This year, software development company Rilla made its debut appearance at the Dreamforce flagship annual conference in San Francisco – a gathering of Dreamforce’s global community of customers, partners and developers for learning, networking, innovation and fun.
Without a doubt, Rilla made its presence unmissable, thanks to a simple but impactful Guerrilla Marketing campaign that painted the city yellow.
Sebastian Jimenez (Founder & CEO, Rilla) explains:
It started pouring at 3PM in San Francisco today.
By 4PM, 700 people at Dreamforce were walking around with bright yellow Rilla umbrellas.
Two days ago, we saw the forecast. It was raining all week. We knew thousands would show up to Dreamforce without an umbrella.
We made it our mission. It was only [Events & Experiential Growth Manager] Vanessa Kuhlor‘s third day at Rilla.
But that night, she stayed up until 3AM designing, printing, and packing 1,000 umbrellas just to keep strangers on the street dry.
No Demo QR code. No “scan to learn more.”
Just people helping people. We did it because that’s what customer obsession looks like.
Fast. Scrappy. Human. That’s Rilla.
Guerrilla marketing is a bold, unconventional form of promotion that relies on creativity, surprise, and emotional connection rather than big budgets or traditional advertising. It’s about capturing attention in the real world — where people least expect it — and turning an everyday moment into a brand experience people remember (and share).
A great guerrilla campaign has three key traits:
- Relevance – It responds to the moment or environment in a way that feels natural, not forced.
- Emotion – It creates delight, curiosity, or gratitude — something that sparks word of mouth.
- Simplicity – The best ideas don’t need explanation or a QR code; they just make sense instantly.
Rilla’s yellow umbrella moment at Dreamforce checked all three boxes.
When rain threatened to drench thousands of attendees, Rilla turned the forecast into an opportunity — handing out bright yellow umbrellas that not only helped people but also turned San Francisco’s streets into a moving billboard of sunshine.