Whatever Happened To Seasonality?

Some say I’m a fossil. I remember when Halloween was celebrated in October, Christmas was one day in December, and new car models were marketed when the television season started in September.

Today Halloween decorations pop up in July. Christmas Month is pushed starting 20 minutes later, and marketing Valentine’s Day starts around Thanksgiving. The television “season” no longer exists.

So it’s not bad enough that the 2024 presidential race has already started, right?

Maybe global warming’s responsible, since all the seasons now seemingly bleed into each other. Whatever the cause, all the old rules are forgotten, ignored, or broken in today’s brave new world.

While I celebrate breaking rules when it comes to creativity in music, food, or art, I sometimes crave tried and true structures of yore.

These nostalgic feelings welled up on February 16th when the 2022 Mitsubishi Outlander was introduced on Amazon Live. This was the first time a new vehicle was unveiled on Amazon Live, and the earliest a new car season was ever initiated.

It was a HUGE day in the marketing world, with lessons for all of us.

Have you noticed CPAs are no longer limited to tax season, but instead now market themselves year-round? YOU can do the same thing.

While your industry may have a traditional seasonality, Darwin suggests you must adapt to survive in this new environment.

Start by reviewing your marketing plan and examining what you sell, when you sell it, and to whom you sell.

Then, just as you’d search for new geographic markets to sell in, look for supplemental periods of time to find reasonable tie-ins for your messaging.

Say, for instance, you sell chocolate Easter Eggs. Logic dictates that season ended on April 5th as we viewed Easter in the rear-view mirror.

Yet there’s another opportunity for selling those eggs during September as we celebrate National Bunny Day (9/21) and National Chicken Month (no, I’m NOT making this up). One could even stretch it further to include Fried Chicken Day (July 6th).

To successfully be heard above the cacophony consumers experience, pay attention to opportunities and use a little imagination. Combining them should allow anyone to improve their bottom line while building on the traditions that got your organization so far in the first place.

With that said, I wish you a week of profitable marketing.

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