It is cold outside. Where I live, it is so cold that normal activities must be rethought. When I am home, I often run outside in my bare feet if I have something to do that will not take long, such as checking the mailbox. Not now! Frostbitten toes are no fun.

Just as the weather can put an icy stop to normal activity, your marketing can become frozen. How do you know when it’s gone cold? When your target market stops responding to it. Being ignored by your market is death to a business. How do you heat up your marketing after it has gone cold? Here are a few ideas to get things moving once again.

Promote something new

Marketing can become frozen when you are promoting the same old products and services to the same people in the same way. They’ve heard it all before, so they ignore you. One way to gain the attention of your target market is to showcase something new that they have not seen before. It will be important for you to create some intrigue with the new product or service – something that entices consumers to take a look and give it a try. Effective marketing doesn’t try to answer all the questions consumers have, but just enough to persuade them to experience your new item. Then it is up to you to gather their feedback and make adjustments to accommodate their wants and needs.

Rebrand something old

Much like introducing a new product, rebranding can breathe new life into a brand that has run its course. This is typically done in a couple of ways. First, you can make improvements to an old product or service and promote its new and enhanced features. Second, you can package it with other products and services that entice the consumer to give it a try. Bundled promotions are very effective in getting consumers to say yes to an offer.

Give something old a new look

Similar to a complete rebrand, sometimes it is not the brand name, but the brand look that needs to be changed to give it a fresh appearance that reflects the trends of today. Some products have not changed for a long time. Think about Burger King’s Whopper sandwich. It is a flame-broiled hamburger that is the restaurant’s signature offering. People expect it to taste the same every time they order it. The product doesn’t need to change and you would not want to rebrand it to call it something different – that would only confuse consumers. However, giving the brand a fresh look has worked for Burger King.

Here are four logos they have used for the Whopper over the years. Notice that the top logo, which is their current, has a retro look to it. Burger King changed the type font on the logo in 2021 to give it a nostalgic feel. It looks like it came right out of the 1970s and bell bottom jeans. That is because throwback logos are in right now.

Plan out your campaign lifespan

One more key strategy you can do to keep your marketing from freezing over is to plan the lifespan of each of your campaigns. Nothing lasts forever in marketing. If you measure the interest of your target market throughout each campaign, you will get a feel for how long the impact of one campaign lasts. Plan on retiring the old campaign before interest in it wanes. Plan ahead and be ready to promote the next thing.

Is your marketing iced over? Put a little heat back into your strategic marketing plans and get things moving again.