AMBUSH MARKETING: Prepared By:

Steal The Spotlight Sanjoy Khan

Sagarika Paul Das
Sarfaraz Ali Sheikh
Shivani Sharma
1 Sanjukta Bora
Introduction
To Ambush Marketing

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1
Ever found yourself telling
someone about some good
news you got, only for the other
person to completely ignore
what you said and start talking
about themselves?
Ambush marketing – also known
as coat-tail marketing or
predatory ambushing – is the
practice of hijacking or coopting
another advertiser’s campaign to
raise awareness of another
company or brand, often in the
context of event sponsorships
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Many people often get confused between ambush marketing and
guerrilla marketing. These both are unconventional marketing
techniques but way apart from each other. In guerrilla marketing-
emphasis is more on creating a buzz about a product while ambush
marketing is more tilted towards pitching a product to increase sales.

In ambush marketing, creative

minds usually target competitors’
ads slogans to craft their marketing
strategy. Subtle references, sly
jokes, are part of ambush marketing
campaign. This form of marketing is
not new. Many renowned companies
across the world have used ambush
marketing techniques to market their
product. There are some cases
where ambush marketing left
everyone stunned including market
veterans and customers.
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 History
Of Ambush Marketing

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How it started?
• The term ambush marketing was coined by marketing strategist Jerry Welsh while he
was working as the manager of global marketing efforts for the American Express
Company in 1980’s.
• One of the earliest known examples of ambush marketing is the bitter feud that erupted
between MasterCard and Visa during the 1992 Winter Olympics, which was held in the
town of Albertville in southeastern France.
• Having paid $20 million (approximately $35.5 million in 2018 dollars) for the privilege,
Visa was the official credit card sponsor of the ’92 Winter Games. For months prior to
games, Visa ran TV commercials advising American Express cardholders to leave their
AmEx at home as “the Olympics don’t take American Express.”
• Technically, this was true – tickets to the games could only be purchased with Visa
credit cards. However, Visa’s aggressive ad campaign soon raised the ire of American

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• Express, which claimed Visa’s ads were purposefully misleading by suggesting that American Express cards were not
accepted anywhere at the ’92 Winter Games.

• AmEx soon launched its own series of TV spots, which featured the slogan, “When you go to Spain, you’ll need a passport –
but you don’t need a Visa,” a sly reference to the forthcoming Summer Games in Barcelona and 
a subtle dig at the company’s rival. American Express was accused by Visa of engaging in “parasite marketing,” which later
gave rise to the slightly more palatable name of ambush marketing.

• Rona and the ipods

• When you’re one of the wealthiest companies in the history of mankind, you can’t help but attract attention. Case in point,
another classic ambush marketing example of a company leveraging Apple’s advertising to its own ends.

• Back in 2010, Apple’s colorful iPod Nano was among the most popular MP3 players on the market (just typing this makes me
feel ancient). To advertise its iPod Nano line, Apple erected a billboard ad next to the Jacques Cartier Bridge in Montreal
displaying the vividly colorful MP3 players in a satisfying rainbow-ribbon arrangement.

• Sensing an opportunity, Canadian paint and hardware firm Rona seized its chance. Rona soon erected its own billboard ad
directly beneath Apple’s iPod ad to advertise the company’s new paint recycling program. The ad, which bore the slogan
“Nous récupérons les restes de peinture,” or “We collect leftover paint,” was brilliantly simple, and the ad remains one of the
best and most creative examples of ambush marketing in recent memory.

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 Impacts of Ambush
Marketing?
There are two impacts of ambush marketing.
1. Positive
2. Negative

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Positive Impact
• Create brand
awareness.
• Increase in
competition: When
there is an increase in
competition the prices
go down.
• Low cost marketing
for ambusher.

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Negative Impact
• Creates unhealthy competitive
environment.

• Decrease in commercial value of the

event.

• 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.

Date Your Footer Here 10

Is Ambush Marketing Ethical?
Types of Ambush
Marketing
• Direct Ambush Marketing: 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 Ambush Marketing: 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.
Types of Direct Ambush Marketing
Predatory Ambushing
Intentional false claims to official sponsorship.

Example:

• Heineken-UEFA European Championships, 2008

• Carlsberg was the official sponsor

Heineken vs Carlsberg

Heineken
Carlsberg

Heineken has more fans than Carlsberg 13

Coattail Ambushing

The attempt by a brand to directly associate itself with a

property

Example:

• Nike-Beijing Summer Olympics, 2008.

• Lio Xiang’s injur

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Ambushing via trademark/likeness infringement

The intentional unauthorized use of protected intellectual

property.

Example:

• Polish magazine explicitly featuring the words ‘Euro

2008’.

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Types of Indirect Ambush Marketing
Ambushing by association

Use of imagery or terminology to create illusions of a link

between the organization and event.

Example:

• 2003- ICC World Cup in South Africa Philips (non

sponsor)

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Values-based ambushing

Tailor marketing practices – appeal to the same values or

involve same themes

Example:

• Pepsi involvement in 1998 cricket world cup

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Ambushing by distraction

Promotional presence at or near the event without

specific reference to the event itself.

Example:

• Carlton Draught advertising by using hot air balloon

over the stadium hosting a football game

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Insurgent ambushing

The use of surprise street-style promotions (blitz

marketing) at an event or near.

Example:

• French open – Roland Garros 2008

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Unintentional ambushing

Passing mention of manufacturer of an athlete’s

equipment or clothing

Example:

• Serena Williams wearing Audemars Piguet watch

Wimbledon 2015

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Saturation ambushing

Increase their broadcast-media

advertising and marketing at the time of
an event but make no reference to the
event.

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Success Story
Indian E-commerce Wars- Flipkart vs Snapdeal

Indian e-commerce has some good

ambush marketing examples. Snapdeal
started the war. It was about the Flipkart’s
Big Billion Day sale on 6th October in
leading newspaper TOI. Flipkart had been
campaigning about their biggest-sale-ever
in India from last few days.
Snapdeal came into the game and
attacked Flipkart by taking the place just
beside the Flipkart’s advert in the
newspaper on the same day. Their ad
said, “For others, it’s a big day. For us, its
no different. Best savings. Guaranteed.
Check Snapdeal before you buy.”
Success Story
Fiat Photobombs Volkswagen

• Italian car manufacturer Fiat used the

concept of ambush marketing in 2013
when they parked a red Fiat 500
hatchback car on the front door of its rival
Volkswagen's Swedish headquarters just
before the Google maps cars were going to
pass in the nearby vicinity. Google's car
came, clicked photos and upload to its
servers. For couple of years, the image of
that Fiat car in front of Volkswagen's
headquarter leaves everyone wondering
and help created more awareness about
Fiat cars with an element of surprise.
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Examples

iPod Ad
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Audi vs BMW
Hoarding War

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Visual Demonstration
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Conclusion
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Thank You!
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