Back to the future and back to in person

In cities across Canada, we are seeing a large resurgence of sporting events, concerts, festivals, and more. Events are selling out (even with record-high ticket prices) and venues are functioning at full capacity. People have an appetite to return to “life as it was” and any lurking threat of the pandemic isn’t slowing down the return to pre-2020 activities.

Canadians are returning to the good old days of neighbourhood barbecues, birthday parties in the park, street food festivals, family vacations, and other feel-good activities that bring groups of people together in a fun environment that is – and this part’s important – outside the home. But even with more time spent out of home, our digital expectations stay consistent. We want to be able to book and purchase from our phones, access information on websites quickly and without effort, and gain insight into a brand’s identity through just a quick scan of our social channels.

When planning marketing activities, remember that consumers want to be able to easily engage with a brand online (with the same expectations today as during the height of pandemic-related lockdowns when everything had to be online), but in-person touchpoints of any scale can offer high-value interaction. Here are four ways to help strike the balance:

1. Keep engaging – It’s not enough to just post on social. Are you listening and helping in real time?
2. Help them buy – You don’t need to sell direct to drive to purchase. Are you helping your consumer find and buy your brand?
3. Update regularly – Don’t let your website gather dust. Are you adding new, limited edition, and seasonal products at launch so they can be found easily?
4. Inspire usage – Be there and be relevant. How is your consumer shopping, playing, entertaining, etc. this season?

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Harbinger is a Toronto-based North American marketing agency with expertise in product launches. We help brands get noticed and purchased.