Ibiza: Guerrilla & Performance Marketing Island
Last month I enjoyed a sunny holiday in Ibiza again. I love the island and like a retired granddaddy I’ve been visiting it for 20 years. Ibiza makes my entertainment and guerrilla marketing heart beat faster each time I visit. So granddaddy still rocks along…
Roger Sanchez spinning a delicious set in the Pacha Ibiza
Magico is the best word to describe my feelings when I’m at Ibiza. The hippie island makes me pretty happy. Maybe its because Ibiza has many cool and strange places, lots of trendy restaurants, over 200 small beaches or is it Ibiza’s steamy club scene?
Beating heart of Ibiza is the party scene. And everyone on the Island will know it. Through the years, I’ve seen Ibiza developed from underground party island into an exclusive and expensive luxury place.
LaComunidad is the Ibiza underground movement that launched illegal parties already 25 years ago. Their parties created buzz and many people started asking their friends: “hey I’ve heard about these great illegal parties of LaComunidad, do you know when and where the next one will be thrown, and how the hell can I get on the invitation list?”.
Creating buzz and pull has kept LaComunidad hot for over 25 years. It inspired me to call my rebellious creative digital agency LaComunidad. We only exist 5 years, but the formula caught attention and was bought by WPP beginning of 2008.
So that made me embrace Ibiza even more. And when I finally retire I will buy a small house there, with a small garden and pool, and the best wireless connection on the island to stay tuned to what will be probably be web7.0 by then 
Clubbing in Ibiza
We love Space is the theme of the famous Sundays at Space. This club has really claimed its fame within the global house scene. In Space you’ll be able to hear the best DJ’s spin their tunes. Check some explames below…
Grandmaster Carl Cox at Space Ibiza
DC10 & CircoLoco
DC10 is the underground club near the airport and beach Salinas. Here the die-hard techno lovers go mad, after a steamy Sunday nite at Space.
The new social Spanish government, installed in the summer of 2008, is attacking the Ibiza party scene due to drugs abuse. Ibiza insiders said that DC10 will be closed forever, after this summer season?! So we might not see DC10’s famous CircoLoco clown ever again.
Although DC10 is only visited by a niche group techno lovers and hardcore party freaks, the underground club was at least special enough to attract many celebs to the Island.
How often do you happen to meet Shakira shaking her booty under your eyes? How often do you happen to bump into a crazy P.Diddy in a club? You can meet them at DC10, very early in the morning…
Delicious Shakira’s booty call at DC10 Ibiza
P.Diddy party whistling at DC10 Ibiza
VIP’s & Celebs
Not only in the clubs, you have you large option of bumping into more celebs anytime. This September we had a cloudy day, so we decided to ride our jeep to the beautyful North part of the island. When we entered a tiny beach bar (close to Portinatx) to see the sunset and grab a cup of coffee, our neighbor was: Kate Moss!!!!
A day later dining at Aura we saw Jackass’ Wee Man pulling some strange stunts with a group of friends. The same week we saw Giorgio Armani at beach club Blue Marlin. At night we dined at small and lovely tapas restaurant in St. Juan, where we saw Faithless celebrating a friends’ birthday.
So it seems pretty obvious, that a lot of celebs feel attracted by this mystique hippie island.
Ibiza Beaches
Ibiza’s rocky coastline has over 200 small beaches. They vary from small and close to private beaches to busy commercials beaches. So you can decide for yourself if you want a romantic and silent place, or enjoy the music and the extravagant people.
At Salinas we enjoyed Jockey Club and Sa Trinxa. On a sunny afternoon we were zipping our sangria when we heard a violin crossover the house beats. It seemed like the live DJ was in a creative mood, but we jumped up from our tanning beds when we saw it was violinist Micah playing live at the beach. So who needs to visit clubs at La Isla Magica anyway? The beach will bring you entertainment to the max.
