Ambush marketing does not really help brands
Ambush marketing always causes many chuckles down the aisles, very often its pure self flagellation, in most of the cases its one marketing team taking potshots at another, the consumer doesn’t necessarily a strong focus. Building a brand on the other hand is a full time continuous, long term journey. Let’s look at some of the main parameters that are important in building a brand and evaluate how ambush marketing stacks up.

Consumer at the core: Ambush marketing usually builds on environmental context or a marketing initiative of competition. An insight which needs to be at the core of any communication very often suffers. The cola wars have been in existence for a fairly long period of time but the juggernaut of Coke continues to move on. If its not environment then it’s the executional idea that is the spring board.

Brand consistency: The linkages with the brand idea therefore become very difficult and opportunistic. The messaging a brand imparts usually radiates from its essence – the heart and soul of the brand. It stays consistent over a long period of time to cement the relationship with consumers. When a brand ambushes – the otherwise well preached theorems of marketing take a back seat. Every brand ideally has a different make-up, Vis a Vis its competition. If we indulge in pot-shots at another the signals sort of merge. (Realism one thought was at the core of Dove, pray, what is the link with Mystery?)

Long term: Building a brand requires a long term vision with relevant short-term milestones. There are big variable factors like changing consumer habits, product changes, and regulatory changes to name a few. These are complex variables by themselves. Ambush marketing creates diversions that can put drive a plan awry. It can undo the concerted planned efforts of your own brand and also divert large sums of investments.

A sound marketing plan needs to and will build in probable competitive activity. It needs to factor in multiple scenarios. When you have a response factored in the response (ambush) doesn’t bother. So it’s possible to plan in advance.
As in warfare ambush/ guerilla warfare is the recourse of the upstart. Not the ruler. The ruler always has a plan. At best Ambush can be a tactical initiative. A series of tactical initiatives cannot be a full-blown strategy. In the end there is no replacement to sticking to a plan.