Off-the-Wall Easter Marketing Strategies

Easter marketing doesn't always have to be about eggs, bunnies and pretty pink pastels. That's what everyone else is doing, so sometimes the best way to get attention and make more sales is to have the most outrageous promotion strategy of them all. The following off-the-wall Easter marketing strategies are guaranteed to get public attention, free press and - when the right offer resonates with the right audience - a burst in Easter sales.

Break an Easter world record

What better publicity stunt to hold than an Easter world record-breaking attempt? Such an event is newsworthy, fun, exciting and - if you can find an event that's relevant both to your business and to Easter - full of sales potential. Search the Guinness Book of World Records website for inspiration, including:

• ]]>World's biggest chocolate Easter egg]]>
• ]]>World's largest Easter egg hunt]]>
• ]]>World's largest bunny]]>

Promote your world record-breaking attempt with posters, flyers, postcards, and vinyl banners.

Make a special Easter basket

Many businesses give away Easter baskets filled with candy, and mostly for the benefit of children. But if the younger demographic isn't your niche, you should instead hand out Easter baskets full of things your customers will appreciate. A hardware store might put a hammer, tape measure and some drill bits in an Easter basket, for example; or a clothing store might give away a gift basket filled with stylish clothing accessories. Make the Easter basket giveaway contingent on a purchase, and promote the Easter sale in your catalog, postcard and newsletter.

Hold an adult Easter challenge

Kids always seem to have all the Easter fun, but changes are kids aren't your target demographic. Instead, try an in-store Easter egg hunt for adults that lead them through your store (and past your hottest Easter sales!). This can be done two different ways: You can either hide eggs throughout your store and give a prize when they're discovered, or you can place permanent eggs throughout your store so that each customer has to find each one and mark it down on a checklist in order to get the gift. You should choose whichever method will get more foot traffic down your aisles. You could alternatively hold egg races and other competitions usually reserved for children, but if adults are willing to have a bit of fun (and perhaps laugh at themselves) you can get plenty of free publicity and extra sales.

Have a B2B window decorating contest

If you're a B2B company in an urban location, you could have an Easter window decorating contest between area merchants and other businesses. Invite potential customers to decorate their office/store front windows in an Easter motif, and award prizes based on originality, concept, humor and other categories. Have a big event when you name the winners and award prizes accordingly. A web design firm, for example, might give away a free custom website to the winner of an annual contest.