Ambush marketing is the association of a brand with an event that occurs through mass media without the brand itself having any connection to the organized event.
In practice, it's a kind of promotional campaign carried out by a company that ties itself to a major event.
It derives from the English verb "to ambush," which translated means to lay an ambush, hence it aims to create a disruptive action against a sponsoring company.
The intent of ambush marketing is to increase the visibility of one's own brand at the expense of another brand.
Types of Ambush Marketing
There are different strategies linked to different types of ambush marketing, namely:
- Predatory Ambushing: a brand uses this marketing strategy in order to sabotage the sponsorship of an event by another competitor. Thanks to this technique, the sponsorship of the brand occurs at the expense of the competitor;
- Coattail Ambushing: overexposure of a brand at an event where the official sponsor, who should have exclusivity over all advertising, is in fact another brand;
- Property or Trademark Infringement: violation of a trademark that intentionally adopts marketing strategies to sponsor itself during an event;
- Self-Ambushing: marketing strategy adopted to prevail over the strategies of another brand.
Organizers of major events over the years have mobilized to counteract ambush marketing and to protect the rights acquired by official sponsors.
Examples of Ambush Marketing
1984 Olympics
For the organization of the 1984 Olympics held in Los Angeles, there was a focus on offering exclusive sponsorship contracts to companies.
Even though the Japanese company Fuji obtained the contract, it was the rival company Kodak that played a leading role in advertising during the event.
Kodak, acting legally, purchased so many television advertising slots broadcasted during the event that it was remembered as the official sponsor.
Microsoft and Sony
In 2007, Sony launched the new PlayStation 3 by organizing a media event on a boat on the Seine in Paris.
The event was attended by many guests and dozens of journalists.
During the event, alongside the Sony boat, another vessel appeared advertising the new Xbox 360.
Microsoft, therefore, decided to ambush the competing brand by attracting the attention of everyone participating in the event and those strolling along the Seine, taking advantage of Sony's media exposure.
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