It is officially spring! The vernal equinox took place on March 20 at 5:58 PM EDT. That means we are now experiencing more daylight than darkness and as soon as it happened, peoples’ moods changed! They are more pleasant and cheerful simply because the daylight hours are growing and the dark of night is diminishing. If you think I am joking, read on!

There are biological reasons for the happiness we feel in the spring. If you suddenly find yourself with more energy in the spring, your body is reacting to the increase in daylight. The more sunlight we receive, the less melatonin our bodies produce. Melatonin is the chemical that tells our bodies to go to sleep. Likewise, our bodies produce more serotonin, the chemical that picks up our moods and helps us feel happy and energized, when sunshine comes in contact with our skin. There are also psychological reasons for a better mood in the spring. Outside feels good to us. We don’t have to wrap ourselves in layers to be warm. We can go outside and breathe fresh air. Birds sing, flowers bloom, plants sprout and leaves begin to grow again. And when we feel good, we tend to purchase more. Consumer spending increases with the sunlight.

Spring is the perfect time to market something new in your product or service line. Unlike holiday spending that is here for a very short time and then suddenly gone, spring lasts for three months. Don’t discount the impact of spring fever on the people you are trying to sell in your target market. Good moods abound in spring and a positive outlook is more inclined to make a purchase than a negative spirit. The smart marketer will take this into account and plan to launch new lines each spring.

Even if you don’t have a new product or service to launch in the spring, rebranding is a viable way to freshen up your product and service offerings. We all tire of seeing the same package time and again. A new look can work wonders for a brand and spring is the perfect time to introduce your target market to it.

If you are in charge of your marketing efforts, consider a strategy that ramps up advertising beginning on March 20 each year. Align your promotions with nature. If spring puts us all in a better frame of mind, use it to sell your products and services. Happy people make purchases. Negative people find a way to put off purchasing something new. Let spring deliver good moods as you deliver the marketing.