Have You Created Your Holiday Marketing Campaigns Yet?
Wait, it’s not even Halloween yet, and I’m talking holiday marketing?
Yes, and I’m not the only one. If you’ve visited Costco, Wal-Mart, or other major retailers in the past two weeks, you’ve seen the tree displays. A lot of folks complain it’s way too early to do their holiday shopping, but it’s definitely not too early to plan your holiday marketing campaigns.
Even if your business isn’t directly or even remotely tied to the celebration of seasons and holidays, you can leverage these themes in your marketing to boost sales. These annual events provide opportunities to connect on an emotional level with customers. When you mention the start of a new season and upcoming holidays in marketing messages, you can convey heartfelt goodwill and gratitude towards your customers, provide a unique experience of surprise and delight, or create a sense of urgency.
The pump is already primed
Frankly, holidays prompt a buying mindset. Consumers already plan to be spending extra dollars on their celebrations. One angle or “hook” you can use to promote your business is to offer ways of helping customers maximize time and money as they prepare to celebrate a new season or holiday.
Businesses that offer home maintenance services such HVAC and carpet cleaning services, and retailers that sell home furnishings, have traditionally used the holiday hook to offer customers special deals on their services and products well in advance of the holiday season.
You’re competing for your customers’ attention
The closer it gets to a holiday, the less free time consumers have. Their attention becomes laser-focused on their holiday activities. Businesses offering services and products unrelated to the holidays will get better results if they schedule holiday-themed marketing campaigns earlier in the season.
Some business owners who have seen their marketing messages get lost in the avalanche of holiday marketing messages now schedule their holiday campaigns earlier. For example, a local realtor who used to deliver holiday candy boxes just before Christmas to current clients switched to giving boxes of cookies in the fall — her gifts get more attention from her clients when not mixed in with all the other holiday gifts.
For many, anticipation is everything
From a practical perspective, businesses launch holiday marketing campaigns early because consumers start holiday shopping early. Marketers want to reach the people who buy early in order to avoid the hassles of last-minute shopping — the crowds, long lines, sold-out items, and extra traffic. In fact, one recent study found that 56% of the people surveyed do all their holiday shopping before December.
Early holiday/season marketing also taps deeply into consumers’ feelings and emotions. Many people enjoy anticipating a season or holiday as much as they enjoy the season or holiday itself. They want to extend the pleasurable feelings they associate with the season or holiday. Famously, Starbucks moved up the annual kick-off date for its Pumpkin Spice Latte (PSL) to the end of August, well before the first day of fall.
The period of anticipation for the holiday or season gives you permission to launch seasonal and holiday-themed marketing campaigns early. Starbucks points to consumer demand as the reason for kicking off PSL season in August, and they celebrate the reveal of the August launch date each year with targeted marketing campaigns.
Now is the time to let your creativity flow
The holidays are a special time of year for your customers, so don’t rely on routine, recycled marketing campaigns. Allow the season and holidays to inspire your creativity. A fresh approach will make your holiday marketing campaigns stand out and get noticed.
If you would like to learn more about how this might apply to your business, let’s talk: