Let’s be honest: most home service marketing is stale.
Mailers no one reads. PPC ads that disappear into digital noise. A parade of nearly identical “trusted and affordable” taglines. If your brand blends in, it’s invisible. And invisible brands don’t grow.
That’s why more and more home service companies are getting scrappy and turning to guerrilla marketing — bold, weird, unforgettable tactics that trade polish for personality and budget for buzz.
Traditional Marketing: High Cost, Low Impact
- Google Ads cost home service companies between $80 and $300 per lead, depending on service type and market competition. [Source: WordStream, 2023]
- PPC conversion rates for home services average 2.35%, meaning 97 out of 100 clicks don’t become customers. [Source: WordStream, 2023]
- Digital ad fatigue is real: the average person is exposed to 6,000–10,000 ads per day. [Source: Forbes, 2023] Most are ignored.
- Research shows out-of-home ads (like billboards and stunts) have 38–86% recall rates, significantly higher than mobile and digital ads (12–57%) [Source: Billups, 2023].
That’s a lot of money for a maybe.
Why Guerrilla Marketing Works (and Why Now)
Guerrilla marketing flips the script by being experiential, unexpected, and inherently shareable. It’s marketing that happens in the real world, and often makes its way online through social sharing or press.
According to Nielsen, out-of-home ads (like stunts and public activations) have an average recall rate of 55%, significantly outperforming mobile (45%) and banner ads (30%). [Source: Nielsen OOH Advertising Study, 2022]
Guerrilla marketing is also more local-feeling, which matters:
A 2024 Harris Poll found that 63% of consumers are more likely to engage with ads that feel localized to their community. [Source: PR Newswire, 2024]
In an industry built on trust, visibility, and word of mouth, those are not just nice-to-haves—they’re your growth engine.
Best Idea That We Tried Out: Build a Video Game
Sounds expensive and time-consuming? It’s not.
With beginner-friendly tools like Unity and expert-led courses from GameDev.tv, you can build a fun, playable 2D platformer or simple arcade-style game in less than 50 hours—even with zero experience.
I made a game (Snoboy) in less than 3 weeks.
Here’s how to do it:
- Take the 2D Unity Course from GameDev.tv:
You’ll learn Unity, C# scripting, physics, UI, and level design by building actual games as you go. - Use their pre-built assets to save time:
Their courses include characters, animations, and environments, so you don’t waste time on art. - Add your brand to the game:
Replace characters or levels with your team, services, or logo. Make it funny. Make it weird. - Publish and promote:
Host it on your website, run a referral contest, or let customers compete for prizes.
You don’t need to be a developer. You just need to be curious, scrappy, and ready to grind out a lot of hard work.
The Full Arsenal: 83 Guerrilla Marketing Tactics for Home Service Brands
Here’s the complete list featured in our Snoball workshop:
- Deface your own billboard
- Challenge your competitor to a duel
- Mascot creation contest
- Art contest using your service materials
- Protest your own company (satirically)
- Wear a superhero cape and perform kind acts
- Karaoke night for your brand
- Brand-themed storefront escape room
- Melodramatic musical about your company
- Conspiracy night with funny customer theories
- Fake crack stickers in public
- Weekly game show
- Run a fake apology campaign
- Branded corn maze
- Place couches at a bus stop
- Create a fake rival brand
- Deepfake historical moments featuring your team
- Pose as a customer frustration counselor
- Hold a funeral for your competition (satirical eulogy)
- Create a brand video game
- Sarcastic award show (e.g., Worst Kitchen in Utah)
- Slam poetry night
- Skydive with a branded parachute
- Pay someone to tattoo your logo
- Dry t-shirt contest
- Deliver casseroles to customers
- Fake Amber Alert (❌ hard no – included for completeness)
- Write a children’s book about your brand
- Sponsor a gorilla at the zoo
- Murder mystery party featuring your competitor
- Host a community forum
- Costume a local landmark
- Create CEO baseball-style trading cards
- Gamify your business cards or collateral
- Host a citywide scavenger hunt
- Outdoor movie night
- Create brand-inserted fan fiction
- Launch a parody energy drink (that’s just water)
- Attempt an odd world record (e.g., haircut train)
- Nail-driving skills competition
- Host an unconventional rodeo (e.g., llama riding)
- Name a fake disease after your brand
- Host a mock public debate
- Host a community snowball fight
- Open with a food fight (pre-grand opening stunt)
- Celebrity doppelgänger contest
- Wheelchair races or other oddball races
- Snowman-building contest
- Register as a bounty hunter (satirical license)
- Host a “Chad Convention”
- Fake social media harasser persona
- Film a black-and-white silent brand ad
- Doomsday shelter skit
- Fake hacker PR stunt
- Create dating app profiles for your brand
- Endurance dance competition
- Spread a fake conspiracy about your brand
- Attend sports games in a logo costume
- Post mysterious teaser posters (no logo)
- Sponsor public restrooms
- Tape off a fake crime scene
- Post fake "customer went with competitor" signs
- Misspelled skywriting
- Fake eviction notice on your HQ
- Reverse graffiti / power wash stencil
- Fake product recall (because you're too effective)
- Sidewalk chalk outlines with jokes
- Hire a town crier
- Sponsor a little league team
- Trick shot competition
- Get banned from a junkyard (intentionally)
- Offer branded rickshaw rides
- Shovel driveways or pull weeds for neighbors
- Sponsor a party bus
- Staff “face your fears” video series
- Drone light show ad
- Fake company closure gift baskets
- Branded freebies (e.g., stickers, pencils – but fun)
- Musician plays songs with your brand lyrics
- Clean up a park using branded trash bags
- Break a (weird) world record
- Obscure skill contest (e.g., shingle toss record)
- Host a local nail-driving skills competition
Be Real. Be Local. Be Talked About.
The best home service companies aren’t the ones who shout the loudest online. They’re the ones who show up offline in ways no one expects.
- Guerrilla marketing creates organic word of mouth
- It triggers curiosity and creates shareable moments
- And it makes your brand feel human, not corporate
Final Word: You Don’t Need a Bigger Budget. You Need a Bolder Idea.
Choose one idea from the list. Own it. Film it. Post it. Turn your marketing into a moment worth remembering.
Because boring brands lose.
And weird brands win.
Sources:
- WordStream, 2023: PPC Lead Costs and Conversion Rates
https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2023/ppc-benchmarks - Forbes, 2023: Ad Exposure and Digital Fatigue
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2023/03/03/how-many-ads-do-we-see-a-day - Billups, 2023: Out-of-Home Ad Recall Statistics
https://www.billups.com/blog/out-of-home-ad-recall-study
Nielsen OOH Advertising Study, 2022
https://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/report/2022/ooh-advertising-report/ - PR Newswire (Harris Poll), 2024: Local Ad Preferences
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/2024-harris-poll-local-ads - GameDev.tv: Unity Developer Course
https://www.gamedev.tv/p/complete-unity-developer-2d
