Parasitic Marketing – Are you there when you are not?

The Oxford dictionary defines Ambush as –  “surprise attack by persons lying concealed.”

PARASITIC MARKETING IS ANOTHER NAME TO AMBUSH MARKETING

Thus, Parasitic marketing can be understood as a surprise attack on an event sponsor by its competitor.

The official definition of Parasitic Marketing can be stated as follows:

“Parasitic marketing is the planned effort by an organization to associate themselves indirectly with an event in order to gain at least some of the recognition and benefits that are associated with being an official sponsor”

Parasitic marketing takes place when a trader seeks to utilise the publicity value of an event, for instance – a major sports tournament or a concert, to gain a benefit from it despite, not having any involvement or connection with that event and more particularly, having made no financial contribution to entitle him to derive benefit from it. Ambush marketing is a radical concept, which involves setting up some activity that makes use of the event and the interest in it, rather than shelling out for direct sponsorship.

Example: A Pepsi hot air balloon flying above Sharjah, on the day of the Coca Cola Cup Final.