A few years ago, I started to read a four-page flyer from the hip grocery chain Trader Joe’s and could not stop. I was astounded at its creativity. It promoted product after product with Thanksgiving-related riffs that ranged from calling its Brussels sprouts stalks “the Christmas Trees of Thanksgiving, which herald the start of the season” to touting gingerbread pancake mix as a perfect remedy for holiday stress, because ginger “is calming, relaxing and rejuvenating.”
This time of year, it’s easy to think about holiday tie-ins for your shoppers. But any month lends itself to seasonal promotions if you put your mind to it. Your payoff can be huge when you give yourself the imaginative leeway to go beyond the predictable.
As with Trader Joe’s Brussels sprouts and gingerbread pancake mix, seasonal copy gets consumers to sit up and pay attention to otherwise ordinary items. It gives people a reason — sometimes fanciful or fascinating, sometimes realistic and practical — to think right now about a product you’re hoping to sell.
So let’s get started with ideas for seasonal themes that go beyond the obvious.
Seasonal Theme Ideas
Holidays. You’re probably already incorporating annual holidays into your ecommerce operation. But these include way more than national days off, such as Christmas, Easter, Labor Day, and the Fourth of July.
A handy directory called Chase’s Calendar of Events lists, by date, thousands of lesser-known special days, weeks, and months, as well as historical anniversaries and one-time cultural events or milestones. You could, for example, invite shoppers to celebrate the anniversary of the European Union (November 1) by buying some Brie or Madeira, or Darwin Day (February 12) with a coffee mug bearing an evolution quote.
Other aspects of the seasons. The first day of spring, summer, autumn, and winter might be worthy of tie-ins, but think also about seasonal activities or weather-related ailments, such as spring cleaning, shoveling snow, or flu or sunburn season. If you sell organizing supplies, why not create a timely connection by telling shoppers that October is a good month for cleaning out and fixing up the garage?
School seasons. Even adults carry in their minds the rhythm of the school…