Violinist Micah with a surprise gig at Sa Tranxa Ibiza
A beach you must have visited once in your stay at Ibiza is the crazy Bora Bora. It is located opposite Space and you’ll find some crazy people here.
Just another party at Bora Bora Ibiza
Measurable Guerrilla Marketing
If you go back to the topic of guerrilla marketing I like the Ibiza approach in many ways. All clubs fight to become part of your evoked set each day. In the city center and at the beaches. But they do it an a very entertaining and non intrusive way.
No wonder why the clubs try to earn your attention at the beach. The average entrance fee at clubs is 50 Euro. A glass of water will cost you about 8 Euro and a Smirnoff con Red Bull about 18 Euro per glass, I’m not talking bottles here. So if the can seduce you during daytime, they will enjoy you spending your money at night. Does the marketing bell start ringing?
But the way the clubs do it, is entertaining and smart. They go fully overboard during their parades. Some even with the best outfits and very professional dancers. They earn your attention and hand out flyers to people that opt-in for it.
Pacha promotion team at Salinas Ibiza
So they go fully overboard, then wait for the pull mechanism to take place. You want that flyer, since you like the entertainment the brand (club) has just offered you.
Maybe we should send the top 500 global CMO’s 2 weeks to Ibiza, so they can learn how big the gap is between decision makers and their target audiences? Marketing is pretty simple, as Chuck Porter (CD at Miami’s creative hot shop Crispin Porter Bogusky) shouts at events: Go Fully Overboard to earn people’s attention.
The promotional teams hand out wrist bands with a unique code to people that opt-in for it. If you decide to visit that specific club that night, the unique code from your wrist band is entered into the club’s database.
So the number of redeemed codes that nigh at the club, decide how much commission that promotion team gets paid. So, whom ever thought Google had discovered the Pay For Performance marketing way, think again.
Only marketers will not be able to learn how to start accountable marketing programs, since they will probably not visit Ibiza, but a Club Med resort somewhere in the South of France…
Maybe marketers will start to embrace measurable and accountable marketing, when the economical climate has reached the temperature that gets close to hot summer day at Ibiza…
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Great article!
Exactly how the island is! Ibiza has proved over the years to be one of the most influential and innovative scenes in the world. It inspires me every time I visit the island.
I wonder if Ibiza is also an interesting area for a internet start up?
Hi Laurens
Interesting thought, what kind of start-up would you have in mind? Websites or much broader?
Cheers
There’s already http://www.seoibiza.com and http://ibizapr.com, so there are marketing companies attaching their work to the island.
As Ibiza is one of the most social, multi cultural and international orientated places on earth, perhaps it could be a good place for a social media company?
I have considered that years ago. Problem there is: when people visit ibiza, the go underground, not online
So you’ll need to enagage the people before/after they go their in social stuff, on the island it’s guerrilla and outdoor …
Talking about using social & viral before ibiza:
http://www.viralblog.com/2008/05/12/x-travel-dutch-viral-success-with-boeing-737/
Hi Igor. just came across our name in your comments above and felt compelled to say Hi.
you are correct in that while Tourists are here they’re not going online much, and I would also say that knowing the nature of how the island works it would be extremely difficult to make a website about or involving Ibiza, work very well, without actually being here.
Many have tried (and continue to do so) few have any real success.
like the blog a lot, will be revisiting..
kev @ SEO Ibiza
Hi Kev
Thanks for your reply. Think you are very right: the magico will be difficult to capture online.
However, I feel the online video trend will show lots of impressive videos from the island. That shows at least a lot of the atmosphere, but can indeed never has such an impact as being there yourself.. i know
When I go back at Ibiza I will drop you a mail!Meanwhile keep visiting ViralBlog and spread the word
Cheers
Igor
This one was sent to me by Sylvia Henar from Amsterdam…
A 2 year old techno raver at Ibiza.. he has the dancing DNA already
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1FyPrEH5Lo&eurl=http://moniquemika.hyves.nl/&feature=player_embedded
Thanks Sylvia!