Stealth Marketing: The Art of Bluffing

INTRODUCTION

Stealth marketing is a form of advertising in which a business hides its participation in a marketing campaign. The objective is to generate excitement about a good or service without making customers feel like they are being sold to. Because it generates a sense of excitement and genuineness, this type of marketing is frequently more effective than conventional advertising. The goal is to give customers the impression that they learned something on their own as opposed to having it forced upon them.

The use of viral marketing, product placement, word-of-mouth promotion, and covert advertising are just a few examples of stealth marketing. For instance, a business might pay actors to use its product in public or arrange for product placement in a well-known film or television programme. Both times, the company's connection is concealed, making the marketing seem more natural and genuine.

However, if customers feel duped or exploited, stealth marketing can also be debatable and unethical. Companies must be honest with their customers regarding their participation in marketing initiatives. Additionally, regulators might impose sanctions on businesses that use stealth marketing without declaring their involvement.

Small businesses have also had success using covert marketing to generate interest in new products. These marketing strategies are not in question. According to some experts, the act needs "tricking" people and is too unsatisfactory. However, there is no denying that the tactics may also be effective in some circumstances. To employ stealth marketing, one needs ingenuity and the ability to generate buzz. When done right, stealth marketing may be a low-cost means of increasing a product's visibility. These marketing tactics' main goals are to create customers with business potential and brand exposure, not to generate quick cash. It calls for a lot of creativity. We sell a product while concealing the fact that it is being sold to others. For instance, if we are watching a movie and a MacBook or another brand of laptop appears in a scene, this is referred to as indirect marketing, buzz marketing, or stealth marketing. In addition, the researchers have framed the following factors to measure the impact of stealth marketing on consumers to determine the level of impact concerning the various identified factors.

To advertise a good or service, stealth marketing can be an effective strategy, but it must be used with caution and consideration for the consumer. Companies must be open about their involvement and must not in any manner mislead or defraud their clients. Stealth marketing may generate attention and boost a business's revenues morally.

TYPES OF STEALTH MARKETING

Stealth marketing has a large avenue of ways through which it can market a product. Some of the ways stealth marketing happens are:

Product placement: One of the most popular types of stealth marketing is product placement. Companies collaborate with content producers, such as television and filmmakers, to showcase their products without making the product the primary subject. While businesses want their items to be a significant part of media coverage, product placement can be rather subtle and unidentifiable at times. Businesses may pay actors and influencers to wear their items, place their goods in movies' backdrops, or use brand mentions in conversation to market the product in an indirect manner.

Reviews: Depending on the source, reviews may be considered a kind of stealth marketing. If marketers encourage people to leave reviews about a specific product or pay people to write positive reviews, this can count as stealth marketing. Giving some customers early access to a product and asking them to post a review before it is made public is another method that marketers utilise as stealth marketing. Reading these reviews may inspire readers to learn more about the upcoming product, sparking further conversation and excitement.

Under-cover Marketing: Advertisers can introduce new products to consumers in a creative way that does not look like an advertisement by using stealth marketing strategies. It calls for innovative marketing techniques as well as originality. A clever salesman frequently tries to advertise the product without being informed. Even if you hear other people praising a new product, that is still stealth marketing.

Company Partnerships: Partnering with a distributor or promoter is a common choice when utilising stealth advertising to promote a physical good or commodity. For a limited time, businesses can work with a distributor to use and promote their products more prominently. By embedding the product into the business partner's goods and services, they can have distributors advertise the advantages of their supplier to clients on their behalf.

Viral marketing: Any marketing technique that relies on persuading people to spread the marketing message to others is referred to as "viral marketing," which increases the number of people who see the message and increases its potential effect. It is a technique used by businesses to advertise their goods in the hopes that consumers will be so moved by the campaign that they will spread the word to their friends and family. It is "a marketing strategy that leverages the Internet, social networks, and other technology to motivate people to spread the word about products and services, potentially leading to an exponential increase in message exposure and effect.

Celebrity Marketing: Celebrity marketing is becoming a common strategy used by businesses to advertise their names, products, and services. Aiming to elicit consumers' intent to purchase or use the marketed commodity or service, marketers accomplish this by projecting the image and positive traits of celebrities onto the brand. For the first time, Sony Ericsson used celebrity marketing to promote the T681 mobile phone. They hired a bunch of actors whose sole duty would be to visit popular tourist destinations and approach bystanders to ask for permission to take images of them using their cameras. This mobile phone campaign's distribution gave more individuals the chance to discuss its benefits. Since celebrities are believed to provoke more positive thoughts about brands than other people, celebrity marketing benefits businesses.

