How to tailor your marketing for ‘Dry January’

National awareness months are a must to include in your business calendar, as they’re a great opportunity to develop and use creative marketing techniques to engage audiences and drive consumers towards your business. With Dry January in full swing, and over three million people attempting the challenge last year and more expected to join this year, it’s the perfect opportunity for a business to benefit, no matter what your stance as a business owner. Whether you’re embracing Dry January as a business or encouraging customers to take part in damp January instead, here are several ways to use the national marketing month to drive your drinks business forward. Promote your reaction A business response to a key marketing date is not only great for brand awareness, but it often leads to gaining loyal customers and growing profit, so it’s key to take advantage of promoting your message when these key dates come around. To build your client base by utilising Dry January, ensure that your brand is pushing its message often – is it for or against Dry January, or somewhere in between? If your tone of voice is aligned with your brand message, this will resonate with your consumers. A great example from Welch’s UK shows how the brand took advantage of their popular soft drinks by promoting them as a post-Christmas alcohol-free option for people in need of recuperation from the festivities, along with promoting a chance to win free products across their social platforms to drive engagement and online traffic. However, Club Soda operate a ‘mindful drinking movement’, which encourages consumers to cut down on excessive drinking while still enjoying alcoholic drinks. Their online site allows consumers to join their mindful drinking course or the sober sprint course – for people who want to change their drinking habits by taking 30 days off booze. Club Soda also host a mindful drinking festival, which is a great way for the brand to use Dry January to build their community and brand support. Whichever way your company feels about Dry January, social engagement is a must to compete in the drinks market, as well as digital and print marketing throughout the month to guarantee that offers such as discounted alcoholic drinks or alcohol free alternatives are being sold as effectively as possible. This will tell your audience why your business is the standout competitor to purchase from, whether your business is a bar or bulk supplier, and could lead to securing long-standing customers. Invest in innovative print marketing The drinks industry is a huge market with a lot of key players, so it’s important for you to deliver your message in a unique way compared to your competitors. Print marketing will always win over digital for being more personal and direct. A clever and unique way to attract customers through print marketing and ensure that your business is memorable is by using creative and engaging Alpha Cards to grab attention and allow customers to retain your brand message easily, due to the cards compact and foldable format. They’re also a great way to display a large amount of information you need to share with recipients such as events, offers and mocktail options. Go the extra mile By keeping your audience engaged from their initial conversion, this will lead to loyal customers, repeat business and in turn, increased profit. To ensure this happens, offer your consumers more information to keep their interest, such as upcoming offers or new drink releases. For example, if a consumer is converted to your selection of mocktails throughout Dry January, make sure there is somewhere for them to visit to find more of what they like through an online space where they can stay up to date. Social platforms that are updated regularly with high quality images, along with upcoming news and next actions to take means you can stay connected to your audience, bridging the gap between print and digital marketing and making your business more cohesive whilst utilising a variety of marketing channels. Contributed by card manufacturing company Alpha Cards