When you think of seasonal marketing, it’s always the big annual events that spring to mind. Christmas, Diwali, Chinese New Year, Easter… These are some of the big-ticket ones. However, it would be a mistake to think that the bright lights and hoorah-hay of digital signs only apply at certain times of year.
Yes, using digital signage to promote seasonal menu items and special offers are one of the primary ways you can showcase your wares. But no matter what time of year it might be, creating urgency with digital signs is a year round skill that you should be taking full advantage of.
7 Easy Ways to Promote & Upsell in Every Season
One of the best things about digital signage is how easy it is to customise. Once installed, you can – quite literally – change your marketing messages with just a few clicks. That allows you to extol the virtues of your offerings according to the time of year, upcoming festivals, events, the season, even the weather… All it needs is a little creativity and boom! Your digital sign can be instantly altered to beam whatever it is that you want to shout out to the world.
The following are great examples of how a strategically placed digital screen can take loads of the legwork out of your advertising efforts.
- ‘Tis the season to be… OK, so we’re going with the most obvious one first, whereby you want to offer seasonal menu items. Whether this might be a Cognac-inspired coffee flavour for Chinese New Year, something chocolatey for Easter, or spicing it up for Diwali, a digital sign is the perfect place to advertise. Placement of the screen is crucial and should be well considered. Do you want to attract passing trade? In which case, a sign in the window can draw people across the threshold. Or perhaps you want to upsell at the counter (for cafes, fast food, takeaways etc). If so, then a smaller sign at or behind the counter will do the job.
- Colours, graphics and animations: There are many easy-to-use design tools that you can take advantage of to create eye-catching displays that capture the spirit of the season. They can be as simple or as detailed as you like – but remember that the most effective advertising campaigns are those that hit the spot in less than a second or so (your customers are busy people who are constantly bombarded with information). Clear messaging and striking advertising that directly displays the crucial information is key.
- Location, location, location… We’ve already touched on where you might put your digital sign/s, depending on whether you’re trying to upsell existing customers or tempt those on the street to step inside. But there are plenty of other aspects to consider when it comes to where to site your digital sign. The beauty of such a tool in the restaurant trade is that you can evoke strong, urgent desires with images and videos of your chosen dishes and drinks. “A picture paints a thousand words” is absolutely spot on – think steaming hot plates, decadent desserts, or crisp, fresh salads… The location should match your venue. Coffee shops, for example, might have them in full view of the seating/serving area. A high-end eating establishment might prefer the window, so as not to distract from the ambience of the dining experience, whereas a fast-food takeaway will benefit from more in-your-face placement.
- Take advantage of QR codes: Embedding one of these turns a digital sign into an interactive experience. Perhaps it might take customers to your website, or maybe you want to inform more about upcoming events, menus and other tempting deliciousness. The key aspect is that it turns a single sign that can only hold so much information into an endless advertising and engagement opportunity, all courtesy of a QR code.
- Schedule content to display automatically: And at the time you want it to show. You might want to catch the pre-work breakfast crowd in the morning, followed by lunch and then the after-work exodus. Set your sign to flip automatically, which allows you to get on with the important work of running your restaurant.
- Link your social media: Because you do have a presence, don’t you…? If not, get onto that pronto. All that work you’ve put into your latest reel, the posts that have garnered the best engagement and those perfectly curated images to wow your fans can work doubly hard when you link and showcase them via a digital sign.
- Be creative: Seasonal marketing can be as unique as you like. Beach season, surf’s up, festival season, Mardi Gras, the Australian Open, ANZAC Day… You get the gist. Savvy restaurant owners create content for their digital screens well in advance – think Christmas and New Year in July, or whale watching season in March. Get your content created early and then automate it to switch at the appropriate time of year.
Another advantage is that digital signs have longevity, as opposed to printing static signs with a one-time-only lifespan. Over time, the power of digital will pay you back many, many times over, making the ROI far more beneficial than printing and re-printing signs each season (and it’s kinder to the environment as well).
No one does digital better than iCatcher Digital Signs. Our extensive range and market-leading expertise in restaurant industry products, as well as all kinds of hire, purchase and finance options means there’s the right digital sign to suit every budget.
Contact us today and let’s talk…