainly linked to the economic aspect, as it requires little budget, thus allowing even small companies to adopt this strategy.

The fact that unconventional marketing uses social media to spread the message facilitates the interception of users not strictly connected to the brand but can represent a potential consumer.

This type of marketing allows visibility for everyone, but at the same time exposes companies to potential criticisms from users.

To conclude, unconventional marketing is an excellent strategy for advertising your brand or product, but it is necessary to use all its modes and tools correctly.