On this Halloween 2020…I’m reposting a piece that I originally published w-a-a-a-y back in 2014. How things have changed in the world since then!

What’s somewhat terrifying however…

…is that many marketers appear not to have heeded these warnings.

That struck me a few weeks back when I wrote “Is Your Advertising Making An Impact?”…

…far too many marketers are wasting far too much money on advertising that does not produce results.

So…to avoid that ghastly fate…read on for some marketing wisdom from beyond the grave…. [Read more…]

Here’s the regular look ahead…

…this time at the coming month of November 2020…

…for events, occasions and anniversaries to use for campaigns and promotions in your marketing calendar for November 2020.

FIRST…a reminder that the end of the year and CHRISTMAS is fast approaching!

The first Sunday in Advent is on November 29.

For pretty much all marketers, Christmas and the New Year is a time of peak opportunity to make sales…

…BUT there is a lot of competition of course. So, it’s important to be well prepared.

Before that…in the USA it’s Election Day on November 3…

…and also in the USA it’s…THANKSGIVING (this year on November 26).

(In Canada, Thanksgiving Day is a month earlier on October 12).

“Black Friday” follows, which marks the start of the Christmas season shopping frenzy!

On a more somber note, November 11 is Remembrance Day (Veterans Day in the USA).

One other occasion to note…

…”Singles’ Day” in China on November 11…which has become one of the world’s biggest online shopping days of the year.

Here’s a more comprehensive list of events and occasions… [Read more…]

Here’s a look ahead at the month of October 2020 and some of the events, anniversaries and occasions that smart marketers can use as the basis for an event-driven promotion…

…to create your own marketing calendar for October 2020.

Remember to take account of any Covid-19 restrictions that might impact on your business.  In general, however, circumstances have largely returned to normal.

Of course, the stand out occasion, beloved by many marketers, is “Halloween” on October 31. Given what’s already happened in 2020…

…Halloween might well provide some light relief!

The origins of Halloween seem to be a mixture of pagan festivals marking the end of summer…

…combined with the idea that at this time of the year the spirit-world comes close to our world…

…adopted by the Christian religion as the eve of “All Souls Day”.

Whatever, it’s the traditional occasion to acknowledge the after-life and the supernatural.

So, an opportunity to use themes in your promotions like…

“It’s Scary What You Are Missing!”

“Now a spooktacular, very limited time, opportunity”

“Terrifyingly scary profits coming your way…”

…and so on.

The theme of FEAR (of loss, for example) can also be used…

…but don’t get too terrifying about it!

Apart from Halloween October has plenty of different events and occasions… [Read more…]

I suspect many of us can relate to Tom Fishburne’s amusing cartoon above.

Faced with lockdown and the resulting (unexpected) extra time available…

…it’s understandable that any responsible professional would want to use that time wisely.

But what to choose? In uncertain times, what new skill will really make a difference?

And might there even be a downside to this apparently positive activity?

Tom Fishburne comments…

“A recent survey from Blind found that 83% of marketing and communications professionals are reporting burnout, the highest of any job function.

There are likely many factors at play, but I wonder how much of this burnout relates to productivity anxiety, the pressure to be busy, and the hustle culture in business.”

Well worth reading the whole piece at…

“the productivity trap”.

It occurs to me as well, that a big part of the problem… [Read more…]

Welcome to this month’s “Looking Ahead” feature for September 2020. While the Covid-19 emergency can’t be considered over…life is slowly returning to something like normal.

So…while taking due account of any restrictions that affect your business or customers…there’s no need to hold back on your marketing.

Let’s take a look at the events, occasions, anniversaries and holidays that we can use as the foundation for event-driven marketing promotions in September 2020.

Note that a number of events that are usually held at this time of year have been cancelled.  That includes the famous Oktoberfest in Germany that usually starts in September.

It’s a time of a change of seasons. The September Equinox falls on September 22 at 13.30 UT (that’s 14.30 UK time…check for your particular location).

It’s Autumn in the north and Spring in the south…

…and these can be used as broad themes for a promotion.

Tied in with these, in the northern hemisphere it’s normally “Back to School” or “Back to Work” and the start of the run-in to the end of the year. In the current emergency situation, those ideas might need to be modified.

In the southern hemisphere, “Spring Time” or “Spring Cleaning” can be used as a theme.

Looking at some specific occasions… [Read more…]