Why Your Business Should Consider Seasonal Branding

03 October 2017 Lexie Lu

Should your business consider seasonal branding? In short, the answer is a clear yes. In whole, you may need to get a few things in place and do some research before you’re ready for seasonal marketing.

There are three main consumer holidays that marketers can and should focus on, and certainly don't just limit yourself to these, but they are the winter holidays, back to school season and Mother's Day.

Combined, these three holidays are a $694.5 billion industry, with the winter holidays taking the lead at $602.1 billion, back to school at $72.5 billion and Mother's Day at $19.9 billion. However, you can also add on Father’s Day and any others you’d like.

Paying attention to seasonal trends can help you position your business to be on the receiving end of this multi-billion dollar industry. Some things to consider about seasonal branding include:

Focus on the Upcoming Season

Don’t overlook seasonal branding for the actual season rather than a specific holiday. For example, in the fall of 2013, there were about 500,000 tweets about pumpkin spice latte (PSL). Dunkin Donuts paid attention to this trend. In 2014, they used the hashtag #pumpkinatdunkin, which was retweeted thousands of times. This allowed them to take advantage of the pumpkin love everyone was showing online to this seasonal flavor.

How can you tie seasonal social media trends into your product? You might not sell coffee, but there is certain to be something about the fall you can focus on.

Push Seasonal Products

If you own a business with a lot of different products, then you might have a few seasonal ones that you want to push at specific times of the year. For example, if you run an online clothing retailer, then you’d push your raincoats and umbrellas in the spring. By tying in the product to the season at hand, you reach people when they have that item in mind and are looking to buy.

One example of a brand that pushes seasonal items is Old Navy. Not only do they push seasonal trends, but they also have specific items for each season that they offer at a discount. For example, they offer a St. Patrick’s Day T-shirt and a Fourth of July tank for only $5 each. Can you offer a discounted specialty product that ties into the season and will introduce consumers to your brand?

Stand Out from Competitors

Sometimes even the smallest thing will help your company stand out from the crowd and gain the notice of consumers. If you offer a seasonal marketing plan, then people will be interested and may just check out your products. On the other hand, if your competitor does seasonal branding and you do not, you may miss out on these customers.

There are many ways you can brand your business for the season. You can offer seasonal discounts, push content on your website that centers around the season, or even host a special seasonal event for your loyal customers.

Meets Consumers on an Emotional Level

The Millennial generation is the largest generation in the history of the United States, and they are a generation that likes to connect and be engaged, particularly on social media. About 62% of this powerhouse consumer group indicates that if a brand engages on social media, they are more likely to become loyal to that brand.

Many of these young buyers have happy memories surrounding holidays, such as Christmas or Easter. If you can engage them on an emotional level by reminding them of those memories, you are likely to develop a loyal customer base.

A good example of an ad campaign that tugs at the heartstrings is Coca-Cola’s Canadian commercial about the mall during the holidays, which they posted on Instagram. Everyone has dealt with a tense shopping experience and likely thought how it doesn't evoke the Christmas spirit, but this commercial shows that there can be peace if we all enjoy a Coke together. It is brilliant seasonal marketing that can easily be applied to online videos.

Timing Matters

The failure or success of your marketing campaigns depends upon when you put your brand in the spotlight for that season. Identifying seasonal trends is the best way to figure out when to schedule seasonal marketing campaigns. The only way to do that is to track analytics on your own site, study competitors through services like SEMRush, and watching trending topics over time.

As you start to identify patterns, you should be able to figure out the peak times when specific topics are trending and share content around those topics at the right time. Don’t worry, though. You don’t have to be chained to your computer to post at the exact right moment. You can instead schedule social media posts ahead of time through services such as HootSuite or Buffer.

Seasonal branding can get you out of the same old marketing rut. It will help you stand out as unique in your industry and can get your creative marketing juices flowing as you seek to come up with ideas that match specific consumer trends. It is something every business should add to their marketing repertoire.

Why Is Search Engine Optimization Vital for Ensuring Brand Protection?

How to Build Brand on Social Media?

5 Biggest Brand Building Mistakes that Can Cost You a Business

Virtual Communities for Brand Promotion: Work Smarter, NOT Harder!

Why We Should Not Negate Rebranding