Labor Day Direct-Marketing Ideas

Labor Day serves as a day of rest and as a reminder that the summer is drawing to a close, but that doesn't mean you should relax your marketing efforts. This is a prime time for snagging holiday shoppers eager to get the last bit out of summer or prepare for the winter.

Consider the following Labor Day direct-marketing ideas when planning your early September promotional materials:

All work and no play

Labor Day was originally set aside as "the working man's day," and you can still draw on these themes in your direct-marketing postcards, brochures and flyers. This is the day when your hard-working customers can enjoy a sizzling barbecue in the company of family and friends, so your direct-marketing designs could include images that conjure the same feel-good and break-from-the-workday emotions associated with family cookouts. Try to tighten your message by targeting your prospects' emotions: "You work hard to secure your family. Isn't it time to relax?" would be a great pitch for a life insurance or investment firm.

Cross promote

Come Labor Day, many businesses have already devoted a large part of their marketing budgets and are saving the rest for the Christmas season, which makes early September a great time of year to seek cross-promotions with complimentary, but non-competing, businesses. Relevance matters here - consider offering 100 of your customers a 20-cent gas discount on Labor Day at a local gas station. You could print a banner to place at the gas station that thanks your customers, and send out a direct-mailer postcard to get the word out. Combine that with a press release to area newspapers and radio stations, and you'll get a PR boost among more than just your customers. Split the gas, printing and mailing costs with the gas station owner and you'll both win.

What's happening?

Labor Day itself isn't always enough to drive traffic to your footstep, but there are plenty of things associated with this time of year that bring in a lot of sales. Children are going back to school, for instance, and they need new supplies, clothes, computers, credit cards, cell phones and many more items. Try having your next direct-mail postcard designed as a backpack brimming with whatever your company is offering.

This is also the time of year when high school, college and professional football teams head back to the field; opening plenty of opportunities to demonstrate how your company is the "winning team." Even better, send a direct-mail marketing package that includes your business card with a favorite local football team's schedule on the back to help keep your card in your prospects' wallets, pockets, purses and rolodexes.

Labor Day direct marketing doesn't have to be bland, and it doesn't even have to be labor related. When designing your next direct-marketing postcards, brochures and flyers, be creative and combine some of the aforementioned concepts with a great offer and persuasive call to action, and you'll be well on your way to whistling while you work this year.

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