What is Undercover Marketing and How is it done?

There were the days when people used to pay attention to the advertisements occurring in between a movie or two episodes. They love to hear what their favorite actors are saying about a lead product, but slowly everyone has realized that even their favorite star can say two appreciative lines for a sum of money. 

 

And this realization turns out to be a nightmare for the paid and open ads. Even till date, we often skip the ads by switching channels. But someone has said that modern problems require modern solutions. To overcome this stress of less efficiency, brands have come up with an idea of undercover marketing.

 

In this blog we will study the concept and working of undercover marketing. We will also take a look at the most recent examples of undercover marketing.

 

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What is Undercover Marketing?

 

Undercover marketing, the term comprises two words, undercover and marketing. Taking the literal meaning, undercover is basically translated to something hidden or something which is not open to the general public, while marketing means advertising your products or the services. 

 

So, in simple terms, undercover marketing is basically advertising your products or services, without letting the audience be aware of it.  

 

Undercover marketing is a subset of guerrilla marketing. It is also known as stealth marketing. Undercover marketing is a marketing strategy which assists the companies to market their product in a hidden way. This doesn't allow the consumer to realize that the play is a marketing strategy.

 

Using kind unconventional tactics, the product is marketed and advertised in a less obvious manner. Undercover marketing thus affects the customer decisions without manipulating them off.

 

(Suggested Read - B2B Marketing Strategies)

 

 

What are Undercover Marketing Strategies?

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Undercover marketing strategies

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There are basically four undercover marketing strategies. All of these four marketing strategies stand out of crowd for advertising your products:

 

1. Ad spies

 

As the name suggests, Ad spies basically refer to the process of secret advertisements. Brands generally pay influencers to recommend their followers' particular products. But the followers aren’t told that the recommendation is basically a paid advertisement.

 

2. Product placement

 

If you ever remember a Bollywood movie, where the lead actor wakes up and brushes his teeth with Colgate or Close Up or any other particular place. Well, it is also a type of undercover marketing. Product placement is the process of featuring a product either in a movie, a daily soap or a reality show.

 

3. Buzz marketing

 

If you know the literal meaning of buzz, you know what this strategy involves. Buzz Marketing is a technique that works by making people talk about a product in a casual way. This directly or indirectly hits the targeted audience and excites them to explore about the same.

 

4. Celebrity endorsements

 

This is also a type of secret advertisement when the public figures or influencers casually mention about a product in casual conversations, interviews or talks.

 

5. Social validation

 

Social validation can be termed as ghostwriting also. It is the process of posting positive reviews for the company on different industrial websites and SNS.

 

Top examples of undercover marketing

 

Now let us take a look at all time famous examples of stealth of undercover marketing:

 

1. As an undercover marketing move, Ax has replaced some exit signs, with a man running away from women. As many women were chasing him because of his irresistible fragrance.

 

2. The movie, “The Italian Job” featured mini cooper automotive in the film.

 

3. Starbucks designs holiday cups every year which is also a part of stealth marketing.

 

4. The popular movie, Games of Thrones has promoted Starbucks indirectly via the film.

 

5. Blackberry has employed hot female models asking males to save their number in their blackberry mobiles.

 

6. The Cast Away movie has promoted FedEx. And the packaging material of the brand is clearly visible on the screen.

 

7. Before the launch date of the King Kong 3D movie, the makers have tried to create a buzz in the audience by creating giant footprints of the creature near the beachside.

 

8. Tyskie beer has employed a creative image of its beer glasses in the doors of bars and clubs as a part of its stealth marketing move.

 

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Steps to create a successful undercover marketing plan

 

It is integral to keep these important elements while creating an effective undercover marketing plan.

 

1. Understand your product

 

Before starting it is essential to understand the core of your product. If you understand the potential of your products and services, you can easily design a relevant marketing model for the same. Hiring an undercover marketing agent won’t work well, until the company realizes the actual worth of the product.

 

2. Market research

 

The second important element is market research. Market research would help in collection of data, which is an integral part of advertising and marketing. 

 

Market research would help the brands to realize its target audience and its demographic value. If the audience is spotted, the company can also design the message, script and tagline of the advertisement.

 

3. Hiring of undercover marketers

 

Another important aspect of undercover marketing is selection of the right marketers. You should choose an undercover marketer who is aware of your targeted audience and their demographic and cultural values.

 

4. Plan a short-term marketing strategy

 

As undercover marketing strategy is a secret marketing strategy, it will be effective only when it is set for short term duration. If the marketing campaign prolongs there are the chances that people will realize its real face and might backfire as well.

 

5. Regular evaluation

 

During the campaign and even after it is concluded, it is essential for the organization to evaluate the changes and performance in sales, website traffic and customer traffic.

 

 

Advantages and Disadvantages of Undercover Marketing

 

Now comes the main question, you might be wondering if undercover marketing is profitable for your business or not. Well, here is the comparison between the advantages and disadvantages of undercover marketing.

 

Advantages of undercover marketing

 

The benefits or advantages of undercover marketing is listed below:

 

1. Generates a buzz

 

Undercover marketing generates a pre-launch buzz that helps in making the product viral. As more people talk about it, there are more chances of the product hitting success scale.

 

2. Enhances branch reach

 

Undercover marketing helps to reach those hidden customers which are left out in traditional marketing. Since, most customers aren’t able to realize that it is a stealth marketing move they just can’t avoid it.

 

3. Raise initial sales

 

By creating excitement in the audience, undercover marketing increases the initial sales wave.

 

4. Saves money

 

Undercover marketing helps in avoiding unnecessary expenditures as it doesn’t ask for a lot of equipment and manpower. Though, undercover marketing strategies require more creative planning efforts, this does not involve high intermediate costs.

 

5. Identifies potential customers

 

Undercover or stealth marketing helps in identifying specific segmented target audiences with the highest potential of catering and showcasing the brands and products.

 

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Disadvantages of undercover marketing

 

Despite an evergreen strategy, undercover marketing many times has caused a great loss to different institutes and organizations. The disadvantages of stealth marketing are as follows:

 

1. Damaging the brand status

 

Sometimes, these strategies work as a reverse wheel and spoil the image and reputation of the organizations. Even if the audience realizes that these strategies are a marketing dilemma of the organization they immediately back off.

 

Taking into consideration, Sony PSP console promotions took a reverse turn when audiences realized that the enthusiastic videos were made by a paid actor.

 

2. Ethically dubious

 

Sometimes, customers don't take the buzz seriously as they don’t realize that they are being marketed. They just don’t take the deceptive decisions related to the products.

 

3. May cost credibility or trust of the customers

 

Undercover marketing moves sometimes create trust issues between the consumers and marketers. Many people see these moves as manipulation and lie games.

 

4. Legal risks

 

Undercover marketing schemes employ those steps and moves which are directly or indirectly forbidden by the law. If a customer someday complains about these, there exists legal risks for the organization.

 

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Undercover marketing when employed with caution and sincerity can be a turning point to the businesses. And even today, all kinds of organizations small or large are applying them.