The power of pumpkin spice: How to create a memorable brand experience

“Seasonal products are more memorable when done right and will have your customers begging for another round.”

by Ben Walker

A great seasonal campaign, even though temporary, give your brand a great way to stay relevant and drive your consumers to your products. The best seasonal campaigns are memorable, timely, and built out of what consumers like and respond to.

The humble pumpkin spice latte turned 20 years old last year, and yet, it’s almost impossible to think about falling red leaves and changing weather without thinking about the ubiquitous drink. The pumpkin spice latte has become as distinctive as a part of Autumn as Halloween. Hundreds of millions have been served to date.

So, what makes the pumpkin spice latte so memorable and so successful?

Seasonal campaigns and the fear of missing out 

FOMO, noun. One of the newest buzzwords in the marketer’s toolkit, the fear of missing out. Seasonal campaigns and FOMO are a match made in heaven. Having a transient product that’s only available for a matter of weeks is a sure-fire way to drive interest and get more of your consumers in your stores purchasing your product.

In a way, seasonal products are more memorable when done right and will have your customers begging for another round. Back due to popular demand. Pumpkin spice season is a great example of this as, like clockwork, coffee shops can guarantee an uplift in product sales.

Here, consistency is key. A consistent product is a “safe” product as it creates a shared experience and a clear expectation of what the customer will receive when they make an order. That shared experience is critical to success because it drives the fear of missing out.

The product doesn’t even need to be particularly tasty or effective to take on a life of its own. Mr. Frosty was a cultural phenomenon when it was announced. It was seasonal, exciting, and yet… there’s a shared experience of begging, screaming for your parents to get Mr. Frosty and while reviews for ease of use were never that great. Plastic handles were never really going to work on chunked ice.

How many people begging for the return of the McRib have actually tasted one? And how many people want its glorious return just because everyone else does?

Human beings are tribal creatures, it’s how we made it this far. Only now instead of grouping together to take on mammoths and sabre tooths we’re all chasing Mr. Frosties and fidget spinners (circa 2017) without really knowing why.

Trendy, relevant direct-to-consumer marketing

This is all coupled with the importance of trends in direct-to-consumer marketing. Trends drive intrigue and footfall because they feed into that FOMO and shared experience. It’s something to talk about at work, eye roll or no, whatever the kids are into nowadays.

When something trendy couples up with a seasonal campaign, something special happens, the campaign is supercharged. The pumpkin spice latte, Taylor Swift, and Ugg boots have an Autumn resurgence year on year, creating an annual trend in and of itself.

There is something very human about wanting to settle into the season when it changes and make the most of what’s about to come, whether it’s Halloween, Christmas, Autumn, or Summer. Brands that have coupled themselves with those feelings and become a part of those seasonal transitions become a part of a very human trend.

If you can couple your brand with the change of the season effectively, you’ll do pretty well. Ten years ago in the UK, the start of the Christmas Season was clear… Holidays are coming from Coca-Cola would usher in baubles and Christmas jumpers. Now, it’s split between Coca-Cola and John Lewis. Therefore, just because there’s a clear “leader” doesn’t mean there isn’t space for your brand.

The pumpkin spice latte ushers in Autumn even more than the equinox. It’s all timely and relevant, it’s trendsetting, and it makes us feel a certain way.

How to create a great seasonal marketing campaign

So, how do all of these interact to create a memorable brand experience? Seasonality, transience, timely cultural trends, and driving FOMO all create fertile ground for a memorable, successful seasonal campaign.

With the age of the influencer driving seasonal phenomenon, it’s more and more possible for small contenders to create relevant, effective, and wide-reaching marketing campaigns without the big budget of a Coca Cola red Santa Claus driving around the country.

A great marketing campaign is deployed at the right time and at the right place, it’s localised, relevant to the consumer’s mood and life at the time it lands, and it has a clear call to action to drink this, buy that, or go there.

Seasonal campaigns are a great way to stay relevant without chasing trends on social media or taking major risks. At the beginning of Autumn, your audience will be feeling Autumnal – it feels obvious, but the best strategies often are, because they work. So, having a content calendar for seasonal, relevant, temporary campaigns is a great shortcut towards driving FOMO and driving your consumers into your stores.

To find out more about direct-to-consumer and brand-to-consumer marketing, contact the Precision team at getintouch@precision.co.uk or give us a call on +44 (0) 1284 718900.