GRASSROOTS CONSUMER MARKETING CAMPAIGNS Best answer on the web
marketing campaigns that were developed to build support from average
consumers for a product, service or cause. Ideally, it would be a
grassroots effort that would be a 'David vs Goliath' story where the
little grassroots effort helped overwhelm a giant organization or
institution. (I am more interested in the product support-building
and least interested in the cause.)
These examples can be case studies, plans or outlines, but MUST
include specific examples of what was done within the campaign (i.e.,
tactics, steps, tools, techniques, etc.) to accomplish the goal.
Ideally, the end-results would also be available.
What about the consumer push for medical use of marijuana?
What would you consider as an example for the support of a product that would overwhelm an organization? Wouldn't the product manufacturer/supplier benefit from the support? Are you also interested in successful grassroots campaigns that may be in the environmental realm (stopping a huge construction project, for instance?)
Probably one of the easiest and well-known cases involves a product for which there was not even a "need" -- the Pet Rock. It's well-documented, even though the Pet Rock preceded the Internet by two decades. Gary Dahl knew that he had a fad item; knew that it'd take clever promotion to make it go. This is just one account; but there are several very detailed analyses of what he did on the Web: http://www.super70s.com/Super70s/Culture/Fads/Pet_Rocks.asp
Best regards,
Omnivorous-GA
So that we can all be on the right track, can you provide one example of a campaign that you feel fits the bill? umiat
To be honest, I am still confused by your question. Most all the grassroots efforts I have found are organized by a "group" which encourage consumers to campaign and stimlate change as they gain momentum. I am wondering, however, if you are looking for efforts initiated by "one" individual. Your article example citing the consumer write-in efforts for Pilot crackers leads me to wonder if I am heading in the wrong direction.
Please look at a few of these examples and tell me if I am on the right track or totally off base:
A DOCUMENTARY EFFECTS CHANGE IN PUBLIC HOUSING
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A grassroots effort by housing advocates in Chapel Hill, North Carolina used the power of documentary to rally support for better maintenance of public housing. The successful effort paid off by gaining attention at the federal level. From "Using Grassroots Documentary Films for Political Change," by David Whiteman. Tech Soup May 8, 2002 http://www.techsoup.org/howto/articlepage.cfm?ArticleId=385&topicid=5
USING EMAIL TO STAY CONNECTED AND EFFECT COMMUNITY CHANGE
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"In 1996, a group of Whidbey Island activists put together a ONE/Northwest-hosted email list to stay in touch and informed about key community issues. Proving that "all politics is local," the list quickly grew to 100 participants who began turning out for key meetings and supporting environmentally responsible citizens for positions of community responsibility."
"At one meeting, over 85 people attended and successfully opposed the inclusion of planned resorts in the county Comprehensive Plan. A multitude of write-in votes resulted in victory for a pro-environment Soil Conservation District Commissioner at yet another meeting." From "Email List Organizing Builds Community Successes on Whidbey Island, WA." ONE/Northwest. Tech Soup (May 06, 2000) http://www.techsoup.org/howto/npostory_article.cfm?articleid=26&topicid=5
CONSUMER CAMPAIGN AGAINST GENETICALLY ALTERED FOODS - The True Food Network
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"Supermarket activism was extremely important and effective in forcing genetically engineered (GE) food off the shelves throughout Europe. In the U.S., we are starting to see some of those same results. Whole Foods and Wild Oats, two national supermarket chains, pledged to use only non-GE ingredients in their store brand products after consumers expressed their concerns about the use of these experimental foods. Trader Joe's, after more than a year of being the target of a consumer campaign by several grassroots groups, NGO's,and individual activists, pledged to source non-GE for all their store brands." http://www.truefoodnow.org/supermarkets/
OXFAM CLOTHES CODE CAMPAIGN
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"From London to Nicaragua, consumers and workers are uniting to attack an age-old scourge: sweatshops. Major consumer campaigns are gaining ground across Western Europe and North America by joining forces with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and trade unions in the South to demand respect for workers? basic rights. "Taking the Sweat out of the Sweatshops," by Ruth Mayne. Oxfam (1999)
http://www.unesco.org/courier/1999_11/uk/ethique/txt1.htm
PARENTS TELEVISION COUNCIL
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"With advertisers being flooded with thousands of letters of protest generated by PTC grassroots chapters and members, 46 "Nip/Tuck" advertisers decided to pull out. The massive ad cancellation was considered a huge success by the PTC that was greatly concerned about the graphic nature of the show's content. In a solid show of the power of the PTC efforts, more than 14 advertisers called the PTC office and said as a direct result of our efforts, they re-evaluated their media buys and pulled their advertisements off "Nip/Tuck." That's the power of the PTC!" http://www.parentstv.org/ptc/niptuck/main.asp
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umiat
How many cases of grassroots marketing campaigns do you require for a legitimate answer? I ask this because it seems only a few of them can be considered a "david vs. goliath" case. So far I have found 6 cases that are applicable within this requirement.
