What Everyone Ought To Know About Street Team Marketing

Originally developed by independent record companies to help promote and publicize new artists and brands, the concept for street teams were composed of usually unpaid teens hired to create a buzz for an artist and rewarded with access to shows or free merchandise. Their efforts could include placing stickers or fliers in their neighborhood, maintaining and promoting magazines or websites dedicated to the artists, or simply calling the local radio station and requesting the featured songs to be played.

The idea of street teams has evolved into the term “Brand Ambassadors” and the scope of duties has expanded by a wide margin due to the demands of today’s alternative media efforts. Not reserved for the music industry any more, street teams are now in use by many different corporations to get their message across, to include the travel industry, newspapers, publishing, and cable services plus many more. Companies today see the advantage in employing articulate and enthusiastic street teams as a form of guerrilla marketing, focused on creating an interest and spreading the word regarding new products or services.

As the concept of alternative media and guerrilla marketing has grown, so has the concept of street teams. Simply placing stickers or fliers has evolved to fake stunts, flash mobs, and characters dressed in costume to encourage positive interaction with customers without the hard sell. This has resulted in a consumer experience providing an unusual and memorable interplay between a company and the customer resulting in a unique opportunity to reach a broader audience through word of mouth and today’s social media.

With the popularity of Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, events are often captured via cell phone and shared on these social media sites. This also opens the way for unconventional methods of promotion to go viral and to reach a much broader audience than the ones initially targeted. This allows alternative media a longer advertising lifespan than traditional advertising methods.

Street teams have been used extensively by GoGorilla Media as brand ambassadors for designer fragrances, lottery tickets, airfare, and new restaurant openings. Everything from juggling, card tricks, and costumes has been used with great success. One innovative scenario was a street team dressed as candy stripers distributing “prescriptions” for a better TV service. Events like this get major attention from customers, who then go on to describe to friends and family the unusual experience they just had, and the brand name is remembered.

The use of street teams can also be coordinated between several different cities, at the same time to give maximum impact. Thinking outside the box is one way to transcend the limitations of traditional advertising techniques, and with the advent of social media today, the chance of reaching a much broader audience is increased exponentially.

About the Author:

GoGorilla Media is the author of this article on Street Teams. Find more information about Street Teams here.