Abstract: The concept of guerrilla marketing subsumes a set of different innovative advertising instruments which aim at gaining a large effect with a small budget. Although these instruments are more and more often applied by practitioners, there is barely scientific discussion about the concept. Therefore, this study describes the evolution of the current understanding of guerrilla marketing as an attempt of gaining the attention of a large number of recipients at relatively low costs by means of a surprise effect and a diffusion effect. The study highlights how different guerrilla instruments (ambient, sensation, viral, buzz and ambush marketing), try to evoke these effects. Finally, since there is rare empirical evidence about the efficacy of guerrilla marketing, the paper outlines a conceptual framework and several propositions for further research from consumer behavior perspective and managerial perspective.