The Marketing of Fall

I love the change of the seasons, and I particularly love the marketing that comes with it.  This Fall has been no exception ... it's been an onslaught ever since the day after Labor Day.  And I love it.

Suddenly every time you turn around it's another brand pushing Fall ... everything is pumpkin from the pumpkin spice lattes to the pumpkin ice cream to the pumpkin filling display at the grocery store.  Everything is apples from apple pie to apple cider to apple chewing gum.  And everything is Halloween costumes (and candy) ... from nurse outfits to Batman to ghosts.  Plus let's not forget the fashion advertising from sweaters to jeans to scarfs to desert boots.  Love all the layers.

It's true ... Fall is a buffet of traditions based on the seasonal varieties with a load of marketing that comes along with it.  Now the question is how much of it is Fall driving the marketing activity or is it the marketing driving the Fall behaviors?  Probably a little bit of both.   I encourage you to stop (and smell the harvest) to observe your own behavior and how much of it is marketing-driven, of the seasonal variety.

What's your experience?  Jim.

Jim Joseph
President, Cohn & Wolfe NA
Author, The Experience Effect series
Marketing Professor, NYU