With another Halloween slowly creeping up on us, we’re here to give you the low down on seasonal marketing that will give your campaigns a spooktacular edge.
Remember, seasons give people reasons to spend money, whether it’s for themselves, their family or their friends, so tailoring your products/services and how you market them can generate more business. Making sure your marketing adapts a sense of seasonality is vital in ensuring your brand stays relevant.
What is seasonal marketing?
Seasonal marketing is the process of tailoring your products and marketing campaigns for specific times of the year. For example, we all know that as soon as Halloween approaches, and the seasons change, we can expect to see the Pumpkin Spiced Latte reappear on the Starbucks menu.
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Understanding how your business can capitalise on national and global holidays can help drive revenue for your company. Like Starbucks, the marketing team knows when and how to market seasonal products (it’s no surprise their Pumpkin Spiced Latte is such a hit). But they’re not the only ones. As scary season approaches, brands are using this opportunity to showcase why you should come to them this Halloween.
And it’s no surprise. People love to spend money on holidays – Halloween is the second most profitable holiday after Christmas. So it’s important to plan for these to make sure you benefit from seasonal consumer spending. But how can you get involved?.
Seasonal marketing campaigns
Firstly, start by considering running a seasonal marketing campaigns. This is a fast and efficient way to get involved without letting too many skeletons out of the closet.
You’ll need to figure out the focus of your campaign. Then it’s all about adding a seasonal twist to your messaging, your creative and product offer.
Tailored product offering
Think about what you’re offering and establish how to make it seasonal. Is it going to be attractive to your potential buyers. Could you be offering special themed discount codes via email or through social media? Or like Starbucks, offer a limited edition product that’s only available for a short time. Can you prompt them on your website with call to actions that are Halloween related? The opportunities are endless and there for you to explore. Top tip: do your research.
Seasonal marketing messaging
It’s important to nail down on your messaging. Something too bland gets ignored, something too generic gets forgotten. You want something that sticks. Something memorable that in a few years people will look back and say ‘do you remember that Halloween advert in 2021 from…’. Think about John Lewis. I know it’s too early to start thinking about the C word, but I’m sure I’m not the only one wondering what John Lewis will create for this festive season. Seasonal marketing relies on continuous care, attention and intuition.
Eye catching creative
To accompany your message you’ll then need some creative. Graphics, video, photography that enhances your message, pulls on the seasonal theme and catch someone’s eye as they scroll or search. Don’t forget when it comes to creative one size doesn’t always fit all. Make sure it’s optimised for each of the channels you’re going to use to deliver your carefully crafted campaign.
Seasonal marketing and brand Identity
Don’t lose your brand too much when designing a seasonal marketing campaigns. It’s important to stay true to who you are and what you’re about. If you’re thinking about incorporating seasonal aspects on your logo like adding orange for a pumpkin try not to redesign your whole logo accordingly. You can often create variations of your logo, for each seasonal event so that when the time comes around next year, you’ve got them all ready.
Everyone is experiencing the same time of year, so it’s a chance to show them that you care and want to be involved. Shared experiences are important for consumers, especially if they’re looking to purchase from you. Sometimes a simple ‘Happy Halloween’ email, or social post, shows you’re actively striving for better customer relationships. It’s also beneficial to share on social media any seasonal events you’re partaking in. Halloween fancy dress day at the office? Let people know that you can have fun.
Seasonal marketing trends
Before launching any new seasonal products, it’s a good idea to see what’s trending. This is the time to look back over your past annual traffic and sales and see what season you benefitted from the most, or in other terms, where you’ve generated the greatest amount of profit. Once you’ve done that, it’s also helpful to use Google Trends to see what searches have been popular around a specific seasonal event.
For example:
Seasonal marketing trends and keywords research can also help with your SEO. Think about it, if everyone is searching ‘Halloween outfit ideas’ or ‘cheap Halloween costumes’ then you know what people want. So for example, it would be a good idea for an online costume shop to create a ‘Halloween costumes’ category that groups together related products. Incorporating these keywords and making them work for your brand will increase your online visibility and in turn generate organic visits to your website.
Seasonal marketing calendar
Timing is key, you don’t want to deliver the joke punchline too late. Establish a calendar with all the important upcoming future events, whether they’re seasonal or current trends. You’ll need to know what is happening and when. You’d be surprised how often seasonal events can slip your mind. Plan these seasonal marketing campaigns months in advance if you can, so when the time comes, you’re prepared. Content calendars are a great way to stay on top of things, these can also be filled in months before an event with all the marketing assets you have created. It also helps if you’ve created a social media marketing strategy to help you generate the best results from your social media marketing efforts.
Seasonal marketing campaigns are also incredibly cost effective and always reusable. So once you’ve got some ideas in mind, there’s nothing stopping you adapting them the following year. These seasonal events aren’t going anywhere, unless everyone decides to revolt against Frankenstein.
If you’d like more information on how your company could benefit with seasonal marketing, or would like to discuss ideas on creating effective marketing campaign, then feel free to ‘knock on our door’ and ask ‘trick or treat’. We’ll help provide you with all the tricks you’ll need to help treat your customers this coming festive period. Get in touch at info@immedia-creative.com or call us on 01753 206006.
