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Make hay whilst the rain pours

At Denvir Marketing we are passionate about what we do. Thinking creatively and using every opportunity to help promote our clients to the best of our ability is at the top of our agenda. Part of our job is seeing the opportunity where others don’t, in everyday items, news stories and even the weather!

The Met Office has invested £97m in a new supercomputer which is capable of processing 16,000 trillion calculations per second, more than 13 times the current amount.

The weather affects everyone. It can be a conversation starter, prevent people from travelling to and from work, or brighten up the dullest of days. But how many people consider it when they are purchasing products, using services or buying everyday items like food?

For some smart marketers, the weather is a key consideration. For many of our clients a bad summer or a washout winter can be the difference between great brand recognition, or a campaign flop.

In an ideal world, we should all be able to quickly adapt our approach and maximise tactical opportunities presented by the vagaries of our weather, not just in Scotland, but on an international scale.

Media companies and technology providers such as JCDeceaux and Nokia are already providing this sort of solution. Audi launched an outdoor sensitive campaign on digital billboards last year to promote its Quattro model. It had the strapline: ‘When winter grips, you need Quattro.’ This campaign was activated only when the mercury across the UK fell below 2 degrees.

As more and more of our surroundings become digital and data becomes more available, marketers will demand these services which makes campaigns more targeted and relevant. Earlier this year, JCDecaux France and La Redoute conducted an Innovate campaign on digital screens that took place during the winter sales period in Angers, France. This was a great way to suggest to potential consumers appropriate clothing for every type of climate by showing them a wide range of La Redoute products.

 

WeatherFIT is another platform that works with Google AdWords to provide an extra layer, enabling marketers to ensure PPC campaigns are only rolled out in areas with certain weather conditions. Does this technology make much of a difference and does it over confuse an industry already crowded with tools? Google and WeatherFIT do not believe so, and neither do Bravissimo which used the tool for a swimwear PPC campaign activating adverts when the weather was sunny in certain regions, leading to a 600% increase in sales.

This has now become a competitive market in which the Met Office strives to sell commercially attractive services. The new supercomputer is ultimately a commercial investment that has hundreds of applications, marketing just being one of them, which are yet to be fully exploited.

We love thinking differently about marketing, challenging the norm and achieving results. If you think we can help you here, please get in touch

 

call 01786 448 160 or email