Thoughts on Seasonal and Themed Creatives

I can confidently say that we all become shocked when we see those chocolate eggs appear on the shelves of our local supermarkets in January. As tempting as they are, we’re probably all still indulging on the mountain of festive snacks that are leftover at this point. Nevertheless, they still appear on cue every single year. But why so early?

Businesses do this to tap into customers’ fears that such products are going to disappear off the shelves if they don’t act quickly. It is the same with any upcoming event. Valentine’s Day chocolates, Halloween costumes and New Year’s Eve party food, for example, start appearing weeks, if not months, in advance. Promoting these events early creates a sense of urgency that prompts customers to make impulsive purchases, therefore increasing sales. As a whole, I can imagine businesses see positive results as a result of their early marketing efforts.

Should this precise planning only apply to physical stores and products? Absolutely not! A brand’s online presence is just as important, sometimes even more so in this technological era, as their physical one.

From an affiliate marketing perspective, producing seasonal or themed creatives could be integral to your strategy.  Including relevant imagery, graphics and text that reflect the upcoming season or event will help keep your marketing efforts relatable, current and top-of-mind.

Despite not being able to display a physical product on a shelf, many of the same tactics can be used in your digital promotions. For example, including images of hearts on banners for Valentine’s Day or even making your email creatives more interactive with a ‘crack the egg’ feature for Easter could help you see an increase in traffic to your offer.

One of the important things to remember is to plan in advance. Brands should be aware of upcoming events (see how marketing event calendars can help) and produce desired creatives ahead of time to ensure a timely send out. Making sure your seasonal or themed creatives are timed well could be the key between failure and success.