Print readers, see flatheadbeacon.com/images/uploads/SpaghettiOsPearlHarbor.png
When I say “calendar marketing”, I’m talking about using the context of historical events and dates, holidays and current events to spice up your marketing.
Done right, you can briefly tie what you do to the event, date or holiday, have a little fun and perhaps get the attention those about to buy.
Like any tactic, there are right and wrong ways to use it – as the SpaghettiOs social media team found out on Pearl Harbor Day.
While social media provides good and bad examples, keep in mind that your efforts in this area can be leveraged in almost any media.
Doing it right
Doing it right involves asking yourself a few questions.
Q: Who will see it?
A: If it’s good enough, everyone. If it’s stupid enough, everyone.
With that in mind:
- Q: How will you feel if everyone sees it?
- Q: How will our customers react?
- Q: What will they be inclined to do?
- Q: Will it makes things better or worse for your business?
No matter what – Think it through.
Oreo is a good example to watch, but even they slip up now and then:
Print readers, see flatheadbeacon.com/images/uploads/AMCOreo.PNG
How do I know I’m about to do it wrong?
If your thought process is “Let’s use their memory, our logo and wrap them together in the flag in our marketing”, that would be wrong. Stupidly wrong.
This shouldn’t have to be explained to you.
Anyone who isn’t doing this in a strictly robotic fashion has to have this thought process going on:
- Remembering Pearl Harbor – Good.
- Slapping your flag-wrapped logo on it – Dumb.
While SpaghettiOs managed to apologize (and delete the earlier tweet), your goal is not to put yourself in this position. Some found it offensive, some stupid or at the least – felt the message could have done without the cheesy brand + flag graphic.
No matter what, it distracted from the reason for the post in the first place – to encourage their customers to take a moment to remember.
Print readers, see flatheadbeacon.com/images/uploads/SpaghettiOsPearlHarborApology.png
Numerous major brands have misfired on things like this. In each case, you will see calls for whoever wrote the original tweet to be fired, or for their agency to be fired. That doesn’t make it any better – it just makes a few angry people feel better for a few minutes.
For a small local business, national outrage is unlikely, but you could provoke a local boycott or worse.
Have a “Reason why”
Earlier that week, USA Today had this headline re: Nelson Mandela’s death:
Print readers, see flatheadbeacon.com/images/uploads/MandelaUSAToday.png
The point is not to make fun of the mistakes that major brands make. Everyone makes mistakes. There are plenty of examples to learn from.
What you need to keep in mind is WHY you are creating this content (doesn’t have to be an ad) in the first place:
- To honor someone? Fine. Keep your brand and schtick out of it. Stick to the topic. Say what you feel. The old GoDaddy always remembered Veterans Day and the Marine Corps birthday – and you never saw their typically cheesy stuff in those pieces.
- To be funny? Make sure it really is funny, rather than funny at the cost of some group or individual.
- To provoke someone to buy – see the prior two and then consider every bit of copywriting experience you have.
Your message has to be focused on that reason – whatever it is.
Connect, rather than be “Me too!”
Ill-advised content aside, calendar-based marketing is an effective tool when used thoughtfully.
The temptation is to do “Me too” marketing here. Things like a holiday-themed sale on a holiday weekend are not going to stand out in a crowd of me-too sales.
Sometimes connecting national to your business to local works well. For example, you might have Super Bowl-related promotion or event that encourages people to visit/buy and make note that you’ll be passing along a percentage of Super Bowl related promotion/event sales to a local youth athletic program. It doesn’t have to be football and it doesn’t have to be a percentage.
In Columbia Falls, Timber Creek assisted living facility hosts the Rotary “Brunch with Santa” community Christmas event in their public areas. While no one is selling assisted living that day, hundreds who would never go inside otherwise get to see how nice the place is – planting a seed that might sprout next week or years from now.
Want to learn more about Mark or ask him to write about a strategic, operations or marketing problem? See Mark’s site, contact him on Twitter, or email him at [email protected].