Guerrilla P.R

When advised to discuss P.R, the most obvious topics that spring to mind are how public relations differs from marketing and the dominant paradigm and how it influences P.R practice. Surprisingly I have decided not to dwell on either of these issues. Instead I shall move away from them towards the more practical and adventurous side of public relations and will look at Guerrilla P.R and its marvelous techniques, as unconventional and outrageous as they are.

As effective as news releases and mailing lists are, it sometimes takes a little bit more to establish a relationship with the key public. Consider it a romantic gesture if you will. A romantic gesture that is creative, thoughtful and unique. Let’s be honest, we all love to feel special.

The Guerrilla P.R guru Michael Levine explains it as the Tiffany Theory. Levine states that “a gift delivered in a box from Tiffany's will have a higher perceived value than one in no box or a plain box. That's not because the recipient is a fool; it's because in our society, we gift-wrap everything: our politicians, our corporate heads, our movie and TV stars, and even our toilet paper. Tiffany paper places a higher perceived value on things”

I believe if I were told to pick one box from a selection of plain boxes and one was from Tiffany’s, I would pick the pretty blue box. Surprising? Not in the slightest. Guerrilla P.R is effectively making an organisation stand out from the standard clutter of campaigns. Using slightly unorthodox and irregular techniques is simply providing the public with more evidence as to why they should persuade themselves to become an active public within the organization.

Do not get me wrong, I think conventional P.R tactics are most certainly needed to maintain relationships, however sometimes a little ‘off-the-wall’ public relations can attract the non-active public and establish a long anticipated relationship with those who were unreachable by the standard methods.

For an example of a Guerrilla P.R company and their case studies look at www.guerillapr.com as they have worked with some of the world’s biggest brands.