Sunny times for advertising professionals: Weather data can be a significant success factor, especially for mobile campaigns. And not just for products like sunscreen or rubber boots. We explain how.
Generally speaking, if the sun is shining, retailers are happy. Good weather is a real sales driver. However, anyone who concludes that only bright sunshine is a trigger for successful mobile campaigns is thinking too short-term oriented.
Marketing managers should consider the following when targeting mobile advertising based on the weather:
20 degrees already lifts the mood of Hamburgers considerably, while the Munich resident needs at least 25 degrees to get into the summer mood. The location of a person, in combination with the weather there, can therefore strongly influence the success of a campaign. For example, rain in many places means that fewer consumers go shopping. If one wants to target consumers in Seattle, however, rain is not as important a factor, because here rain has little impact on store visits. Perhaps because residents are used to wet weather.
Seasonal products depend on a current need. The calendar start of winter does not always guarantee snow. Summer vacations are always around August, but May often has much better weather. For marketing managers, this means that planning and preparing campaigns according to specific weather conditions makes more sense for seasonal products than making them dependent on the date. Especially with programmatically played out campaigns, this dependency can be planned in advance and created accordingly.
Many people prefer sunshine to cloudy skies. However, certain sports can be done better when the sun isn't beating down on you. So cloudy weather is much better for joggers and other outdoor enthusiasts. If you want to target this group right before or while exercising, don't wait for sun. There are even areas where consumers seek refuge in stores not only when it rains, but also when it's too sunny, and they stay there significantly longer. So again, the combination of location and weather data is important for intelligent campaign planning.
Cold and stormy weather drives fewer consumers into stores. Mild weather, which often occurs between March and June, particularly benefits small-scale grocery stores such as kiosks and train station stores, as well as gas stations. These could direct consumers who are on the move into the store with suitable offers. In the advertising medium itself, for example, an interactive map could show exactly how far it is to the store where a coupon can be redeemed.
Allergy sufferers suffer especially in spring. That's why pharmacies are busier in March than in June, for example. Data on pollen counts can be used to provide consumers with appropriate offers at the right time.
What we eat, when we go where and how long we stay there are all influenced by the weather. Data on weather in individual regions is now available. Look at how sun, rain, or fog affects your product sales and in what way. Targeting campaigns can significantly increase the relevance of a marketing message and thus significantly support sales.