Christmas is just around the corner, and naturally marketing and efforts pivot towards offers and community-building seasonal content. Every business turns to its social, tv, offline and gifting ideas to increase in sales and awareness.  

But when everyone else is doing the same thing, at the same time. How can you cut through the noise and make your voice heard? 

Give Something Meaningful  

Connect with your audience on a deeper and more meaningful level. Give them something more than just a membership, but something they can appreciate year around. Don’t put a time limit on your marketing by limiting it to just the festive season to benefit from a membership.  

Any campaigns you create during this period should focus on your whole offer. You’re not just a place for January health kicks. You’re a lifestyle choice and a worthwhile investment all year round.  

Highlight all the benefits of using your centre year-round – and all the features and facilities you have that extend beyond fitness. Think seasonal sports, special events and all-weather access – anything that positions your leisure centre as a place to visit whatever the time of year.  

Showcase Your Lifelong Value  

Alongside your year-round benefits, promote the long-term, lifelong benefits that you offer your community as well. 

The real value of your leisure offer is getting people active, encouraging social interactions, and building a strong community, something that no other Christmas campaign can offer.  

You can stand out against the ‘disposable’ Christmas gifts by showcasing how your offer delivers a lifestyle change that lasts year after year – and one that changes and adapts as your leisure centre customers grow older and their preferences change.  

By exploring how a leisure membership is perfect for every age group in your campaign, you’ll appeal to a hugely diverse audience base. 

Be Inclusive 

Making sure your seasonal campaign appeals to every age group is important. You’ll also want to attract every demographic too.  

Remember that Christmas isn’t universal. There may be several areas in your community where Christmas isn’t a big seasonal holiday or isn’t observed at all. A festive campaign could fall on deaf ears.  

Instead, create non-Christian alternatives for each specific demographic, tailoring your marketing to different religions and cultures during the holiday period. For example, you might focus on Hanukkah or Kwanzaa. 

Target Your Marketing 

If you want to be inclusive, you should be tailoring your seasonal offers to all other demographics in your community too. As with any marketing campaign, the more focused and precise you can be, the more impact you’ll have.  

That means identifying and understanding key demographics. It means grouping preferences and demands to create offers and advertising campaigns that appeal to specific desires of your community.  

Leisure management software like Legend can help you both identify demographics using your centre data and send targeted marketing about your seasonal offer. 

Engage Your Community Naturally  

Promoting your leisure centre during the festive period doesn’t even need to focus on a specific offer or campaign.  

If your leisure organisation plays a regular role in community events, the holiday period is the perfect opportunity to keep doing what you’re doing and simply dial up awareness.  

Just make your community aware of what’s going on in December, like:  

• Christmas wreath making  
• Community group Christmas parties  
• Father Christmas visits  
• Menorah lighting ceremony 

And invite everyone in your local area. Their visit gives you the chance to showcase both your facilities and your community support, without needing to directly promote your offer.  

Play To Your Strengths  

Perhaps the most important thing to remember about any seasonal campaign is that it’s no different to other times of the year.  

Play to your strengths, use your leisure centre data to your advantage and highlight your most popular features. Focus on creating strong, effective messaging that’s targeted at your key demographics, showcase your community offer, and you’ll cut through the festive noise.  

And if you want help reaching those demographics, streamlining communications, and automating marketing to make your job easier and get better results, try leisure management software like Legend.  

Driving stronger results in December, and beyond, starts with identifying what success looks like for your organisation. Download your guide on how to measure the success of your leisure operations now.