Consumer Brands Have Turned Leap Day into the Ultimate PR Occasion 

This is no “common” year (the official name for a non-Leap Year year), it’s a Leap Year, and that means our Gregorian Calendar is playing catch-up with the astronomical calendar by adding one day, every four years. Feb. 29 has recently become a marketing gold mine with some brands capitalizing on this special calendar event.

Leap Day is unique because the very name of the holiday is a verb. It’s also closely connected with notions such as “take action” or “extra” or “solar calendar” and “numbers” – so brands that endeavor to activate need to find an authentic way to tie with Leap Day (and what consumers feel it stands for), to truly and more effectively promote a message or market a promotion.

In a review of brand activations from 2016, and in surveying a few from this week in 2020, here are three ways brands have activated on Leap Day:

LEAP INTO ACTION, or ACTIVISM

Brands are primarily using Feb. 29 to incentivize consumers to do something new, like try a new vegetarian burger or get a free item if that day is your birthday. Leveraging the active-verb aspect of the holiday is the most common way brands are advertising or using the power of PR to drive sales around Feb. 29. In 2016, one QSR brand ran a promotion to celebrate local heroes doing good and then used the 24 hours on Feb. 29 to celebrate those heroes and share their stories on the brand’s Twitter channel.

Another trend is using the day to support a cause. In 2016, waves of new stories emerged about Leap Day unfairly being a free workday for employees. This workplace issue has become a hard news item that reporters can report on around Leap Day. Some companies have advocated making it a national holiday, so salaried employees don’t have to work the day for free. This year, Leap Day is on a Saturday, but there are plenty of businesses that operate with millions of workers, even on the weekend. The national holiday petition is not really catching on (yet), but perhaps, companies can take the extra 24 hours on February 29 and offer it up for employees to use differently. If a retailer can reframe Black Friday from the traditional mega-shopping holiday to one that encourages going outside, then another company could own Leap Day and encourage and legitimately support its employees, and society, to leap into self-care, or leap into learning something new.

DOUBLE DOWN ON 29

Another popular trend we see is brands using the math and numbers themes — changing product prices to 29 cents. Some brands are offering pizza, sliders, pasta, fries, desserts and coffee for 29 cents on Feb. 29. To celebrate #LeapDay2020, a restaurant chain is offering four desserts to make up for lost birthdays if you dine there on Feb. 29 and a beer brand is going to offer a QR code via social for a free case of beer. This is the most straightforward way we have seen brands activate.

ANNOUNCE SOMETHING SPECIAL

Some of the best PR and marketing campaigns are born when company news and a calendar date collide. Especially, when a brand announcement can be intrinsically tied to a popular, calendar moment-in-time.  Our client, Krispy Kreme, announced they will start offering delivery of their doughnuts. The initiative is launching on Leap Day, so to kick it off they will be delivering free doughnuts to families with babies delivered on Leap Day 2020.

If you’re a brand that hasn’t worked on a Leap Year activation yet, well, get started now… you have four years to plan the next big idea.

Influencers. Cliché tactic or effective strategy? Overdone or just getting started? Personal opinions aside, there’s no denying that brands are putting the pedal to the metal on influencer marketing. The industry is on track to be worth up to $15 billion by 2022. Influencer marketing has continued to grow and expand in ways no one could have expected – here are four trends that the FleishmanHillard Social and Innovation team has noticed in the new decade.

Quality over Quantity

Traditionally, influencer partnerships focused on numbers alone. The number of followers directly reflected how many people would see the message. Ergo, the bigger, the better. However, as algorithms continue to change, discover pages gain popularity, and the pay-for-followers ploy persists, macro-influencers are losing their spot at the top. Audiences are looking for quality over quantity. Brands, especially B2B, should look to work with influencers who have small, highly engaged audiences.

Influencer Crossover

In addition to the quality of influencers, there will be a noticeable move toward influencer crossover. Brands will strategically choose influencers that may not seem like a clear-cut fit on the surface. For example, we’ve seen technology companies partner with fashion and beauty influencers because they’re attempting to build their reputation and make their products and services part of everyday conversation.

Data and analytics also play an important role in influencer identification. Using data tools can reveal other audience interests, and influencers can bridge a gap. When creating influencer strategies, brands should look past the obvious choice and experiment with new types of influencers – so long as the choices ultimately map back to business objectives.

Authenticity is Key

Though crossover is rising, authenticity is still a cornerstone. Influencer marketing works because social media was created to serve as a connector, not a megaphone. Users’ feeds are a blend of ‘real-life’ friends and influencers who feel like friends. The most successful influencers have a clear message, and their authenticity connects them to their audience by establishing a level of trust.

Brands and agencies need to customize influencer partnerships not only to fit their brand goals but also to fit the influencer’s brand. When working with an influencer, it’s essential to let them know the brand goal and then let them bring back their creative ideas. Remember, influencers know their audiences better than you ever will.

Video in All Aspects

Over the past year, there has been a significant shift in the type of content that influencers are creating. At one point, holding up a product with a big smile and adding a bottled caption could pass – but audiences are savvier than ever. They demand to be entertained, taught and intrigued. Because of this, influencers must create highly engaging visual content to help consumers feel a sense of closeness.

When brands realize that video can do this job, it opens the door for highly rewarding partnerships with influencers in 2020. We will also continue to see social platforms accommodate the growing popularity of videos. We’ve already seen this with Snapchat, Twitch, and IGTV. Brands should look to provide resources to influencers to help them create the highly visual content that their audiences want to see.

Consumers and stakeholders want to know organizations are doing more than turning out new and shiny products for sale.

It’s part of the new job description for CEOs — they must address the ways real-world issues and the seemingly endless cycle of disruption can create an opportunity to innovate with purpose and improve practices and performance when there’s risk.

According to FleishmanHillard’s latest Authenticity Gap study, three out of four consumers don’t care about a CEO’s personal beliefs but instead want the CEO to take a stand on issues that impact the company’s customers, products and services, and employees.

So, how can inclusion positively affect the talent gap? Where can the escalating climate crisis spur science for good? Can artificial intelligence and human ingenuity come together to ensure a better future for employees?

But don’t confuse a socially in-tune business strategy with business activism. CEOs might be inspired to lead by personal passion or a deep calling to create systemic change, but their common ground with consumers, customers, partners and employees is the societal value the organization can create, with or without today’s leadership team. To not only cut through but also authentically connect, the big picture values we all share should be front and center in the CEO story.

This can take a variety of shapes, depending on the CEO. She could play a visible – and vocal – role in advancing the company’s work, alone or with partners, to tackle an important issue. He might become a public face and voice for employees’ local volunteer efforts … or publically join with community leaders to promote solutions to any number of societal challenges. The key is to focus on issues connected to your business. That’s where you can make the most meaningful difference for both the company and the communities it serves.

Download FleishmanHillard’s Authenticity Gap Report here.