Weather-based marketing is a powerful tool when it comes to capitalizing on consumer behavior that changes with the weather.
The days of only being able to get the weather forecast on the TV, radio, or in the newspaper before heading to work are long gone. Now consumers have a variety of ways to check the weather, including weather sites online, real-time weather apps or local news apps.
Mobile now accounts for nearly one-third of all e-commerce sales, as InternetRetailer notes — and recent reports state that consumers check the weather on their mobile phones multiple times a day. Real-time mobile engagement gives you a great opportunity to capitalize on hyper-local geotargeted ads that can be changed as often as the weather.
Weather Targeting
Digital marketing provides unprecedented opportunities to get personal with messages based on triggers. Weather triggers can be used in an advertising campaign to increase efficacy, particularly if you are using geotargeting and programmatic advertising. By using weather analytics, you can anticipate patterns. If you're expecting a particularly long winter or hot summer, for example, you may want to adjust prices and ensure that you're running more relevant ads (e.g., for iced or hot coffee, depending).
If you are using programmatic advertising, you can automatically switch ads based on preset parameters to make sure you serve the right ad at the right time. When you combine programmatic with geo-precise targeting, you can shift gears quickly when you hear a storm or a heat wave is approaching.
Local Media Site Advertising
If you're a local business in an area with an extreme or unpredictable climate, the weather can be your friend. Your customers will likely be accessing their weather apps more frequently — or tuning into local radio or TV stations — and this gives you another opportunity to get your message in front of them. Advertise on the weather pages of local TV and radio websites and apps, or sponsor content on a radio show that's giving up-to-date storm coverage when customers are more likely to be tuning in.
Since the weather can change dramatically and rapidly, making sure you work with your digital marketing partner to create weather-based marketing campaigns will help you get the most out of the hot (or cold) days ahead.
