The Importance of Seasonal Marketing
Seasonal marketing involves creating unique advertisements and campaigns inspired by a specific time of year. When done correctly, this tactic allows you to stand out from competition and capture your audience’s attention, increasing your brand’s relevance.
Just as the weather changes in the fall, so do your customers’ needs and interests. With the change of seasons just around the corner, take full advantage of the opportunity to implement customized marketing strategies to generate more traffic and engagement. Fall is a significant time to promote your business because consumers spend more money preparing for the holiday season and are more open to themed products and promotions. According to Wate, 49% of businesses begin their seasonal marketing for the holidays by early October, so it is vital to push out promotional advertisements early to stay competitive.
Seasonal marketing can be done in various ways, including creating season-related campaigns, hosting a special event, creating themed polls and social media posts, holding special sales and discounts, introducing limited-time-only product/service offerings tied to the season, launching a new collaboration, or switching up your website to fit the season. Some of our favorite, most successful seasonal campaigns include these recognizable brands: Starbucks, L.L. Bean, and Amazon.
Starbucks: Move aside PSL, it’s a Zombie takeover
When it comes to seasonal specials, everyone knows about Starbucks’ iconic Pumpkin Spice Latte. Over the years, Starbucks has introduced several new holiday specialty drinks to push sales even further. In 2014, they introduced the Franken Frappuccino. Then, in 2016, the Frappula Frappuccino made a comeback from 2003. Lastly, in 2017, they introduced another fan-favorite drink: The Zombie Frappuccino. This Halloween-inspired specialty drink has become so popular that locations ran out of ingredients after last year’s first day. It has left customers craving more at the end of the season, building up excitement for the following fall.
The most important aspect of this promotion is that it is only available for a limited-time, allowing Starbucks to drive engagement from existing customers and strengthen brand loyalty. The Zombie Frappuccino is only available for six days each fall, which creates a high level of urgency and pushes more customers to purchase it. It is crucial to take advantage of opportunities to develop a sense of urgency in your customers to receive more revenue.
The perfect time to do so is during special holidays and when the seasons change! Promoting a special edition Halloween treat led to double-digit sales growth in frappuccinos, one of their least popular products. According to DailyMail, the fall menu helped Starbucks break records, and Starbucks believes that introducing seasonal specialties plays a part in fueling its continued rise in success.
In addition to the limited-time offer aspect, Starbucks implemented another integral strategy to promote this drink: email marketing. Starbucks sent out a carefully curated email marketing campaign to promote this product. A study by the Data and Marketing Association showed that businesses can receive an ROI of $32 for each dollar spent on email marketing. By using on-theme lingo and colors different from their typical emails, Starbucks successfully grabbed their audience’s attention.
L.L. Bean: Take your brand Outdoors
L.L. Bean took advantage of seasonal marketing by creating its “Be an Outsider” campaign. In 2017, L.L. Bean realized its customers were not emotionally connected to the brand. It was time to change the marketing strategy. Consequently, they came out with the “Be an Outsider” campaign. The goal was to increase sales by raising awareness of the importance of being outside. L.L. Bean understood that to successfully implement a new marketing strategy and gain an emotional connection with its customers, it needed to clearly define the brand’s identity and effectively communicate it in a captivating way.
So, it returned to the company’s roots: the outdoors. The campaign ran during the fall, when the weather generally allows for outdoor enjoyment nationwide. In the execution of the campaign, the focus shifted away from focusing on personal experiences and instead concentrated on prioritizing communal moments with friends and family. This approach conveyed that L.L. Bean is not just selling apparel and accessories; it’s a conduit to new experiences, seeking fulfillment, and creating memories.
The campaign won a Shorty Award for Retail and E-commerce and resulted in a 440% increase in engagement on their social media and 478 earned media placements in national and regional press, including The New York Times, CBS, NBC, Fox, Forbes, Entrepreneur, Inc., and The Boston Globe. Considering why consumers found this campaign so unique is vital. It is because L.L. Bean wasn’t only promoting their products, but also the experiences and happy memories that come with them.
Amazon: Don’t FALL behind, it’s not just any Monday
Shoppers have shifted from in-store shopping to E-Commerce in the past few years. Because of this, businesses need to take full advantage of online platforms, providing sales and discounts when appropriate. Taking advantage of big holidays plays a significant role in this. Cyber Monday has become the biggest shopping day in the U.S., surpassing Black Friday. In 2022, holiday retail sales in the U.S. totaled almost $240 billion, most of which came from Cyber Monday. In 2023, the amount of money spent promoting Cyber Monday offerings grew by 10%, making 2023 Cyber Monday the biggest online shopping day of all time.
As the biggest online retailer, Amazon took full advantage of this day by implementing robust, personalized advertising closely tied to carefully planned inventory strategies to maximize peak demand.
Last year, they introduced new deals every day leading up to Christmas Eve to drive sales further. Each year, Amazon strategically studies which products to sell and sends targeted advertisements to customers based on age, gender, and interests.
Researching what top competitors did last year, building up anticipation through early advertising, and creating bundles are all great ways to entice customers and attract new ones. Additionally, identifying and participating in key sales events and days relevant to your brand and participating in them is essential.