The back-to-school season is the second largest consumer spending event for retailers outside of winter holidays. Feel like you don’t have a back-to-school type business?  Think again!  School affects more than just young kids – think about college aged young adults, teenagers, parents, teachers, and those continuing education students who work all day and go to school in the evenings.

 

Children

Kids are the most obvious audience when it comes to back to school.  Try to incorporate latest trends, cartoon characters, and bright colors in your marketing pieces. Postcards are great because they have vivid images and fewer words if your product is targeted toward children.  Another great way to grab attention is to have a coloring contest!  Print coloring  pages with your logo and ask parents to snap a picture and post on social media for a chance to win.

Parents

Back to school time is both a time of relief and stress for parents.  The key motivator for parent back to school marketing is time.  Once school is back in session, many parents find themselves strapped for time after work, and the increase in extracurricular activities puts an even harder constraint time.  Gear your marketing toward saving time, and what parents can do with the time that they will save.  Parents named print advertising and direct mail as the two most preferred channels for receiving promotions and deals, so be sure to have tangible marketing like mail, print advertisements, and flyers.

Teens & Young Adults

Your marketing should be unique to reach teens and young adults.  This is an age where your audience is looking to stand out in a crowd.  They want to embrace their differences and express themselves.  Show you are human in your marketing by including a great story.  Teens and young adults prefer to connect with brands on a deeper level.  Since this age group is also the most mobile phone active consider integrating augmented reality into your mailings and brochures to instantly link them to your website, social media, and blogs.

Teachers

A great way to market to teachers is to be helpful to them.  Teachers are always in need of supplies in their classroom.  Promotional products are a great way of getting your name in front of teachers, students, and parents (they may be the decision makers for their businesses)!  Think rulers, pencil cases, notepads, pens, and pencils.  You can donate these items year-round, just call your local schools!

Adult Students

Continuing Education students have been a growing presence in higher education.  Nontraditional students (ages 25+) make up more than 25% of enrollment in the United States.  Most of these students hold a full-time job and take classes in the evenings or online.  One of the things they value most is convenience.  Due to their busy lifestyles they make purchasing decisions in the quickest and most efficient way.  In your marketing, making packages with similar items can help simplify the purchasing process.  Catalogs and look-books are most popular with these individuals.  Think fewer options, more coordination when targeting adult students.

 

If you previously thought back to school marketing was just for big box supply stores – think again.  Creative marketing can make a huge impact on your brand and your business.  If you’d like more help thinking of outside of the box ways to market your business, call (717) 731-9456 to set up a meeting with Sarah Barr, our Business Development Manager today!