Most marketers will know to keep an eye on their calendars as the year rolls on. Each year brings a number of seasonal events and occasions that brands can use to more effectively promote their products and services. Christmas is arguably the most significant of these, but the summer holidays similarly present a great opportunity for savvy marketers. It pays to be prepared for your next seasonal marketing campaign, so do you have these six print essentials in reserve for the next big event on your marketing calendar?
Point-of-sale displays
Point-of-sale displays are essential marketing materials for every business with a retail outlet or other physical, customer-facing premises. Point-of-sale displays provide a last-minute call to action for customers, reminding them of seasonal offers and promotions they might like to take advantage of. PoS displays need to be eye-catching and persuasive, so strong print design is an absolute necessity.
Mailouts
Not all businesses can make the most of PoS display. If you don’t operate in the retail sector or if you conduct the majority of your trade online, for example, customers are never going to have their heads turned by print campaigns designed for use at the till. Mailouts, on the other hand, are effective seasonal marketing tools for practically any sector. Targeted direct mail marketing campaigns use detailed customer data to determine the most effective way to spread your seasonal message – you can even personalise your mailouts to suit each individual customer.
Promotional products
Promotional products remain a popular and effective form of print marketing across a number of business sectors. Promotional products can be branded with your company’s name, logo and web address, and are suitable for use as corporate gifts, giveaways, conference freebies and more. Unlike other forms of print marketing promotional products offer almost limitless longevity – a branded mug, for example, might stay in a customer or client’s cupboard for years, reminding them of your brand every time they fancy a cuppa. Promotional merchandise will also change with the season, so branded baseball caps and sun cream might be appropriate in the summer, whereas Christmas baubles and advent calendars make fantastic gifts come December.
Posters and billboards
Large format print marketing materials are a great way to share your seasonal promotions with large numbers of people. A billboard or poster in the right location could spread news of your new product line or seasonal offer to tens of thousands of people each day, but large format print marketing is an expensive undertaking. Print management can help you to keep costs down when pursuing ambitious print marketing campaigns, ensuring that you receive the best return on your seasonal marketing investment.
Print ads
Although often pricy, print ads are an effective means of targeting specific audience groups with news of a new seasonal promotion. If your target audience is comprised primarily of young, affluent women, for example, you could pay to have your print ads published in the pages of magazines and publications designed to appeal to such groups. Of course, if you’re considering investing in a series of glossy print ads, strong print design is essential if you’re to meet your goals.
Branding and packaging
With any marketing campaign, consistency is the key to success. Concentrating on just a single print marketing product almost certainly won’t be sufficient to have the impact you desire – instead, you need to share news of your seasonal promotion through every aspect of your business. Update your product branding to reflect the new promotion, redesigning product packaging to include information on offers and other incentives.
Print marketing should play a major role in any seasonal marketing campaigns you have planned for the year ahead. PMG can help you to improve your company’s relationship with print, reducing expenses and minimising your carbon footprint while increasing marketing effectiveness. To find out more about our print management and print design services, don’t hesitate to contact us today.