ADVANTAGES

Stealth marketing, although focuses on subtleness and is done to be indirect, has a very important place in the world of marketing. There are many unique advantages that stealth marketing brings with it and hence acts as an integral part of any marketing campaign.

1. Stealth marketing can be more genuine and believable to consumers because it is not immediately apparent that it is advertising.

2. Potential for viral marketing: If customers perceive stealth marketing to be engaging or enjoyable, they might spread the word to friends, which could result in viral marketing.

3. Low cost: Stealth marketing may be less expensive than more conventional forms of promotion.

4. Greater impact: Stealth marketing has the potential to be more covert, making it more potent in influencing target audiences' purchase choices.

5. Consumer engagement: Businesses can communicate with consumers in a more interactive and personal way by adopting stealth marketing strategies, which can boost brand loyalty.

DISADVANTAGES

1. Lack of transparency: Stealth marketing is frequently criticised for its opaqueness and deceitfulness, which can damage the brand's reputation and erode consumer trust.

2. Misleading advertising: This kind of advertising frequently muddies the distinction between promotion and actual customer opinion, making it potentially deceptive. Customers may feel misled or betrayed as a result.

3. Negative publicity: Stealth marketing can also result in negative publicity because consumers may feel duped or manipulated, which can tarnish a brand's reputation and cause bad word of mouth.

4. Legal concerns: Stealth marketing may occasionally be viewed as misleading advertising and subject the company to legal action.

5. Ineffective outcomes: Stealth marketing may not always succeed in producing the desired outcomes because consumers may not be persuaded by the employed strategies or they may choose to disregard the marketing efforts.

6. Reduced customer loyalty: When customers learn they have been deceived, it may lead to a decline in brand trust and a loss of customer loyalty. Companies that depend on consumer loyalty for long-term success may suffer the most from this.

RAY-BAN:-A CASE STUDY

Only selling roughly 18,000 pairs a year, Ray Ban brand sunglasses were having financial difficulties in the early 1980s. The brand then experienced a comeback in 1986, selling 40,000 pairs virtually overnight. It was selling millions of pairs worldwide by the late 1980s. For many years, that specific kind of sunglasses had double-digit growth and is still in style today.

What is the cause of this increase?

One word i.e Product Placement. Especially in Tom Cruise's performance in the film Top Gun. Coincidentally, immediately following the publication of Top Gun, there was a significant increase in both bomber jacket sales and military enlistment.

How large?

In the seven months following the film's premiere, sales of the brand's aviators increased by over 40%. It was so popular that the military set up recruitment booths outside of theatres to answer inquiries from would-be pilots who experienced a "thirst for speed" after watching the movie. In the year following the release of Top Gun, there was a combined 20,000-person increase in enlistment across all branches of the military, with 16,000 of those recruits joining the Navy. increased interest in training to become navy aviators like the movie character Maverick played by Cruise.

CONCLUSION

The way we convey messages must change as technology and culture do, but without harming anyone in any manner. Marketers must be creative while also being aware of the limits of their sneaky creative actions. Activities used in covert marketing can increase sales for all brands. Companies today are discovering a variety of less expensive ways to sell their goods. Therefore, it is also discovered that businesses employ several unethical methods to advertise their brands, including celebrity endorsements, product placements in motion pictures, and other cutting-edge techniques. Newspaper articles on prominent corporate governance problems in businesses around the world have increased awareness of integrity in today's world. In this situation, it's critical to make an effort to comprehend stealth marketing actions and foretell which stealth marketing strategies are currently in use and are anticipated to endure in the future. To grasp the significance of ethical issues when utilising stealth marketing, this research was necessary to determine the major impact of stealth marketing operations on ethical practices. It is evident from the studies that covert marketing can affect customer behaviour. By withholding accurate information from consumers, marketers have attempted to mislead them. Marketers now regularly use stealth marketing using many forms of communication to raise brand awareness. Although legally permissible, marketers must also adhere to generally acknowledged ethical standards.