Hotcards, Full Color Printing In The Nation

It’s all about the broad stripes and bright stars.

As this week draws to a close, I am compelled to remind everybody that the Fourth of July is only two weeks away. Okay, okay, maybe it's a bit farther than that, but from an advertising and marketing perspective, the time to get to work is nigh. Hotcards has already been taking orders for Fourth of July print advertising for weeks. Any promotion you’re working on for the 4th should be happening. If not, get on it!

The Fourth is so much more than just a day. I don’t know about you, but I like to stretch my long weekend out into five, or even seven days of relaxing and partying. And all that relaxing and partying means that I need to not only gather supplies, but plan events, and find out if there’s enough exciting stuff happening in town to keep me away from the cabin.

I guess there must be quite a few people out there just like me, because around this time of year, the orders always start to pour in for print ads that promote sales and events surrounding the Fourth.

It always starts with the direct mail campaigns. Businesses want their customers know that they’re having a sale on bikinis or BBQs or hot dogs, and obviously, they want to start working consumers into a holiday frenzy. When I get that first jumbo, glossy, red, white, and blue postcard in the mail, advertising this sales blowout or that fireworks-encrusted event, I get a chill of excitement. Christmas in July is almost here!

Next come the orders for club cards and table tent displays advertising events taking place on or around the Fourth. It’s the perfect time to get people out to clubs and concerts, and in this area at least, the bulk of advertising is not done online. Event promoters are great lovers of the busy, full color print ad. The clean lines and minimalist style of web advertising is lovely, but it hardly conveys the glitz and excitement of a Fourth of July event. Plus, I guess, you can’t put a GoogleAd under every windshield in the IHOP parking lot.

Once we’ve got the pre-Fourth advertising under control, Hotcards is usually hit with a major wave of demands for posters, stickers, and labels used for in-store advertising during Fourth of July sales and special promotions. Many businesses like to offer their customers hot dogs, pop, balloons, and the like, at this time of year, and nicely designed print materials are what really turn these promotions into an event.

There’s actually a great article in the Hotcards article collection about running a Fourth of July marketing campaign for your business, so have a look at it if you’re stumped for ideas! And remember, the time to prepare for the Fourth is not on the third. It’s right now!