Can you hear it? It’s the school bell ringing. Time for your back to school promotion planning!
So what trends should you know about as you plan for this back to school season? Here is where it’s at for kids, tweens and teens this year:
- Snapchat.
Snapchat is still a top social app of choice for today’s teens, even though popularity seems to be waning a bit. Why do they keep using it? Maybe it’s because no one wants to break a snap streak, a fire or number emoji next to a friend’s username that shows how many consecutive days you have been in touch with a friend. And while you can now run ads or campaigns on Snapchat, running a promotion still takes a little creativity. Check out our blog article for Snapchat promotion ideas.
- Uber — and Uber Eats
Gone are the days when teenagers had to beg Mom and Dad for a ride to the mall, or — the horror — having to walk anywhere. Now a ride is just a few clicks away, as is your next McDonald’s value meal. Uber can take you anywhere you want to go, or with Uber Eats they can just bring you the food. Lyft, Dash, Seamless and Grubhub are all stepping up when Mom’s minivan won’t go. If you are a restaurant who has been thinking about partnering with a delivery service, now is the time. And to launch your new delivery service, think about running a sweepstakes to get the word out.
- YouTube
YouTube still rules for video content, and influencers may have more of an influence on tweens and teens purchases than their parents do. YouTube influencers are big business. They have sponsors and can make a million a year just for posting videos of themselves doing stuff most adults don’t understand. If you are marketing to tweens or teens, consider pairing up with an influencer or running a YouTube haul video contest or review video contest to reach your audience.
- Selfies
The selfie craze is no longer a fad; it is here to stay. Time to step up your selfie game with a sound, legal promotion that can resonate with your younger audience and drive brand affinity. Try to envision how you want your teen fans to be captured with your brand and run a contest asking for that. So if you are a food company, you can ask for selfies of your fans enjoying your product. If you are a cosmetics company, it’s selfie of your fans sporting their favorite nail or lipstick color. And if you have a retail location, why not provide a few props and voila! Instant branded photo booth — just ask people to tag you with a unique hashtag and #sweepstakes for a chance to win one of your products.
Marden-Kane can help you develop a promotional concept involving any of these teen trends for your back to school campaign. Give us a call at 516-365-3999 to get started.
To read more posts by Marden-Kane, please visit our main blog page or subscribe to our email list.