Consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies face plenty of challenges when it comes to promoting their seasonal products. However, these time-sensitive commodities can also be a great opportunity for CPG companies to boost sales and generate excitement among their customers. With that being said, leveraging trade promotions for seasonal products requires a different approach than for other products.
Seasonal products are a significant part of the CPG industry, with a wide range of items from Halloween candy to Christmas decorations. To maximize the impact of trade promotions for seasonal products, you must consider a range of factors, including the timing of promotions, pricing strategies, product placement etc.
Careful planning and execution are always crucial for success, but it is even more important when it comes to promoting seasonal products. Keep reading to explore the most effective strategies that you can implement to maximize the impact of your seasonal product promotions.
The importance of planning ahead
Planning ahead is crucial for successful trade promotions for seasonal products. It is recommended that CPG companies begin their promotional planning at least three to six months in advance of the season to allow sufficient time for the development of a robust strategy, creation of marketing materials, and securing of retail partners. By aligning their planning with the calendars of key retailers, CPG companies can also optimize their promotional efforts and maximize sales potential.
By planning ahead, you can also ensure that you have the necessary resources and support to execute a successful trade promotion for your seasonal products. CPG companies that release holiday-themed products, such as Christmas or Halloween candy, often plan a year in advance. Take candy manufacturers, for example, these often start producing holiday-themed products as early as July or August, to ensure that they are available in stores by the time the holiday season arrives.
Coordinating logistics and ensuring that products are delivered on time and in the right quantities is also a major part of planning ahead. This may involve working closely with partners to schedule deliveries and coordinate displays, as well as identifying potential challenges and taking proactive steps to mitigate them.
Aligning seasonal promotions with themes
By tying your promotions to specific holidays or seasons, you can create a sense of excitement and urgency among customers, and stand out from the competition.
To align promotions with themes effectively, companies need to carefully consider the season or holiday and the target audience. For example, a Valentine's Day promotion for a beauty brand may focus on creating a Valentine’s “look”, with products that help customers feel confident and glamorous. The same tactic can also be employed for packaging and messaging. For example, a candy company may release a limited edition Christmas product that includes a variety of red and green candies.
Aligning your seasonal promotions with themes can be a great way to tap into the excitement and anticipation around specific holidays and seasons. Our recommendation is to create a calendar that includes all the major seasonal themes you plan to target. This will help you organize and monitor your promotions effectively.
Leverage multi-channel marketing
It is an Omni-channel world for consumer goods. Multi-channel marketing can be effective in reaching customers across different touchpoints. You should consider using a mix of channels such as email, social media, in-store displays, and online ads to reach customers where they are most likely to engage with promotions.
One of the best examples of this is Coca-Cola, who uses these channels, plus experiential marketing to create memorable experiences for their customers. Through the implementation of these experimental marketing techniques, Coca-Cola aims to create memorable and immersive experiences that leave a lasting impression on consumers. This can involve interactive installations, pop-up events, brand activations at festivals, or sponsorships of major sports and entertainment events. By allowing consumers to engage with the brand in unique and memorable ways, Coca-Cola deepens the emotional connection with its audience.
That’s not all, using multiple channels can increase your brand's visibility, expand your reach, and ultimately drive sales for your seasonal products. By building a strong and consistent brand image, along with a cohesive message that resonates with your target audience, you can increase customer loyalty and boost the performance of your promotions at the same time.
Boosting sales with bundle and package offers
Offering bundles and packages can be an effective way to encourage your customers to purchase multiple items. For example, a bundle of Halloween-themed snacks or a back-to-school package of school supplies at a discounted price can be attractive to customers. By offering these bundles, companies can encourage customers to purchase multiple items, which can lead to larger transactions and increased revenue.
This tactic can also be used to introduce customers to your new or lesser-known or new products. By including these products in a bundle, you can increase their overall sales and drive product awareness.
Defining clear goals and metrics to measure success
Having clear goals and metrics is the best way to measure the success of your seasonal promotions. To set clear goals and metrics, you need to identify what you hope to achieve through your seasonal promotions. For example, you may define sales targets, or brand awareness objectives. By setting these goals, you can focus your efforts and measure your progress against specific benchmarks.
Once goals have been established, it's important to use data analytics tools to track performance. By using data analytics, you can gain insights into what's working and what's not. You can then use this information to adjust your strategies to drive better results.
Leveraging retail partnerships
Partnering with retailers can be a great way to increase the reach of seasonal promotions. Collaborating with retailers to create joint promotions, in-store displays, or online ads that feature your seasonal products can be highly effective in driving customer engagement and sales. By working with retailers, you can leverage the retailer's brand recognition and customer base to promote your seasonal products.
One way to leverage retail partnerships is by creating joint promotions that feature seasonal products. For example, a candy company may partner with a retailer to create a joint promotion for Halloween, offering a special deal on a bundle of Halloween-themed candies. If the retailer has a favorite children’s charity a tie in to that would increase your promotion performance, brand identity and strengthen the retail partnership all at the same time. By advertising the promotion through both the company's and the retailer's channels, you can increase your reach and attract new customers.
Online ads can also be an effective way to take advantage of these retail partnerships. Companies and retailers can create joint advertising campaigns, such as email campaigns, that promote seasonal products to both customer bases.
Set yourself up for trade promotion success
Seasonal promotions are a critical tool for the CPG industry. When it comes to seasonal trade promotion success, a combination of tools, expertise, and collaboration is required to really capitalize on each event. By adopting CPGvision’s best-in-class trade promotion management software suite you can harness advanced functionality, real-life problem-solving, and a range of applications that will help drive your promotional success, and keep your customers coming back for more.
At CPGvision, we take pride in our commitment to your goals. Our dedicated team consists of CPG industry professionals who are fully equipped to support you with your trade promotion management. To learn more about how CPGvision can help you achieve successful trade promotion management, get in touch with us today.