Some of them are apparently just creative ideas using grassroots marketing. Can we still include them even if they are not of the "david vs. goliath" nature?
Thanks!
The best example I can think of is the original "Star Wars" movie. The studio didn't promote it very enthusiastically, but within days of its release the theaters were packed: one person told another person, and the word spread that this was a remarkable movie.
On the day that "Star Wars" came out, I was hospitalized. At least a dozen of my friends telephoned me to tell me about this wonderful sci-fi adventure that they'd "discovered." I couldn't wait to get out of the hospital so that I could see the movie.
An assistant manager at the theater that was showing "Star Wars" told me that the theater had been prepared for a mediocre box-office return, and had expected a maximum run of two weeks. Of course, "Star Wars" went on to become one of the most successful films in history. And it was the fans who did it, not the marketing department of 20th Century Fox.
"The Rocky Horror Picture Show" is another example of a movie that was under-promoted, and became a hit because it was "discovered" by the moviegoing audience.
Most articles usually are free flowing discussions so they do not usually have outlines of their main points. But that wouldn?t be a problem; I will provide the necessary outlines coming from the articles themselves. I will also be using multiple articles to stress the point.
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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
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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
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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
Search terms used:
Grassroots marketing guerilla word-of mouth ?case studies? papers
I hope these links would help you in your research. Before rating this answer, please ask for a clarification if you have a question or if you would need further information.
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Regards,
Easterangel-ga
Google Answers Researcher
The examples I found are not in the form of case studies, plans or outlines but as ARTICLES. Such articles discuss the grassroots strategies made by individuals and firms in their quest to be successful.
I will separate the articles into the "David vs. Goliath" category and the "Just Plain Creative" types of grasssroots marketing.
Will this be ok with you as a legitimate answer?
Thanks.
The advocacy group Viewers for Quality Television (VQT) started as a small effort by a Virginia woman to return "Cagney and Lacey" to the airwaves. VQT today remains a relatively small organization with about 3,000 members and an annual budget under $70,000. But its volunteer efforts each year include letter campaigns, a respected newsletter, annual polls, awards, and a national conference, all directed toward preserving quality programming and resurrecting some shows from the network trash heap. Since its formation, VQT campaigns have resulted in the renewal of several programs slated for cancellation, including "Designing Women" and "China Beach." Most recently, fans of the cancelled "Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman" formed their own "Save Our Show Campaign" which included a petition drive and used a Web site to urge viewers to write or call CBS to protest.
A link to greater explanation about grassroots efforts is at http://216.239.57.104/search?q=cache:KVCjeTkFO7EJ:acjournal.org/holdings/vol4/iss3/articles/hart.htm+grassroots+consumer+campaign&hl=en&ie=UTF-8.
At this point, I am most interested in politial and consumer goods examples; environment or otherwise would be off-target for me.
#If you have any other info about this subject , Please add it free.# |
July 30th, 2010 edit