Seasonal & Event Content: 9 questions to ask

by | Aug 21, 2017 | Content & Content Operations, Marketing, Advertising & Promotion

Google has a great doodle GIF to commemorate the 2017 eclipse, alongside tons of helpful resources about the celestial phenomenon.

This is today's Google doodle commemorating the eclipse

When you're not watching the skies, watch social media and other marketing/advertising channels to see how other brands mark this event with content marketing and brand journalism.

Of course, this event is the Super Bowl for NASA, which had a bit of fun on one of its sub-brand accounts:

Here's a fun example from my local music equipment store that uses a nice play on musical jargon to play on the visual quality of most of our eclipse photos.

Less obvious but just as fun, Krispy Kreme's eclipse donuts have been popular and the social media posts, especially on Instagram, have been fun. The campaign also prompted a lot of user-generated content, like this montage of my own, posted to Instagram and Twitter with all the requisite hashtags.

A less successful attempt came from another purveyor of sweet baked goods, Hostess. FWIW, I don't advocate brands' declaring their products official x of y.

This is a screen grab of a MoonPie troll of Hostess

Take notes on who gets it right, who gets it wrong and what you can learn from their attempts that inform your own event-related content strategy.

9 Questions Before You Jump on Seasonal Content

But before you actually start planning, answer these questions:

  1. Does the observance or event feel like a legitimate fit with our brand?
  2. What channels and audience segments are most appropriate for this special content and why?
  3. What's our purpose for drafting off this event?
  4. What do we hope to achieve from a business perspective?
  5. How will we measure success?
  6. What do we want to spend on the effort and what results do we want to see across all areas?
  7. Do we have the internal talent to produce this?
  8. Do we have the time to do it right?
  9. What could go wrong, and what's our response when it does?

Building a campaign or sinking resources into an observance or event can be an effective way to promote your business and serve your audience. But only if you put in the necessary time and effort.

**Updated to reflect new wins and fails**

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