SPECIAL EDITIONS BASICS Leveraging holidays and special events to sell

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15. SPECIAL EDITIONS BASICS Leveraging holidays and special events to sell

• Investigate the type of holiday or special event that makes local people more prone to buy your type of product • Modify packaging andor labeling to make it relevant to the holidayevent, andor • Prepare promotional materials emphasizing the special occasion • “Christmas edition sea sponge – unique holiday gift for your family on the mainland” • “Micronesian Olympics Madue limited edition” • Your target customers are prone to giving gifts or using special products e.g., type of food with certain holidays or special events e.g., parties, celebrations, sports events • Particularly when your target customers don’t have sufficient number of options for gifts during these occasions • For example, Christmas in the western world has turned into one big sales event and is a good opportunity to push gifts. • In some tourist locations, the selection of souvenirs is limited, so offering a new type may work. • Preparing special editions of products e.g., through packaging, labeling, etc. • Tailoring and targeting promotion of existing products to special events IN-STORE PROMO 15 ME RR Y C HR IST MA S FR OM PO HN PE I, MI CR ON ES IA “S pe cia l C hr ist m as ed iti on o f th e o nl y e co lo gi ca lly p ro du ce d ba th in g sp on ge in th e w or ld ” WHAT WHEN HOW E.g. 257 Using the sea sponge example again, but putting a sponge in a Christmas theme bag, preparing a Christmas label and maybe even a Christmas card makes the sponge a perfect candidate for a holiday gift. This is especially true since most people in Pohnpei the home of this sponge have relatives in the mainland U.S. and want to send them something for Christmas. And, since this sponge is very unique to Pohnpei and is not farmed the same way anywhere else, it makes for a special personal gift from Pohnpei. Look for other events in the calendar or local events such as sports matches, concerts, other special events, etc. that you can use for marketing purposes. People are more likely and more willing to spend money during special events and occasions. This is especially true if the product you are offering directly connects to the event or occasion somehow, or you alter some aspect of your product, such as the packaging, to match the event. For example, the company in the example above has changed its packaging to match the Christmas holiday theme. – 2.3 PROMOTION: In-store Promotions – The next page gives basics on sampling and demonstrations. 258

16. SAMPLING DEMONSTRATIONS BASICS Letting customers try and see to increase ‘appetite’