Coronation Marketing Opportunities

Coronation Marketing Opportunities

With only weeks before the Coronation, businesses still have time to take advantage of the potential marketing opportunities it presents.?Judging by previous Royal events, the potential is huge.

Last year’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations resulted in a ￡6.37billion boost to the British economy purely from Jubilee spending and tourism.?Thousands of tourists came to the UK specifically for the event. Retails sold out of Jubilee themed decorations, clothes and food. According to the Centre for Retail Research, the Platinum Jubilee led to a massive boost in sales for businesses creating and selling relevant merchandise.?Over ￡280m was spent on souvenirs, memorabilia and gifts – which included a staggering six million mugs, ten million flags and over one million books and royal pictures.?On an international basis, sales of such memorabilia via online websites are massive, especially in America.?Whatever the royal event, be it a royal wedding, anniversary or the birth of a Prince or Princess, merchandise worth millions of pounds are purchased around the globe.

There is already talk that the Coronation will result in a similar billion pound increase to the economy.?It’s been seventy years since the last coronation – and even longer since a King was last crowned back in 1937. That event in itself was a source of controversy with the original king, Edward abdicating in favour of his brother George only months before the ceremony took place. King Charles has waited a long time as heir to the throne, and now his time has come. To add to the interest, both of the two next heirs in direct succession – Prince William Prince of Wales and his son Prince George will be taking part in the ceremony. ?Britain is well known for its pageantry and this is set to be a colourful, lively occasion with celebrations taking place all weekend. After a long, hard, cold winter, people are in the mood to celebrate.

Patricia Yates, Visit Britain CEO welcomed the fact that the celebrations include an extra bank holiday saying “ We know bank holidays are an economic boost to the industry, with the money generated going into local businesses and economies, supporting jobs.?It’s a fantastic opportunity for both domestic and international visitors to have an extra special short-break or a day-out, enjoying the once in a lifetime celebrations and show-stopping events for the coronation.”

For businesses, the message is clear. Act now to take advantage of the potential opportunities otherwise you will lose out to your competitors.?Consumers are known to start shopping for special celebrations of this kind weeks in advance, especially if they are preparing for special meals and festivities.

Distributing promotional merchandise such as flags, bunting, mugs, masks and pictures is an obvious marketing technique. Many companies are already bringing out specially themed merchandise such as Biscuiteers limited edition coronation collection of hand iced biscuits in specially decorated tins and Marks & Spencer’s commemorative tins containing tea bags or biscuits.?

There is considerable scope to widen this activity by creating special food in regal packaging or even recipes.?Just think of Coronation Chicken – a dish first created for the 1953 Coronation of Queen Elizabeth. ?Hire temporary sampling staff to distribute samples at key events, or promotional staff to distribute promotional merchandise. Such staff could even organise promotional picture opportunities enabling people to have their photo taken adjacent to life size cut outs of members of the Royal Family. How about use a character mascot wearing a crown? Legoland have already announced plans to give their weekend event a royal theme by bringing out mascots, adding crowns and creating special drinks. It makes very good visible PR and by using specialist staff, interest and awareness in your company name and products can be promoted throughout the event.

How about devising a Coronation Awards scheme providing an opportunity to recognise the work of your staff, or of the local community? Again such activities enable lots of publicity to be generated especially if you hire a trained compere to manage the ceremony, or even hire a crowd to give a red carpet ambiance?

Why not consider sponsoring charity or community events? Even small scale ones can result in massive publicity within a local area, especially when social media is factored in.?It could be a way to demonstrate your company attitude towards social responsibility and can result in considerable good will.?There are countless organisations needing help who would welcome, even at this short notice, the opportunity to provide some way for people to enjoy the event who might not otherwise be able to participate in the celebrations.?A good example of this is Living Portraits, a small charity, backed by organisations like Lambeth Palace and the Royal Collection which is distributing a unique sensory Coronation gift to over 26,000 blind and visually impaired children and young people to enable them to explore key elements from the ceremony such as St Edwards Crown into tactile images supported by an audio dialogue read by people like Sir Derek Jacobi.

So why wait any longer? Take action now and ensure your business benefits from the Coronation effect.?You won’t regret it!