Advertising During Tax Season

It's that time of year again, the time of year that my industry colleagues and myself used to get so excited about. TAX TIME! This used to be a great couple of months, we'd start with a mailer in January that looked like a W-2 and work our way toward manila envelopes with a patriotic check peeking out from behind the window for the remainder of the first quarter. It was huge, every Tom, Dick & Sally in the nation were just sure imperative tax info was inside-and WHAM! they walk into dealerships across the country because instead they got an offer they couldn't refuse from ABC Motors. I'm here to tell ya brothers & sisters, the dream is over. And why wouldn't it be? The way we receive info, file our taxes and end up with the refunds in our bank accounts has all changed, it's time we do too! So how do you still capitalize on a time of year when some of the public does have an influx in cash? Stick to what you know. If you have a media, mail piece, email campaign, etc. that is working for you--stay at it, just add a few hooks about tax time. Automotive used to be one of the few industries that saw this time of year as a true opportunity--now a multitude of others have lined up--furniture stores, home builders, even a local grocery store here in Indy got in on the act last year. Just remember your marketing still needs to be about vehicles, not taxes.