Out-of-Home 101: The Basics of Guerrilla Postings
- adiller2
- Oct 17
- 4 min read
Updated: 6 hours ago
In out-of-home (OOH) advertising, guerrilla postings are a crowd favorite. All types of brands use this static OOH format, guerrilla postings feel like a harmonious mix of street art and poster advertising staking claim on blank walls or construction sites.
Simply put, guerrilla postings are street-level posters, and our team here has years of experience working with this format. If you’re new to OOH advertising or if you’re thinking about guerrilla postings for your next campaign, keep reading.
One afternoon on a team call, the following was posed…
“What should people know if they want to run a guerrilla postings OOH campaign?”
Our media and sales team has shared their wisdom, and we’re sharing it with you!
Dedicated vs. Guerrilla
Guerrilla advertising is a strategy that uses an unconventional approach, it’s based on the element of surprise. Nothing is guaranteed when it comes to guerrilla, and the sentiment can be applied to guerrilla postings.
With guerrilla postings, you are buying a set amount of locations to reach specific neighborhood(s), but there’s NO guarantee on exact locations, nor a guarantee that your ads will stay up and remain posted. The nature of guerrilla!
Dedicated guerrilla postings are a bit more guaranteed and dependable, they are posted on specific locations or addresses, and will occasionally have some framing to indicate its permanence for your campaign dates. These dedicated guerrilla postings are a bit more protected from other advertisers pasting over your ad. Check out the example below of a dedicated guerrilla posting for the wedding website Zola.
Locations & Targeting
You probably picked this up in the last section, but the type of guerrilla posting determines a few things. In general, guerrilla postings can be activated in neighborhoods, but with guerrilla postings, exact locations will change over the campaign's duration. These are often placed on construction barricades and unused walls.
All sites are monitored throughout the campaign for any weather damage and/or vandalism and sites will change throughout the course of the campaign due to the nature of the format.
After your posters are up, we will provide you with a location list, but this is only after the campaign has been activated and posted.
With dedicated guerrilla postings, you have the exact location or intersection, and these are closely monitored and replaced if necessary.
Size and Basics:
Guerrilla postings are often sold in 2 posters per site that are side-by-side. Looking to really make an impact? Out-of-home vendors offer brands the opportunity to purchase more posters per site. When you increase the quantity of posters per site, they become a bigger visual, and they can be used for sequential messaging.
See Byredo’s sequential guerrilla postings below.
Proof of Performance (POP) Photos
The process of posting guerrilla postings involves the pasting over the poster ad, you may have heard of guerrilla postings being called “wheat pasting” in the past. What does this mean for you? There will be wrinkles in the artwork.
Guerrilla postings are placed on uneven surfaces. There could be graffiti or even remnants of other postings within the posting site. Our team mentioned the word “gritty” a few times when it comes to the surrounding areas. Keep all of this in mind when you receive your POP photos.
For a dedicated guerrilla posting, the material is more like a standard vinyl used for other OOH formats, so the surface will appear smooth.
Other Considerations:
Not All Markets Make Sense: We aim to please and make our clients happy, but we’ll also keep it real with you - not all markets are a good fit for guerrilla postings. You have to consider if the market is walkable and people regularly are moving through the neighborhood.
Worthy Alternative for Competitive Areas: For neighborhoods like Soho in New York City, where OOH formats can be competitive to secure, guerrilla postings may be a better option for you as it gets you in the area at a cost-efficient price.
Weather: We mentioned the glue before, right? Weather can definitely impact your guerrilla postings. During the process of posting, if the temperatures are too cold, this can postpone your launch. When it’s too hot, this can affect the appearance of your guerrilla postings.
Other Advertisers: With the nature of guerrilla postings, the reality is that there could be other brands near your posters that could be considered controversial, or may not align with your company’s brand.
Lead Time: Like any traditional or static out-of-home format, give yourself at least 3-4 weeks prior to your start date to get artwork to PJX and our vendors.
You now have the basics of guerrilla posting OOH advertising!
While dedicated guerrilla postings feel like any other out-of-home format, guerrilla postings come with a few considerations. Are specific locations important to you? Do you like the unexpected and element of surprise, or something more secure? Whichever is a fit for you, we can help you get from planning to launch!
Our team of experts are ready to help, get in touch with us today!