Carine Alexis — June 18, 2018 — June 18, 2018
Are you ready for fireworks?
We’re not just talking about the colorful pyrotechnics that will light the skies across America in a few weeks. We also mean the explosive impact your marketing can have around the July 4th holiday – which generates over seven billion dollars in spending. In terms of making or breaking a retailer’s year, Independence Day is up there with Black Friday, reports pymnts.com. The pressure is on!
If you are scrambling for ideas as the holiday draws closer, we understand. And here’s help: eight suggestions that can help your messages make a very big bang.
1. Make it about your customers’ independence
Sure, the Fourth of July celebrates U.S. independence from Great Britain, but it’s also a chance to highlight how your product can boost your customers’ sense of freedom. Perhaps no product does this better than Harley-Davidson. Their holiday message conveys the independence associated with its iconic brand. If there’s anything about your product that conveys freedom, now is the time to share it!
2. Temporarily boost your customer rewards
Starbucks does something clever – and extremely efficient – with this message. Instead of trying to come up with something new to incentivize customers over the Fourth of July weekend, it simply amps up its existing rewards program. This approach represents an easy win for any retailer who already has a customer-incentive program in place: crank it up a notch over the holiday weekend and make sure your customers know about it!
3. Go for the GIFs
Want to jazz up your Fourth of July email in a hurry? How about creating some fireworks with a colorful animated GIF, the way Tommy Hilfiger does in this message? While the simple yet compelling design of the message would attract eyeballs to the retailers’ promotion, the GIF’s movement and striking colors ensure that happens, and the fireworks are perfectly fitting for the occasion.
4. Sell some stuff for $ 4
This is a great idea for retailers who are scrambling for a last-minute to a solution to their July 4 marketing dilemma: come up with a few things you can sell for $ 4, as H&M does here. We see lots of 40-percent off deals this time of year, but clothing for $ 4? Such a bargain! The $ 4 items might not yield much of a profit, but that’s likely to be balanced by the proximity of other offers you are sure to come up with.
5. Spark some FOMO with free shipping
Offering free shipping as a customer incentive is hardly an innovative idea, but the concept of “free” takes on a new life when the nation celebrates its independence from Great Britain. The design and copy of this West Elm ad make it clear that free shipping (“including rugs!”) is something worth celebrating – and not to be missed.
6. Use your products in your design
While we can’t predict exactly how many Independence Day messages will incorporate the American flag into their design, we know for sure that we’ll see a lot of them. But it’s the rare flag image that is compelling enough for us to pause for a second look, and the flag in Sperry’s email is one of them. The image is a brand-new version of a tried and true July 4th trope – and it works. Imagine the marketing meeting at which someone took the risk of saying “Let’s make a flag out of our shoes!” Now imagine that meeting taking place at your company, only you are suggesting doing something similar with your products. Be brave!
7. Keep it simple
There’s no need to get complicated, especially when a deadline is looming. This July 4th-themed message from the clothing retailer J. Crew doesn’t feature any of its products (or even an overt mention of the holiday). It relies on a simple shot of an ice cream cone and a punny, yet vaguely patriotic message to capture the recipient’s attention and convey the theme. And “shop now” makes for a clear, compelling call to action. Simple, yet effective.
8. Wish your customers happy Fourth (they’ll appreciate it)
If all else fails, you can simply wish your customers well. Can’t hurt; might help. The clever use of color and witty design of this email, in which Tradegecko foregoes promotion to wish its customers a happy holiday, ensured it jumped out us – even though its message couldn’t be more familiar. It’s a rare marketing message that “works” without a call to action, but we might just be intrigued enough by this good-natured gecko to learn more.
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