Campaign and communications around big dates can serve you well - By: Geoff Hocking

Here we go again....Christmas, Easter, Bank Holidays. Another list of the same old same old promotions, mailers and frankly excruciating puns. But don't tear up your year planner just yet. Marketing campaigns and communications around big dates can serve you well, if you give them a bit of creative thought to get a different angle and bear your audience in mind.

Take campaign timings. Depending on your messages and targets, working around popular holidays, quiet periods and political, economic or social events can make a big difference to the amount of time and attention people have for your comms.

Lots of people are predictively out of the office in the school holidays or over the Christmas break. But on the other hand, when it's quiet in August, workers who are in the office can have more time to look at their mail and inboxes, and be more receptive to new ideas or trying out new suppliers.

When Budget Day's approaching, or the financial year-end, many business and consumer minds turn to cost-saving. Without even mentioning the B-word, you can tap into the zeitgeist by pushing your discounts, deals or special rates.

Taking a more obvious tack, tying in with dates and events can help liven up your day-to-day sales and marketing messages and give them some human interest. You can give people something to think about or amuse them as well as plugging your stuff.

In a light-hearted mood, you can go all out for the crazy and random "It's national shorts-wearing day, so we've got legs on our minds..." to raise a smile. Or you can take a tongue-in-cheek, subversive approach: "Had enough of Valentine's Day? The new accounting rules are a good antidote to hearts and flowers this week."

If you're using online or social media, funny or ironic links like these can work really well. In print you need to make sure you use a light touch, so you raise a smile not a groan or cringe. Run everything past colleagues or trusted friends to make sure your sense of humour works for other people too!

Needless to say the biggest holidays and festivals mean a flood of marketing activity from everyone, so there's a risk of yours being drowned out. Give some serious thought about less obvious dates and events to use, so you'll have the biggest chance of catching your audience's attention. You could work up campaigns around small competitions, quizzes or special offers that use the hook of dates, seasons or events like May Day, the FA Cup, Ascot, or the music festival or party conference seasons.

Try including a topical section or theming your newsletters and bulletins around current dates and events. Your readers will see that you have something new to say and are all about the real world... even if you do basically want to make more or less the same basic points every time. Reinforce your key messages and propositions each month by adopting a different angle as this will keep them interesting and fresh.

About the Author

Geoff Hocking is Creative Head of Breathe Marketing and has over 30 years experience in marketing and design. Give your marketing and communications a topical edge and receive regular reminders of potentially interesting dates by applying now to - http://www.breathe4u.com/marketing-dates.html

Article Directory Source: http://www.articlerich.com/profile/Geoff-Hocking/83916

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