You’ll Shoot Your Ad Out

09.29.2016 Dan Glicksman

Mobile Holiday Advertising for Local Businesses

Holiday Mobile Advertising

Like many other end-of-year holiday-season-loving people, I enjoy the many iconic moments in Holiday-specific TV – but none more than “A Christmas Story.” I’ve probably watched it about a million times (ok, maybe two million). Every year the marathon runs, I catch it more than once – it’s like a yearly necessity where shortly after I find myself telling my kids they’ll “shoot their eye out” (usually receiving an eye-roll in return), saying “oh fudge,”  and going for Chinese food on Christmas Day (truth be told, I’ve done this long before I ever saw the movie).

But back to the story – do you remember the scene where the family goes Christmas tree shopping, and they are doing a little negotiating with the tree lot seller. Think back to that scene when the wife is looking at one of the trees saying, “That’s a little skimpy in the front,” when all of a sudden (and please suspend disbelief for the time period they were in) one of them looks down at their mobile phone and sees an ad with a “This week-only –  20% off your entire purchase!” coupon on one of their apps for a small seasonal ornament shop down the road.

Coincidence? Not at all…

In this case, the ornament shop had a very specific plan in mind. Ralphie’s parents received the ad because they walked into a specific zone that the ornament shop had targeted. In other words, the ornament shop’s ad campaign was designed to deliver their store coupon ads to mobile phones that were physically in or near this specific tree selling lot.

Sounds complicated, right? Wrong – it’s actually quite simple and cost effective for any local businesses (if you are already convinced, click here and someone can call you with a few creative ideas that you may not have thought of, but could make a big difference this holiday season).

Here are a few other creative mobile advertising ideas that may, at the very least, get you thinking creatively for your business (remember, you don’t have to celebrate Christmas to take advantage of these season-specific tips!):

  • Stay in-tune with community events  You are a restaurant owner, and you know of a few High Schools nearby running holiday plays or shows. You’ve smartly decided to target the audience goers promising a free appetizer to customers who come to the restaurant in a specific time frame. Best part is, the show doesn’t typically start the moment show-goers walk in, and what do we all do while we wait for the curtains to raise? We look at various things, play games, etc. on our smartphones (thus greatly increasing the chances your offer will be seen).
  • If you are a retailer, think of one of two directions you can take:
    • Target the competition – As people walk into the competitor’s locations, make it a point to serve up your offer to those patrons. You might get a few buyers swayed in your direction. 
    • Target complimentary products – An example would be a flower shop delivering their ads to people walking in and around jewelry stores. The two go hand in hand (and all the way through to Valentine’s Day too!).
  • Play defense – Let your staff know that if someone presents you a coupon of a competitor on a mobile device, that you are prepared to honor it. In fact, put up store signage to entice the sale to happen right then and there (yes, some people are afraid to do this sort of “negotiating” – make it known to your patrons).

So in today’s modern version of “A Christmas Story,” after getting that perfect tree, the family then stops off at that local ornament shop, picks out a few items, uses the online coupon, gets back on the road and then gets the flat tire which eventually results in Ralphie eating Life Buoy soap. And as for the ornament shop, they experienced sweeter holiday success due to their creative mobile strategy as they knew how to “shoot their ad out” effectively and to the right people.

 

 

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Dan Glicksman

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