Much like we explored in our Christmas and Valentine’s Day blog, seasonal marketing campaigns aren’t something you see all too often from B2B brands. retail marketers go deep, but historically B2B marketers have been too head down on their demand generation campaigns to worry too much about the fact it’s not actually as cold as it was and there a tonne of religious pomp and ceremony cracking off.
I’m here to tell you in an informal bloggy style that IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE LIKE THAT. Your marketing can be like a metaphorical daffodil blossoming into a beautifully stunning display of creativity. Or some sh*t.
Hold tight….
Before we get cracking on B2B Easter campaigns you might want to do, in the best interests of keepin’ it real, and also because it’s all I could think about initially when reflecting on this subject, I’m gonna share with you what not to do. Don’t get chocolate. It’s lame. Aside from showing no thought whatsoever, and coming across a little bit like those toiletries or shoddy bottles of wine you get given at Christmas that you just KNOW are poor regifts, it’s not great from a health perspective.
Sugar is the new smoking don’t you know, and we hope that even if you don’t like your customers you value their contribution towards the roof you have over your head. So we can all agree it’s in everyone’s best interests to keep them alive as best we can. Yay for life!
We want something more positive, something that puts a spring in someone’s step rather than puts them in an early grave. OK, now on a more positive note – stuff to think about.
DIY Surprise Eggs
As a proud parent of 2 children under the age of 5, my entire world is surprise eggs. Capitalism has heard the cries of toddlers across the land, and you can now buy empty surprise eggs in all manners of shapes, sizes and colours.
These really work for B2B Easter campaigns, as in addition putting a nice, thoughtful surprise gift in there, you can also write a lovely handwritten message. Or, if your handwriting is a little, erm, pants like mine, you could knock something up on Illustrator and type out a short message.
Depending on the size of your gift and your ability to write nice things, they come in a variety of shapes, sizes and colours. Baker Ross have all manner of different ones, ranging from the basic to cute Easter bunnies.
If you’re throwing caution to the wind, and you’re hell bent on getting something chocolatey into the mix, then you could pick a really thin chocolate egg. Purely for the ceremonious ‘smashing open using a hammer to expose the mystery inside’. It would make me very happy if you went for very dark chocolate with a nod towards my previous health warning. You don’t want to see a big bald man crying into his laptop now, do you?
Experiential Easter
Easter is synonymous with the re-awakening of flora and fauna after what seems to be an eternal winter. Why not make the most of it and get outside with your clients and prospects?
There’s stuff to do to suit a variety of activity levels, depending on your community. For the more energy-laden enjoy the thrill of tearing through the treetops at Go Ape, white water rafting in the Peak District, or a day’s fell walking in the Lakes.
For the more laid back amongst us, you can create a corporate event based around birdwatching at one of the many RSPB sites like Bempton Cliffs or run an event at Kew Gardens to include a curated tour from a horticulturist. If you want to widen participation – family picnics or early BBQs are great: there’s nothing like getting outside with customers and to get to know them as a person outside the confines of an office. Who doesn’t feel better with a bit of fresh air in their lungs?
Hoppin’ mad
If you really want to put a spring into your step, then why not go a little crazy?
A personalised and branded space hopper could be just the ticket. If you’re under the age of 25, space hoppers were something off of the 80s. And that makes them retro, which, depending on when you’re reading this will either be cool or passé (luckily if it’s passe you can check back in a couple of years when it’s cool again – gotta love fads!).
In addition to being able to match your brand colours, Imagine Inflatables offer loads of different options. If you’ve got loads of customers, thy have minimum order quantities of 250 on their standard stock. But as account-based marketers, we’re not interested in that now are we? We want to offer our prospects and customer an individual, bespoke experience. Encouragingly, Imagine Inflatables also offer sticker based branding – which can ultimately be anything – giving you full creative license to put whatever the hell you want on it.
You can give the campaign even more legs by hooking in some social engagement. How about a prize for the funniest video using a special hashtag? Or maybe you could pledge some money for charity for every picture you receive of someone in the company having a bounce? If you want to have a little fun with your B2B easter campaign this could be just the ticket, and some time spent on how to get the maximum possible returns by integrating other channels will, as always, prove fruitful.
Get it done
There are some ideas to get you going. Whether you chose any of them, or decide I’ve completely lost the plot, do something! Not enough B2B markets run seasonal campaigns like this and we’ve seen some cracking results in a variety of different industries.
Get it done! And if you need help getting it done, speak to us. We love chatting about and executing innovative marketing campaigns.
