I read this book when it was first published in 1984 and recently read the Third Edition, curious to know how relevant Levinson's ideas have remained during the almost 20 years years since then. He has revised and updated the book to accommodate the emergence of the Internet, e-business, and globalization initiatives. To his credit, his Guerrilla principles remain valid and, if anything, are even more relevant and more valuable now than ever before. It is important to keep in mind that, as he explains in Guerrilla Creativity, creative marketing is not something that you do. "Instead, it's something that your prospects get." Guerrilla principles guide and inform initiatives by which to produce desired results, whatever those may be. Perhaps to create or increase demand for what one offers. (I use the word "offers" rather than "sells" because the same principles can also be invaluable, for example, to those seeking charitable contributions to a non-profit organization.) Perhaps to inform a prospect or reassure a client; in terms of a competitor, perhaps to create confusion, discomfort, and even despair.
Although the book's subtitle suggests that the "secrets" provided will help to make big profits from a small business, Levinson's principles can (as I have indicated) help to achieve a variety of other desired results which may include but are not limited to profits; moreover, his principles can be as helpful to a multinational corporation as they can to a local family-owned business.
The material is carefully organized within five sections: The Guerrilla Approach to Marketing -- Updated, Mini-Media Marketing, Maxi-Media Marketing, Nonmedia Marketing, and finally, Launching Your Guerrilla Marketing Attack. Levinson also provides an especially useful concluding section, "Information Arsenal for Guerrillas" (pages 363-372) which directs the reader to hundreds of resources such as a bibliography as well as information about relevant newsletters, periodicals, audiotapes, and videotapes.
I especially appreciate the fact Levinson includes marginal notes throughout his narrative. They make it so much easier to review key points which may not have been highlighted or underlined. Also, his Index is much more extensive than what authors of business books usually provide. This is in all respects a user-friendly volume whose material, if understood and then applied both effectively and (yes) appropriately, can be of substantial value to any decision-maker who seeks to create or increase demand for whatever her or his organization offers.
What sets Levinson's various "Guerrilla" books apart from most others is his consistent point of view. It has no doubt been influenced by Sun Tzu and especially by several of Sun Tzu's strategies such as when far away, seem near...or vice versa; when small, seem large...or vice versa; when exhausted, seem vigorous...or vice versa, etc. It was Sun Tzu who explained the importance of thorough preparation by asserting that every battle is won or lost before it is fought. Although we usually think of such strategies as being used only by "Davids," the same strategies (albeit with modifications) can also be used very effectively by "Goliaths."
In the first chapter, Levinson identifies 12 differences between Guerrilla marketing and traditional marketing. They are essentially differences of judgment, values, and priorities rather than of resources. I agree with Jason Jennings who suggests that it's not the large that eat the small...it's the fast that eat the slow. Size and speed are not mutually exclusive. Many successful organizations have both. However, Levinson is quite correct when stressing the importance (and benefits) of having an underdog mentality. Differing somewhat with Andrew Grove, I presume to suggest that not all survivors are paranoid...but most are. The Guerrilla mentality takes no one and nothing for granted. Ever.
For me, one of Levinson's most interesting ideas involves the Guerrilla's relationship with competition. He goes one step further than the Biblical David who wisely avoided physical contact with Goliath: "Guerrilla marketing asks you to forget about competition temporarily and to scout opportunities to cooperate with other businesses and support each other in a mutual quest for profits." That is to say, rather than facing Goliath in combat, Levinson's David would to go into partnership with those vendors who provide a variety of products and services to the Philistines. Goliath would be hired to handle accounts receivable. Eventually David would buy out his partners, then retain them on an outsource basis to continue servicing the Philistine account while he seeks new business opportunities elsewhere within and beyond the Middle East. Perhaps sell franchises in military provisions while remaining owner/CEO of a parent company which provides various services to its franchisees through subsidiaries such as Rent-a-Camel, Caravan Leasing, Goliath Security Services, Galleys Unlimited, etc.
Presumably Levinson agrees with me that it would be a mistake, indeed highly un-Guerrilla-like, to adopt all or even most of the strategies and tactics he offers in this book. First, do a rigorous analysis of your organization's needs and interests, of course, but also or its strengths and especially its weaknesses. (You can be sure your toughest competitors already know where you are most vulnerable. Do you?) Next, set the priorities for action (NOT discussion) and develop a cohesive and comprehensive plan to achieve the most important objectives. Then cherry-pick whichever of Levinson's proffered strategies and tactics will be most helpful to those efforts. There are more of them in this book than you can possibly use at any one time, anyway. However, priorities can change...often because of a competitor's initiatives. (If you did not see them coming, that's your fault. A Guerrilla always sleeps with one eye open.) When circumstances change, different strategies and tactics may be needed. Re-read Levinson's book. You'll probably find whatever you need.
Final point: A Guerrilla never trusts only one book for advice on marketing. Nor should you. Check out Levinson's bibliography. There are no glaring omissions other than Sun Tzu's The Art of War (Griffith translation) and Reis and Trout's Positioning. Among the dozens he cites, my own preferences are Beckwith's Selling the Invisible, Cohen's The Marketing Plan, Levitt's The Marketing Imagination, McKenna's Real Time, Reichheld and Teal's The Loyalty Effect, and Schmitt and Simonson's Marketing Aesthetics as well as Schmitt's subsequent Experiential Marketing.
