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Newsletter #776: The “Make It Timely” Issue

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Like a good joke, great marketing often involves timeliness. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

1> With occasions
2> With competition
3> With trends
4> Check it out: Selleck Waterfall Sandwich

1> With occasions

Do you offer products that work well with specific events, seasons, or occasions? Women’s clothing retailer Shopbop lets customers shop by occasion. So, in addition to traditional sorting by categories like dresses, denim, and skirts, the feature helps women also find suggestions for cocktail parties, nights out, and work. Take a look at how customers are searching for your products. Could you save them some hassle by offering suggestions on what to use for certain scenarios, and when?

The Lesson: Help customers better understand how to take advantage of what you’re selling by showing them when your stuff works best.

Learn More: Shopbop.com

2> With competition

Some clever use of timeliness can be a powerful weapon against a bigger competitor with deeper pockets. On June 29th of 2009, the UnFancy Food Show held its second annual event at a Brooklyn dive bar. New York’s Fancy Food show, held on the same day, was the inspiration. With the spotlight on the city for the Fancy show (which draws 20,000 food buyers annually), the much smaller UnFancy event is able to earn headlines and a bunch of attention by being the polar opposite.

The Lesson: If a competitor is putting up big money and big effort to get in the spotlight, explore opportunities to earn some attention for yourself with some well-timed cleverness.

Learn More: Brooklyn Based

3> With trends

If there’s a trend your fans are getting involved in, don’t miss a chance to help them get together on the topic. Fate Monkey, a small company that creates charitable events, took advantage of the goofy Snuggie craze by hosting the world’s first Snuggie Pub Crawl. Now going into its second year, all proceeds from the popular event support an orphanage in Tanzania. A pub crawl on its own, even for a worthy cause, wouldn’t stand out. But a timely partnership with a hot trend makes it worth talking about (and participating in).

The Lesson: Trends and fads can be tricky, but with the right amount of humor you’ve got lots of ways to get involved in the buzz.

Learn More: SnuggiePubCrawl.com

4> Check it out: Selleck Waterfall Sandwich

If you like Tom Selleck, and you like waterfalls, and you have a thing for sandwiches, there’s a chance you might like this weirdness.

Check it out: SelleckWaterfallSandwich.com

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