At its core,
marketing is about capturing the attention of the masses. This is easy when
frigid winters and extreme snowfalls make those masses a captive audience,
reliant on television for entertainment and diversion.
For as long
as there have been networks, the onslaught of television ads generally slows in
the summer, when most people would rather be outside enjoying the weather.
Of course, modern-day
marketing is not constricted to 30-second ads during television programs. In
fact, modern marketers have found a wide variety of innovative ways to capture
the attention of their audiences, especially in those challenging summer
months. This summer marketing guide is designed to help you develop your own
summer promotional ideas.
How Your Summer Audience Is
Different Than Your Winter One
The days are
long in the summer, and activities are not difficult to find. From Memorial Day
to Labor Day, audiences tend to be mobile and active. Traditionally, marketing
has relied on a somewhat sedentary audience: television viewers or magazine
readers. However, that’s not the case with summer audiences.
In fact,
summer audiences differ from the traditional “winter” ones in several important
ways. Winter audiences watching television have their attention focused on the
advertising where summer audiences are more focused on things such as
activities and events causing them to pay less attention to the advertising. Summer
audiences tend to be more active. Weather in
summer becomes very import due to outdoor activities. Rain can ruin plans and
sunshine is always welcome. Whether it’s good or bad, the forecast can change
plans significantly in the summer. By tapping into something your audience is
already thinking about, you can find a way to make what you are marketing
top-of-mind as well.
Marketing with Internet
Radio
People may
stop watching television, at least in such large quantities, in the summer, but
that doesn’t mean they stop absorbing all media. Indeed, one medium that seems
to increase in popularity during those summer months is radio.
These days,
the term “radio” also encompasses satellite radio and Internet radio services
such as Pandora, Spotify, iTunes, or iHeart. Because of these advances in technology, listening
to the radio while you’re mobile is easier than ever. Many people listen while
on a daily job, at the beach or even while doing yard work.
This
presents a great captive audience. Creating a geographically calibrated radio
ad for your brand is a great way to market to a wide variety of individuals in
a targeted way.
Market Where It’s Cool
Summers are
known for beaches and baseball. But they’re also known for the summer
blockbuster. Movies continue to be a popular source of entertainment, and event
movies seem to draw ever-increasing and diversified audiences. This makes
summer movies a great place to base a marketing campaign, and there are a
couple of different ways to get your message out.
If you’re a
big business, then the sky is the limit. You pay for marketing messages to be
shown before the film at nationwide chains, as Coca-Cola does before many
films. For smaller businesses, such opportunities might not be feasible.
However, many movie theaters employ “pre-show” entertainment in the form of
advertising for local businesses. Since summer blockbusters tend to draw large
crowds, many people arrive to those movies early and are therefore audience to
these many ads. Local ads generally come at a significantly reduced cost.
Marketing with Aerial
Technology
For most
people, the sight of an aircraft still elicits that sense of wonder we get from
seeing marvelous technology in action. And in the world of marketing, getting
people to want to look
at your message is half the battle. This makes aerial marketing particularly
potent in the summer months, when so many people are outdoors.
Of course,
marketing requires that those same people who are interested in your message
also be able to read your message. This is why you tend to see these floating sponsorship's over sporting events, where an audience of tens of thousands is generally thrilled to look up and see a message because they’re marveled by the technology. Even though that technology has been around for over a century, airships are a relatively novel sight.
Skywriting is one method, but it is very dependent on the wind and atmospheric conditions. That said, skywriting definitely makes a huge impression and gets the attention of folks on the ground.
A slow-moving aircraft, such as an airship or a
lightship, is generally the go-to solution. Known more colloquially as a
“blimp,” airships have the ability to
move slowly and remain over a single area for an extended period.
Success in
Summer Marketing
If anything
is clear by now, it’s that your summer marketing ideas should be creative and
should speak to your audience. Therefore, your summer marketing tactics need to
be adjusted to match that audience — not only to speak to that audience, but to
capture their imagination.
Some summer
marketing strategies are better for small businesses, while others are great
for big businesses. It all depends on what result you’re trying to achieve and
who you’re trying to connect with.
Just because
your audience is outside, away from the comforting reach of television advertising
doesn’t mean that audience is unreachable. Indeed, as television is usurped
more every year by other forms of media, it could be that these summer
marketing strategies are a glimpse into the future. Audiences demand less
interference and more wow.
Source: Van Wagner
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