Holiday Marketing – Does it Work?

With Earth Day in the recent past and Mother’s and Father’s Day approaching, we see an increase of holiday-oriented marketing. This type of marketing can be of value to customers, but only if you truly have a holiday tie-in. If you’re just trying to grab some of the holiday hype, your customers may decide that you’re following a trend rather than offering them a good deal.

Image: sxc.hu

For instance, I heard several people scoffing at flyers printed by stores touting their Earth Day deals and environmental consciousness. The paper waste was not lost on those potential customers. Also not a good idea: “green” items that aren’t really green at all. Both were failures according to people who mentioned them.

A holiday tie-in can be great if it’s pitched correctly. For instance, offer me a discount on something I really want, and time it for Mother’s Day — I’m okay with that. Something fun, entertaining or cool. But it’s a fine line to walk. Trying to sell a mom an appliance that reminds her of housework is a bit harder. Some will love it. Some will be offended. And some won’t care either way.

How do you know what to market then? It goes back to knowing your customers. If the holiday is important or meaningful to them, you might have an in. But know that insincerity is easily noticed and that will do you more harm than good. I know that I dislike feeling like I’m being patronized. You probably do, too. Remember that when it comes to your customers. Are you offering them something good? Interesting? Of value to them? Be sincere in your offering to them.

If you plan to market around a holiday, make sure you not only know something about the holiday (especially lesser-known or obscure holidays), but what it means to those who celebrate or observe it. You don’t want to offer discounts on plastics or single-use items for Earth Day. Or brooms and dustpans on Mother’s Day.

What holiday tie-ins have you tried? What worked? And what didn’t?