Fall is right around the corner and the holidays will be here before you know it. Scared yet? Don’t be! New seasons mean new campaign opportunities and more ways to engage with your customers. Use these September holidays and themes to inspire your next campaign.
Major September 2016 holidays and themes
Labor Day, 9/5
Haven’t planned your Labor Day campaign yet? Not to worry. Last-minute and limited-time offers can drive big results. Here are a few ideas.
- In the travel and hospitality industry? There’s a good chance your customers are looking something fun to do this weekend. Run last-minute flight, hotel or activity deals that expire when Labor Day is over. Bonus points for using an email that automatically updates with live prices!
- Use location targeting to send your subscribers deals that are local to them.
- Send a poll asking your subscribers about their Labor Day weekend plans, then send a follow up email with an offer based on their answer.
Fall/end of summer
The upcoming change of seasons is an awesome opportunity to clear your inventory and promote new products.
- If you’re a retailer with seasonal offerings, the end of summer is ideal for clearing your inventory. And since summer weather tends to stick around in September, you shouldn’t have any trouble promoting limited-time offers. Offer email-exclusive discounts to your subscribers that urge them to act fast.
- Now is the time to kick off your fall promotions, if you haven’t already. Give your email subscribers first dibs on your fall offerings. Use weather targeting to deliver deals based on the changing seasons.
- In the media and entertainment industry? Send your subscribers a live poll asking them about the upcoming fall TV series debut they’re most excited about.
Back to school
In our August email campaign ideas post, we mentioned back-to-school campaign planning. There’s still time run a campaign for all the last-minute shoppers out there, because, let’s face it, plenty of students and parents alike are procrastinators. You can use this to your advantage by running time-sensitive campaigns like these:
- If you’re a clothing retailer, you can urge customers to stock up and save on clothing basics – think socks, hoodies and t-shirts. Use a countdown time to draw subscribers to your store in a hurry.
- Bogo sales are always popular for back-to-school. Why not offer a limited-time buy one, get one deal exclusively for email subscribers?
- In the restaurant industry? Students are always hungry. Offer ongoing email deals exclusively for students. Use location personalization to help them find your nearest store location, and let them know that they’ll keep getting deals as long as they’re signed up to your email list.
- 50% of back-to-school shoppers browse online before making a purchase. To take advantage of this in your emails, you can send emails based on your customers’ browsing behavior. They’ll be more likely to buy when they receive content that’s relevant to them!
Want more back-to-school marketing marketing tips? Check out this infographic from our friends at The Shelf.
… and don’t forget these September 2016 “holidays”
Want to test a new campaign idea or run additional September promotions? These national “holidays” are the perfect excuse.
9/5 – Cheese Pizza Day
9/6 – Read a Book Day
9/18 – National Cheeseburger Day
9/19 – National Talk Like a Pirate Day
9/29 – National Coffee Day
Start planning your September email campaign
Take advantage of these holidays to drive a bit of exchange end-of-summer revenue in your next email campaign.