Stealth Marketing is based on the fact that word of mouth remains the most effective form of promotion. As such, the article Stealth Marketing: How to reach consumers surreptitously (PDF) is giving an insight look in this new marketing trend considered to be a viable alternative to conventional advertising because it is perceived as softer and more personal than traditional advertising.
Here are some tactics and examples mentioned in the paper:
- Viral Marketing: word of mouth via digital platform.
- Brand pushers: hired actors who approach people in real-life situations to slip them a commercial message.
- Celebrity marketing: paying celebrities or famous people money to covertly or overtly promote products.
- Bait-and-tease marketing: getting people interested in something which is revealed later to be something quite different.
- Marketing in video games: embedding brands and logos in electronic games, sometimes called “advergaming”.
- Marketing in pop and rap music: embedding commercial messages in popular music.