Partner Article

Seasonal marketing at its best: four brilliant campaigns

By Craig Williams, Global Business Development Director at sampling expert, The Work Perk

Whether you like them or not, seasonal holidays are a big money maker for businesses. From Halloween to Hanukah, these annual events provide the perfect opportunity for brands to engage new and existing customers and drive sales. Last year, a whole host of big brand names got in on the action, finding new and creative ways to reap the benefits of these key calendar dates. Here is a roundup of my favourite seasonal campaigns from the last year or so:

Winter: What more could UK office workers want on a cold winter’s day than a lovely hot mug of herbal tea? Popular tea brand, Pukka Herbs, delivered just that last winter by providing free samples of its range of herbal teas directly to the desks of 300,000 employees across the UK. The campaign, conducted in partnership with The Work Perk, introduced Pukka Herb’s target audience to the brand and its exciting product range during peak tea drinking season, in an environment where they are likely give it their attention. Recipients were also given the opportunity to fill out an online questionnaire to share their feedback which was a great way for Pukka understand how the teas resonated with consumers. The workplace was perfect for stimulating conversations with colleagues around the teas, and many recipients posted pictures of their freebies online, driving further reach.

Spring: British department store, Debenhams, used Easter as an eggcellent hook to get footfall into its stores and drive engagement on its social channels. The retailer put on an in-store Easter egg trail nationwide, inviting customers to seek out eggs and upload photos to Twitter for the chance of winning a bundle of chocolate goodies. It was a super simple idea but had the dual effect of getting customers through Debenhams’ doors and interacting with the brand online.

Summer: Uber got into the spirit of summer in 2015 by delivering complimentary ice creams via its app across nearly 60 countries. Despite the apparent limited availability of the sweet treats, #UberIceCream fever caused an international wave of excitement and achieved impressive reach and engagement across the brand’s social media channels, and positioning Uber in a fun and friendly light.

Autumn: Last Halloween, Airbnb offered a spooky sleepover in a Parisian Catacomb, labelled the ‘world’s largest grave’, to two ‘lucky’ customers. Personally, I’d rather give this one a miss but I can’t deny it’s an inspired use of a seasonal hook. Not only did the online competition raise awareness of Airbnb’s hugely diverse portfolio of properties, it achieved mass cut-through across both traditional and social media.

Considering the seasons when it comes to planning marketing activity makes complete sense. As demonstrated by Debenhams, Uber, Airbnb and Pukka Herbs, there are so many ways to be creative with calendar hooks. Delivering fun and engaging customer experiences through seasonal marketing campaigns are a sure way to build your brand and ultimately drive sales

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Craig Williams .