By Gordon White, Acticall Sitel Group
Sunday is shopping day in my house, a necessary trip to the local Trader Joe’s to stock up on essentials like Brown Rice Marshmallow bars and Ghost Pepper Potato Chips. I genuinely like the shopping experience there, it feels serendipitous and they always tempt me to try new things.
As I shouldered my way through the busy store looking for new things to try, one thing became abundantly clear. Pumpkin spice everything season has arrived, and it’s here in a big way this year.
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For many people, their first annual pumpkin consumption will come in the form of the wildly popular Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte or “PSL”. The hype is real — it’s the third-best-selling pumpkin item (after cream and pies) and, 11 years after its launch, still enjoys crazy love in the press and on social media. Business has noticed: from KIND, to Cheerios, to Subway and more, the pumpkin spice trend dominates the season.
Fall isn’t the only time of year where brands capitalize on seasonal trends — on St. Patrick’s Day consumers quaff McDonald’s Shamrock Shakes; on Halloween Chipotle holds a “Boorito” promotion. And for some novelty fun Krispy Kreme even observes the entirely made up but incredibly awesome “Talk Like A Pirate Day”.
Why is this important for brands? For starters, it’s good business. Starbucks has sold over 200 million pumpkin spice lattes in the last decade, and research firm Nielsen reports that pumpkin products accounted for $361 million in sales in 2015.
But beyond the obvious sales bump, it’s also a great opportunity for brands to connect with consumers in new and different ways. After all, if Pumpkin Spice Churros are your attempt at getting me to try something different, shouldn’t that also translate to your digital and social media?
Many brands do well at the digital basics, announcing new products on their social channels, and using best practice engagement to stoke consumer anticipation and trial. But what about trying something really out there? The benefit of seasonal launches is that they’re often delivered with a bit of cheek, which means consumers are preconditioned to accept humor or frivolity more so than other times of year. They also have a finite start and end — which makes them a perfect time to test a new approach or a new channel without committing to something permanent.
Starbucks — the old hand when it comes to Pumpkin — tried it last year. Their PSL bot got a lot of negative flack, but I guarantee they learned some valuable lessons for the next iteration (hint: bots still need human handlers and hand off points).
So what’s on your “want to try” list this year? Maybe you’re looking for the right moment to launch your chatbot? Or you’re thinking about giving more autonomy to your social care team to express their love for all things peppermint? How about segmenting your email strategy and asking for seasonal-only opt ins to lapsed members?
If variety is the spice of life, use the season to introduce some new experiences and touch points in the mix. Measure their impact, and if they work, roll those learnings into what you do every day. In other words, get spicy, we’ll bite!
Now if I could only get someone to keep this on the shelf all year.
Gordon White is General Manager of The Social Client, a Digital Customer Experience Agency and part of the Acticall Sitel Group. He is a 20+ year marketing industry veteran with the majority of his experience at the intersection of digital and consumers, helping brands build deeper relationships through the creative application of technology and data. When he’s not helping clients optimize their approach to new customer acquisition or improving their overall brand health, Gordon is reimagining business in a connected world; thinking of and examining new and existing touch points that his clients can use to enhance their customer experiences.
