By the time March finally arrives, though the calendar says winter, spring is on everyone’s mind. This can make marketing difficult for a few reasons. Customers may be reluctant to shop for spring before the snow melts, unable to trust the calendar. Many aren’t sure what they’re looking for, or ignore winter sales in favor of soon-to-be-released spring items. A few tips will help make your March marketing more successful.
March Madness
For sports lovers, March only means one thing: Madness. T’is the season for brackets and March Madness, a tournament for NCAA division college basketball. One of the biggest social sporting events of the year, people gather throughout the month to argue for their home teams, pull for the Cinderella stories, and cry at the losses. Successful marketing can target this very active and vocal audience with several tactics.
Businesses can advertise products with sports lingo and pitch their products as great for use during March Madness parties. One example is how Infiniti used a “bracket challenge” to spur coaches to raise money for the American Cancer Society. Fitness centers can pose challenges and benefits for achieving personal “bracket challenges.” Businesses can get creative with ways to organize their products and services to embrace seasonal talk.
Sell with a sense of sports urgency. As people keep a close eye on scoreboards and watch their brackets, offer day-specific sales that aren’t revealed until the last minute. Keep people informed through e-newsletters, websites, and social media. Taunt people with an excitement for tomorrow’s offer and keep them coming back day after day.
St. Patrick’s Day
Few people know the great story of St. Patrick and his cause, but everyone knows about the seasonal opportunity to enjoy caricatured Irish symbols. Businesses can theme their marketing around leprechaun folklore. Get creative as you offer “pot of gold” bonus sales or an incentive program driving people to strive for the “end of the rainbow.” St. Patrick’s Day is a reason to start a party. Capitalize on these festive sentiments and associate your business marketing with their activities.
Branding changes throughout the year. Make seasonally-relevant and holiday-specific statements that quickly attract people to your marketing. Consumers will know your offers only last as long as the message is relevant. Quickly catch people’s eye with images of leprechauns or clovers, and people will likely check out your deal before the mid-March holiday.
Spring Cleaning
Though spring might not quite be in the in the air, it is certainly on everyone’s mind. Capitalize on this hope for flowers and sunshine.
As the New Year is a time for new beginnings, spring can be seen as a kind of renewal. When the warm weather finally arrives, people begin to notice all the clutter that has landed in their home, especially after the holidays. Suddenly, people are drive to clean up or revamp their homes, offices, email inboxes, diets and exercise programs. Use the language of spring cleaning to encourage new beginnings; especially with your business.
Outdoor Fun
As the snow melts, people start having fun outside again. Whether they’re jogging, having a cookout, going for a swim, or playing with the family, capitalize on this opportunity to pitch your product. If you sell books, change your “cozy by the fireplace” marketing language to “reading in a hammock.”
Advertise with themes that display nature. Anxious for the sunshine, people want to garden or play outdoor sports. Weary of being inside, they want to purchase what reminds them of the outdoors. Sell sports equipment and paraphernalia to encourage outdoor activity and use March Madness festivities. When people exercise outside, they’ll need appropriate clothes, shoes, water-bottles, and music and audio equipment; not to mention the food they’ll need to quell their appetites. The season of gardening will require tools, informative books and magazines, and food preparation.
Whatever language you decide to use, take advantage of the many seasonal marketing opportunities of spring. A successful campaign will attract seasonal shoppers and keep them throughout the year.
