Summer Marketing Magic: How to Make Your Print Ads Sizzle In Magazines
Summer is here in full swing, and that means more leisure time for your target market. Whether they’re on vacation, lounging by the pool, or enjoying a day at the beach, your potential clients and customers are more likely to pick up a magazine to relax, a magazine that could be featuring your advertisements. This means you have that many more opportunities to capture some valuable attention through print this season. It’’s the perfect time to deliver your message.
Think about it. Your top prospects are engaging in their family vacations, outdoor community events, and summer festivals. In these summer scenarios, these people, —your potential clients and customers, —are more likely to have a magazine in hand, ready to flip it open to your logo and advertisement at any given moment.
Get ready to meet them where they are, because during the summer season, readers are often in a more relaxed and receptive state of mind, which means potential clients and customers are more likely to engage with your advertisements and have a higher likelihood of taking the next step.
Of course, you will be competing for attention. Make your ads sizzle away from the rest by incorporating seasonal themes and imagery, making them timely, and integrating them with social media. We will discuss these techniques here, as well as ways you can avoid the competition and effectively highlight your own brand in a multi-dimensional way by publishing a magazine of your own.
Seasonal Themes and Imagery
Summer-themed visuals like sun shapes and beach paraphernalia can be incredibly effective in capturing attention. Use bright colors, breezy images, and fun scenes featuring summer activities to make your ads pop. Visuals like these naturally attract attention and create a positive association with your content.
Innovative design concepts like arranging your content in the shape of a summer motif can make your summer-themed ads even more appealing. Bright, eye-catching colors that evoke warmth and energy are perfect for summer. Incorporate elements like the sun, water, ice cream, and beach scenes to create a seasonal vibe that resonates with your audience.
If you publish a magazine in the summer months, it’s always a good idea to align your articles and features with summer interests. Travel guides, outdoor activities, summer fashion, and health tips are all great topics to explore during this season. If you are advertising in your own magazine—which we absolutely recommend you do—tie in your advertisements to the written content for a higher engagement rate.
You might also consider making some changes to your typography to commemorate the season. Playful and bold fonts can attract more attention and convey a fun summer feeling. Strategically place your chosen fonts in and around your advertisements to draw more attention to your products and service offerings or calls to action.
Timing Your Ads
Timing is everything. Do your best to align your magazine ads with key summer dates and holidays to maximize their impact. For example, back- to- school reminders and Labor Day are coming up, so you might consider featuring promotions around these occasions and publishing them in magazines that come out or near these summer milestones.
We also highly recommend promoting your content around holiday festivities, local events, concerts, fairs, and sporting events. These are times when your potential clients and customers are looking for something to read and in the mood to engage with your content.
If you publish a magazine in the summer, take note that seasonal businesses like campgrounds and waterparks will be looking for opportunities to advertise their own summer offerings, and what better opportunity than your magazine? Advertising for these businesses will not only bring in more marketing dollars, but their graphics will also, presuming they match the season, further complement your magazine’’s summer flair.
Integrating with Social Media
Consistency is key in marketing. The message you send in print should be consistent with what you are sending out across platforms. Creating a cohesive marketing campaign that spans both print and digital platforms can help amplify your reach so you can interact with more potential clients and customers. You can do this by aligning your print ads with your social media content, which will contribute to a seamless brand experience.
If you are publishing a magazine, you can repurpose social media content into magazine features and vice versa. You can also guide the reader’s transition from reading your magazine to finding you on social media by including a QR code with your page or profile. Encourage your readers to follow your brand on social media for something exclusive like summer deals and behind-the-scenes content. What a great way to direct the interaction and foster brand loyalty.
Hashtags are another great way to promote engagement and establish that gateway from your print to digital brand. Create your own hashtag or research the top-performing summer-specific hashtags for your industry and hop on the trend, using these hashtags to boost visibility and engagement across social media platforms.
Get Sizzlin’ With Tulip Media Group
By leveraging the unique aspects of this time of year, using seasonal themes and imagery, timing your ads effectively, and integrating your efforts with social media, you can make your print ads sizzle like the sausage on grandpa’s grill this season.
If you’re ready to take your summer marketing strategy to the next level and create a magazine of your own, one with your own custom content and a tailored design sure to make your ads pop, partner with Tulip Media Group and we’ll help you create a magazine and ads that captivate your audience and drive engagement all season long.
Matthew Walcott
B.S., CPT, FRCms