Marketers Market for Halloween

Yes, "holiday creep" has Halloween candy/costumes in stores even before back-to-school marketing begins. But marketing trends go well beyond these basics.

No matter what you're marketing, be aware that if you're using Halloween themes in email marketing, you may have fewer folks open your messages. Yet the conversion rate is solid, meaning those who open messages can be converted into buyers.

Some marketers prefer to intro or preview Halloween goods and services early, little by little, to build anticipation and awareness. This is certainly the case for theme parks and other service marketers that offer special Halloween experiences.

Seasonal products or campaigns related to Halloween need time to reach audiences and generate response. The soft-drink brand Fanta rolled out Halloween-themed Snap filters early to encourage usage and viral reaction.

Halloween and pumpkins are a traditional association. Pumpkin food products are selling well as the fall season gets into full swing before Halloween. As usual, marketers are pushing pumpkin spice everything. In fact, Starbucks and Dunkin' began marketing pumpkin flavors in August this year. But, despite rumors, there is NO Oscar Meyer pumpkin-flavor bologna.

McDonald's Serves Up Value (Again)

Did you know McDonald's rings up $25 billion in annual sales? That's "billions and billions" of burgers, fries, soft drinks, Egg McMuffins, and other popular menu items sold every year.

In fact, its "all day breakfast" initiative has helped turn around the fast-food giant's sales momentum.

But value remains a key element in the consumer's perception of fast-casual food. And that's why McDonald's is planning to rev up its value menu--again. This time, only a few items are priced at $1, with other special deals at $2, $3, and $5. Not to mention the "Extra Value Meal Deals" that bundle a sandwich and a beverage and a side for customers morning, noon, and night.

The idea is to attract price-conscious fast-food fans and preserve some of the profit margin. And have more weapons in the price war with competing fast-food chains.

What's more, McDonald's is putting coffee front and center with hot and cold, tall and short offerings, targeting coffee-lovers of all ages and all value perceptions. A recent Snap "disappearing coffee" bitmoji is an example of engaging content created especially for a younger targeted segment, for instance.

With more than 75 million Facebook likes, 3.5 million Twitter followers, and 2.8 million Instagram followers, plus a presence on Tumblr and YouTube, McDonald's has a gigantic social media audience. The fast-food giant is leveraging this reach to encourage more visits, stimulate product trial, and reinforce brand loyalty.

Are QR Codes Still a Viable Marketing Element?

Techcrunch https://techcrunch.com/2017/01/31/website-snapcodes/

Remember QR codes? They're sprinkled through the latest edition of my Marketing Plan Handbook and they therefore date the book to a period when QR codes were everywhere. Then apps became ubiquitous and many experts declared QR codes a thing of the past.

Not so fast. In fact, QR codes have new life among social media sites! Snapchat, for instance, invites businesses to create Snapcodes that are QR codes. Updating the QR code for the Snap generation, in other words.

Pinterest is also updating the QR code idea, with its object-recognition lens that can understand a QR code and then open the website associated with that code. No special app, just use Pinterest.

Facebook recently tested a QR code reward program, geared toward retailers and their customers.

Google Allo can also work via QR codes to quickly expand a user's friend base or share chat functions. QR scanning is easy and convenient.

So the answer is YES--QR codes are not only viable, they're trendy. Again. Watch for creative marketing with QR this year.

Print Ads on Super Bowl Sunday

Advertising is more than TV commercials and social media. Advertisers even use legacy media like print -- newspapers and magazines -- to reach audiences. Today, for example, is a day when football fans read the sports section in a local or national newspaper for more detail about the teams playing in the Super Bowl.

The entire back page of today's New York Times sports section has the lighthearted ad from Bud Light, shown at top. It sings the praises of "the official holiday of Friendship"--meaning the Super Bowl, but not named as such. A clever ode to sports being an opportunity for friendship and fun, positive brand associations that Bud (an official Super Bowl sponsor) wants to encourage.

The Bud Light website requires visitors to submit their birthdate to enter, as shown here. If you want to see the new Bud Light commercial and other A-B commercials being aired tonight, they're already online.

Inside the same New York Times sports section is a full-age ad from Gatorade, titled "An Open Letter to Athletes..." and singing the praises of serious athletes "pursuing your dreams, setting your goals and giving it all you've got...We are too."

Fans are speculating about which color Gatorade will be poured over the winning coach's head tonight in Houston. Or for interactive brand engagement, just go all Snapchat and dunk your selfie in the Gatorade color of your choice. Gatorade says last year's Snapchat dunk opportunity resulted in 165 million impressions.

Sure, Super Bowl commercials reach a huge audience, but print and other promotions also reach targeted audiences with specific messages that support brand image and personality.