Every year, events like the holidays, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday lead businesses to an immense increase in demand and awareness. However, once these peaks pass, it might seem hard to find a way to keep up the growth and capitalize on the attention. So how can you make the most out of special days, all while planning for long-term success and sustainability? Companies like Rakuten, Japan’s largest e-commerce company, have developed a balance between maximizing the impact of global events –like securing a Super Bowl ad–, and crafting strategies to make sure awareness persists and sales grow all year long.

Here are three tips Dana Marineau, North America CMO of Rakuten, gave TOP CMO.

1. Ride the highs

Phenomena like Christmas Day, Back-To-School, Black Friday, or the Super Bowl are proven catalysts for peaks in revenue and awareness. Make sure you never miss out on any. Examine success stories, stats, and metrics, and decide on the most suitable options. Something as huge as a Super Bowl spot, while costly, can get you a gigantic level of exposure

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The promotion itself is, of course, central. Capitalizing on an all-eyes-on-you moment means ensuring the best quality that can make your brand stand out. This is the catalyst for all that’s to come, so one must ensure it’s top-notch. Best discounts, unique promotions, the most captivating ads.

2. Squeeze every last drop

While it may be tempting to sit back and let the promotion work for itself, it’s essential to take care of everything surrounding it: the full campaign. Besides the Paid aspect, you must focus on the other two axes of digital advertising.

1. Owned. Before even promoting your service, it is essential to have your platform ready. Websites, apps, social accounts. Everything must be running smoothly and ready to capture the attention of millions.
2. Earned. The repercussions are what makes it all worth it. If the owned and paid aspects are state-of-the-art, the outcome can be massive in terms of brand awareness and conversions, a.k.a. where the money is. The press, the PR, the social media discourse.

Having a well-structured campaign strategy will help you see results that transcend the week of-. These might only be truly visible in hindsight, but considering the long-term effects is vital. Aside from these 15 minutes of fame, however, there are also 525,585 other minutes in a year. How can you ensure business isn’t solely reliant on special dates?

3. Elevate the lows

There are big booms in commerce, such as Christmas, New Year’s, Single’s Day, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and back-to-school. Then, there are sparks: moments such as Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day, which are smaller peaks, but peaks nonetheless. And, finally, beats are regular occurrences that keep the flow going, strategies that draw clients to the product.

This schedule seems quite fixed, but you can forge your own calendar, making the most out of your environment. It’s all about being sensitive to the market’s fluctuations. Considering the state of the economy, the political climate, and pop culture. If your product can benefit from viral trends, hop on them!

While market booms are fixed, smaller-scale highs can be manufactured, in the form of special sale events, for example. It’s essential to consider the target audience to know what holidays or seasons to focus on. Long-term reports and studies help further understand the habits of consumption the desired buyers have had in the past and find insights into their unique peaks. Once you find what your customers look for, don’t wait for someone else to pick up on it!

Rollercoastin’

When trying to boost business, one should never settle on a fixed way of doing things. Trusting big events to get sales afloat for a whole year isn’t an option, but neither is not taking advantage of a niche’s specific trends and habits. An eye for detail and nuance will know the right waves to ride and how to shift the tide in its favor. Nothing’s fixed, a calendar might just be more flexible than you think.

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