Summer is here. Therefore, a significant portion of your target market audience is spending as much time outside as possible, making this the opportune time to run summer-themed promotional events. You need to get creative with your indoor marketing ideas and find a way to convert them to the outdoors. Summer marketing tips, tricks, and strategies you utilize will maximize the potential of each summer marketing campaign you feature. Here are a few concept ideas you can put in place that meet your marketing goals and still let you have a little fun in the sun yourself.
Host Free Giveaways
One of the simplest and easiest summer promotional ideas is hosting a free giveaway. Consumers love getting something for free, and summertime is certainly no exception. There are two ways that you can engage in summer promotions for your company. One way is to load up tote bags with company products and head to some of the popular summer hangouts in your area. These places include movie theaters, shopping malls, beaches, pools and other outdoor hot spots. You and your staff need to do nothing more than hand these items to consumers walking by as you offer a simple ‘have a nice day’ greeting.
Your second option for a free giveaway is to fill the totes with popular summer-themed items such as water bottles, towels, inflatable pool toys, sun visors and any other summer necessity that comes to mind. Visit local parks, playgrounds or summer camps in the area and hand these products out to everyone you see. Attach a promotional sticker or tag to each of these items as a way to increase your brand awareness, but keep the focus on casually interacting with consumers in your area.
Form a Business Partnership
Find a business in your local area that offers services complementary to what you offer, and establish a mutual partnership for the summer. This partnership is beneficial in that it expands your reach to include a new market segment while showing support for a local business in your area.
Work with a local retail store to receive product placement on their store shelves in exchange for a discount on the services that you provide. Create a display in a high traffic area in your city that has a summer theme to highlight the products or services that you offer – as well as those that your partnership company provides the community.
Sponsor a Summer Event
As the seasonal weather heats up in the summer, local events begin to fill calendar spaces. This presents you with the perfect opportunity to increase your local brand awareness and get to know your local clients on a casual, friendly level. Consider sponsoring a local little league baseball team for the summer. You can also hold a contest and give the winner a paid trip to a summer camp being hosted by another local business. Host an art event where participants try to create eye-catching headlines using product quotes or tag-lines in their artwork.
Take part in sponsoring a bicycle race, triathlon event or other athletic activity by handing out towels showcasing your promotional messaging on the front. Make a plan to attend a craft fair or other local outdoor event where you can rent a booth and hand out flyers, brochures and other promotional materials for your company.
Create Internship Programs
Local college students often return home during the summer. This provides you with the perfect opportunity to offer internships to the students who are working their way through college in the hopes of infiltrating your industry upon graduation. These types of positions are beneficial to both sides.
Students gain valuable, hands-on experience that gives them an inside look into an industry they have an interest in and your company receives fresh ideas useful in creating new slogans that match current industry trends. When the summer comes to an end, you can email a report to their college professors highlighting the value each student gave to your business. It will likely lead to an invitation to come speak to a relevant college class. There may also be an opportunity to form a partnership with the college for similar events in the future.
Have a Sidewalk Sale
A popular summer sales idea is a sidewalk sale because it can provide your company with so many marketing opportunities. An event coordinator can oversee the sale. Staff members can research topics of interest to your local community and incorporate these into the sidewalk sale theme. Offer gift bags with promotional items including baseball caps, keychains and t-shirts showcasing your company name and logo. Have a kid-friendly entertainment area with water balloons, ice pops and face painting, while offering adults a relaxing area with beach chairs, shade umbrellas and refreshments. Initiate conversations with consumers in this lounge area.
There is no summer break when it comes to marketing your products, services or company in the hopes of reaching your target market audience. Your business needs to have both outdoor and indoor marketing strategies ready throughout the year. You just need to be creative in your approaches by going outside instead of online to maintain a presence in the mind of your market segment.
Thank you for reading our blog! To learn more summer marketing tips or about how we can help with your marketing needs, contact us today.
I'm the Director of Digital Services and Partner at Ballantine, a family-owned and operated direct mail & digital marketing company based in New Jersey. and started in 1966 by my great uncle!
![This Is What You Can Expect To See In Color Design This Summer [Infographic]](https://www.ballantine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/1200X628Ballantine_5.png "This Is What You Can Expect To See In Color Design This Summer [Infographic]")