‘Twas A Day Before The Marketing Began…

Enjoy the relative calm. Because it is on the horizon. The sweeping cultural oddity. The looming economic demand. The strange and some would call annoying event that is: “The Holiday Rush”.

You’ve noticed it too, haven’t you? Once we hit October, the holidays do not quit until the year is done.

The Halloween candy is still in the bowl and already it’s time to plan for Thanksgiving. And once finished with the turkey, Christmas shopping spurns forward on the backs of Black Friday and Digital Monday. And even when you think you have a moment of peace, as you sit in a comfy chair after opening all the presents, family and/or friends surrounding you, there is still one holiday left.

Because the year is about to end. And we have one more party to throw. One more gigantic event.

It really is a “rush”.

And I can’t even imagine what it’s like for people who celebrate multi-day holidays like Hanukkah.

But, despite my dramatics, I like this situation. It makes the end of the year one giant bundle of things. And I’d rather be busy than bored.

But there are some who are not as fond of “The Holiday Rush”, who dread this time of year. People who don’t like shopping or cooking, for instance.

And for those people, and just for the curious, let’s speculate on why this happens. Why it feels like once it starts it does not stop.

The answer is, as you can guess from the article title: marketing.

Now, the calendar does have something to do with it–those holidays all fall close to each other after all. But the reason it feels like there is no stop, no gap, is because companies do not want it to feel like there’s a stop or gap.

As soon as they can, as soon as one holiday wraps up, they will immediately switch gears. I suspect worker elves at the Target in Clearwater Mall for what they manage for seasonal shopping. They erect trees for goodness’ sake.

And this is because companies and stores want you to just be prepping constantly. You are more likely, at least from my experience, to want to buy the next holiday’s necessities as soon as possible if it is presented–because the holidays season can be a stressful enough time without last-minute shopping.

And, among the ways a product can go about marketing itself, claiming a reduction in stress is always a popular prospect. If it works for insurance, it works for pumpkins.

And we, the consumers, make it so attractive too. The constant rush of it all. The holiday spirit compels people to put up all sorts of flashy decorations, which means you can’t go down the street without either ghouls, turkeys, or lights–depending on the time–reminding you, yet again, that it is the holidays.

We Do The Marketing For Them!

You quite literally can’t escape it (unless you desire the lifestyle of a hermit) so it always feels prevalent. And this gives the impression of it barreling down on you as soon as it begins.

And your only choice is to embrace it, or ignore it. So mark those calendars, because starting October, Clearwater is going to get…festive.

If you liked this article, you can read more of Brandon Scott’s work on The Hive, or at his website: www.coolerbs.com