Leap Day Offers Brands a “Ready Made” Marketing Campaign Theme

Leap Year 2016

February 29 is an exceptional date. It comes around only once every 4 years to right the course of the Gregorian Calendar after the earth’s rotation has thrown it off a bit. The uniqueness of Leap Day offers the perfect opportunity for brands to run a special promotion/campaign that takes advantage of a Leap Year theme.

Here are a few ideas about how to make the most of the distinctive marketing opportunity that is Leap Year.

Capitalize on the Leap Year Theme
A marketing campaign theme needs to be memorable and relevant. It should link to whatever is going on around your customers. However, it isn’t always easy to develop a unique marketing campaign theme. Sometimes you may need to reach out for prospective messaging opportunities you can adapt to your brand messaging.

Leap Year provides a built-in starting point for a fun promotional concept that you can build a marketing campaign around, utilizing advertising, events or promotions.

For example, if your products are considered luxury goods, your campaign could center on the idea that the customer deserves to buy himself the one item he has been putting off. And February 29 is the perfect “special” day to do it. Encourage your customers to “take a leap on Leap Day.” Add a promotion to the call to action and you will plant a seed in the minds of your customers that they deserve to buy a special item on a special day.

Host an Event
Hosting an event is a great way to get people interested in your business because they have an opportunity to interact with you and your brand face-to-face. Event marketing works because brands are engaging consumers in a willingly participatory position.

Events are much more effective when they are attached to a theme or occasion, something that makes the event distinctive, and February 29 certainly qualifies as a special occasion. Tie the event to a unique Leap Day promotion and you’ve got a golden opportunity for your key audiences to interact with your brand.

Leap Year 2016

Such events can be an open house, a “Leap Year Lunch” for colleagues or vendors, a preview party for a new product/service launching at a later date or a free seminar on industry specific topics that offers valuable content to customers.

Whatever your event, be sure to highlight the value to the customer.

Run a Promotion
Leap Year offers a special “once in every 4 years” opportunity to offer promotions or discounts to customers. Successful promotions motivate your customers to interact with your brand because it is in their best interest. Leverage the chance to have a promotion for that one day only, drawing in your current customer base, as well as potentially reaching new customers who came in for the promotion and turn into repeat customers.

Some examples of Leap Day promotions: drinks or appetizers with a catchy Leap Year name that are served only once every 4 years, discounts to customers born on February 29, free shipping on all products ordered on Leap Day, giveaways to customers who make in-store purchases, or new customers who sign up for your mailing list or like you on Facebook get a free promotional giveaway.

Utilize Social Media
A Leap Year marketing campaign is a prime opportunity for social media engagement with customers. Depending on how you are organizing your campaign, social media may be your best medium to reach customers. The interactive nature of social media provides the perfect medium for quickly spreading your message and maintaining momentum and relevancy for the length of the promotion.

Leap Year 2016

 

 

 

There are some things to do before, during and after an event/promotion when using social media.
Before:
• Create a unique, short and memorable hashtag to use across social media channels.
• Make a plan that details how to promote on each channel.
• Use targeted ads on each channel.
• Have ticket or promotion giveaways.
During:
•Monitor and engage with attendees by addressing questions, sharing interesting messages and addressing any complaints.
After:
•Evaluate the social media campaign.

Don’t Leap Over Leap Year
Take advantage of the uniqueness of February 29 to promote your business and interact with customers. Leap Year may seem like “low hanging fruit” for a marketing opportunity, but that is exactly what makes it the perfect occasion to treat customers to something special.

This entry was posted in Advertising, Events, Marketing, Miscellaneous, Promotions, Social Media and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*