Your Hottest Summer Marketing Strategy

Should I really hold my campaigns and throttle my budgets throughout the summer peak?

Seasonal marketing is a thing and very valid. Identifying market trends, optimising your campaigns and UX to reflect consumer needs is definitely the way to go. Whether that is through seasonal tailored messaging, targeting specific peak marketing channels or by focusing on a specific buying stage and offers that impact at a specific moment in time.

Personalisation, maximising performance, and ROI are always a must have… however in a world of optimised marketing and big data, can using your gut out way the AI analytics platforms?

Typically, in the UK B2B budgets and campaigns can almost be frozen throughout the peak summer months (July, August) as the perception is that everyone is on holiday both physically and mentally. No one will be able to purchase or influence buying decisions as no one is here, right?

Well no, fortunately (on this occasion) in the UK we have adopted an ‘always on’ culture which means we are pretty much plugged in 24/7.

Workplace culture may be changing for generation Z however the one-upmanship of who can work the longest and respond to emails the latest still exists and is worn as a badge of honour for most.

Across Europe perceptions somewhat differ with the Nordics specifically being great advocates of official summer vacations explicitly for family and positive wellbeing.

In Iceland, they allocate up to 6 weeks of leave throughout the summer months to allow for positive R&R, whist in France the strict unionised approach protects workers from burnout.

However, even the most indestructible cultural staples are being eroded with the globalisation of business, rapid advances in technology and the fluidity of the modern workforce. Soon no one will be safe :)

(Slight tangent – I recently came across a billboard ad from Microsoft with a man on his holidays sitting overlooking the beach and the slogan reading ‘work from anywhere' it made me feel sad inside – surly in the current climate and the focus on positive wellbeing they have really missed the mark on this one).

New movements to alleviate these pressures including ‘the right to disconnect’ and the introduction of the 4-day week pilots in Ireland are trying to make positive change and turn the tide of the 24/7 working culture.

It feels as though the UK and the wider global workforce is at a real turning point. Fuelled by the pandemic as the catalyst of change, topics of flexible working and mobile workforces are forcing big industry to take stock and to reimagine what the future of work should look like.

Companies are torn between the traditional business as usual based on the perception of productivity and efficiency versus the need to become a ‘destination workplace’ whereby the focus is on managing the talent cycle: access, value creation and retention.

That’s all well and good but what does this mean for my campaign planning and budgets?

Well simply put there is never a bad time to deliver a high performing campaign. With the majority of smart marketers delivering a blended approach of inbound (always on) and Account Based Marketing (ABM), it is about creating connections and conversations that count not hitting mass numbers and falsifying vanity metrics and engagement KPI’s.

Alongside data analysis, a strong marketing and sales team will know who is right and at what time, so take time and listen to them.

The summer may not be the time to drive a major event or product launch, but it is the time to curate meaningful conversations around relevant, thought-provoking topics that can lead to larger deals. With the average b2b buying cycles of 6-24 months, why wait!

No new rules, no amazing life hacks. Listen to your audience, create inspiring experiences and authentic engagements. Your summer could still be your hottest yet!