AMBUSH

MARKETING
Km Sakshi Singh
Eshika
Subham
Kanika
Nirag tigga
Ritwika Bajray
 INTRODUCTION
• It can be defined as an attempt by an organization to benefit from the
goodwill or popularity of a particular event by creating an association
between itself and the event, without permission from the relevant
organization and without paying the fees to become an official sponsor.
• Is it illegal, or is it unethical, or is it smart advertising?
CONT….
• ‘It is the unauthorized association
of a business or organization with
the marketing of a particular event-
gaining benefit for the marketing
right or licensing fee applicable in
order to be associated with an
event, such as sporting event’. -
Jerry Welsh
Do you remember when
Nike sponsored the 1996
Olympics? Well, they didn't.
You probably remember
Michael Johnson's gold
shoes more than Reebok's
official sponsorship.
 HOW IS IT DONE ?
• Purchase advertising time on television before, during and after an event.
• Erecting billboards near the event.
• Using planes to fly their banners overhead or handing out free merchandise, like
caps or T-shirts, at or near the event so that spectators who are picked up by
television cameras become walking billboards.
• Giving away free tickets to the event as prizes in an advertising campaign.
• Sponsoring individual teams or athletes instead of the event itself; even sponsoring
the city where the event is held.
 WHY AMBUSH MARKETING?

 Difficult for marketer to spend for the high cost.

 Hype environs of mega events.
 Sponsor has to spend huge amount for publicity
on T.V. Print and Outdoor Advertising.
 Ambush Marketing is cost effective.
 Ambush Marketing
Advantages
• Advantage of a major event to
increase brand awareness while not
spending the money to be a
sponsor.
• Increase in competition : when
there is an increase in competition
the prices go down.
Disadvantages
• It decreases the commercial value
of the event.
• It creates unhealthy competitive
environment.
• It may adversely effect the funding
of the event as it will be beneficial
for the company to be an ambusher
instead of roping huge amounts of
sponsorship.
 TYPES OF AMBUSH MARKETING
Direct
• Direct ambush marketing is an
approach where a brand works
aggressively to associate itself with
an event or property, when that
brand has not purchased rights as
the official sponsor.
Indirect
• Indirect ambush marketing, on the
other hand, doesn’t force the
association, but seeks to align a
brand through suggestion or
reference to an event or property.
 PROTECTING FROM AMBUSING

• The sponsor should focus on effectively exploiting and leveraging its purchased
association with the sports property.
• Sponsoring both the event and the broadcast of the event.
• There should be detailed sponsorships contracts.
• There are special laws introduced for major events and Olympic Games to protect
main sponsors.
• Official sponsors can sometimes bring pressure to bear on the event owners to
introduce anti-ambush marketing campaigns.
EXAMPLES OF AMBUSH
MARKETING
 Snap deal ambushes Flipkart’s
Billion day thunder; as Amazon
is left amazed

 But in October 2015, competition among the rivals moved

to another level.
 The brand biggies were not only present on the front page
of leading dailies in India, but were also creatively trolling
each other with witty content.
 But the one that stole the show was Snapdeal with its
creativity and wit as they released a clever ad campaign by
taking a dig at both its rivals – Flipkart and Amazon.
 The full-page ad appeared in The Times of India’s third
page, which read ‘ You don’t need a BILLION offers to
amaze you. You just need to snap the best ones. For
the best offers this Diwali, shop only on Snapdeal’.
 CONCLUSION
• If an ambusher's primary objective is to create confusion and uncertainty in
the minds of consumers as to who officially sponsors an event and draw
some of the favourable attitude or opinion afforded to sponsors to
themselves, then allowing ambushers to communicate their message
accomplishes this goal.
• Any subsequent actions by sponsors or organizers must then serve to deter
future efforts or to restore the sponsor's original status or position,
objectives which have been largely unsuccessful to date. Given consumers'
previously stated apathetic opinion towards ambushing