Blog

Dog Blog 26.0 – Enjoy the Moment

By Jill Mathieu In Business, Lifestyle A couple weeks ago, we wrote a post about how marketers who start pushing the back to school season at the start of July are grating our nerves. We know people like to prepare, and we know a lot of schools start early these days, but we got to thinking…are marketers going a little overboard with the whole “everyone must be ready for the next big event 4 months ahead of time!” thing? Here is what we mean…

We already mentioned how the back to school commercials start popping up on TV immediately after the 4th of July. At the end of August (actual back to school time), all the school supplies have been cleared out for Halloween stuff (we even spotted some Halloween decorations in a few stores in July)! It is now early September…and guess what we’ve already encountered amongst the leather jackets, sweaters, and scarves (truly appealing items when it’s 95 degrees out)? That’s right, Christmas junk! NOOOOOO!

You might be thinking, “You guys are marketers, isn’t it your job to help push products way ahead of time?” It is our job to help our clients prepare for the future, but preparing for the big events early and actually putting holiday-related items in stores early are two different concepts. And we think it’s getting a little ridiculous much stores are getting ahead of themselves.

Not to get too philosophical, but can’t people just enjoy the moment rather than living for the next big thing? It’s currently the beginning of September, the weather is nice, and you can do pretty much anything outdoors. Soon, it will be cold, bleak, and dreary, and we will be itching for the days when we didn’t have to throw on 87 layers of clothes before heading outside.

When I see items for holidays that don’t occur until 2-4 months from now, it makes me want to scream! I do NOT want to drink pumpkin beer in July, I don’t want to buy a wool sweater at the beginning of August, and I certainly don’t want to buy holiday wrapping paper in September! (Who is wrapping Christmas presents in September, anyway)?

Sometimes I wonder if the constant pushing of next season stuff SO far in advance is having an adverse effect on consumers. Last year I noticed that Nordstrom had their store decorated for Thanksgiving (luckily it was in November) and had a sign posted that they do not put holiday decorations up until after Thanksgiving. I found that to be a refreshing concept! After enduring Christmas decorations for a solid 4 months out of the year, it’s nice to focus on other things and enjoying the moment. Who is with me??