Every year , from mid/July to mid/September, we are surrounded by stores with lots of back-to-school promotions that it is the second biggest shopping event of the year in the US and Canada and it reached to $68 billion in 2015 .Thus, it makes a competitive market between brands and it can lead to a profitable period for every company  with appropriate ways of marketing.

Francesca’s blog mentioned different  marketing opportunities that companies can use to leverage their sales and have examples of brands that using these methods.One of the great points that we have to consider and she also mentioned is that back-to-school time is not just related to school staffs.Generally, it is about new beginning  of the life or changing.For instance, back-to-school for an apparel store means time to present new dresses to motivate consumers to work.The companies have to show their points of differences by offering their new promotions like Apple company that offering a free beat with purchasing a Macbook and I think it is a great marketing strategy because they offer a popular brand for free that can attract lots of people and also it is unique and other brands do not have this offer.the 3 goals of back-to-school promotions: 1)attract customers  2)build a  relationship with customers  3)alter relationships into sales.

The other aspect that Francesca also insists on it is e-commerce and digital marketing because the main target is teenagers, students and kids and most of them using laptops,smartphones, and tablets to find their products and that is why companies have to update in terms of e-commerce and they should be prepared for the surge of online shopping.Around 74 percent  people using social media to find promotions so companies should have  powerful advertisements on that and can combine our marketing of products with the latest trends like Snapchat or Pokemon game.

Moreover, boosting  distribution channels and creating omnichannel are very crucial for retailers during back-to-school time.According to Baynote , 84% of customers are encouraged to shop online it the shipping is free.Customers use all of the choices that offered to them in a multichannel environment.Hence,with increasing competition,the retailers just have a smaller margin for error and just the companies that understand their customer segment and preferences , steady deliveries and promotional attempts(generally appropriate business model canvas) have an advantage among other competitors.

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Citations:

• “Back-To-School Spend Trends: Sales, Social Media And Starting Early.” Back-To-School Spend Trends: Sales, Social Media And Starting Early. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2016.
• “Ace Back-To-School Season.” NFI Industries. N.p., 2016. Web. 13 Nov. 2016.
• “2016 Back-to-school Spending Survey Results | Deloitte US.” Deloitte United States. N.p., 2016. Web. 13 Nov. 2016.
• “5 Brands with the Best Back to School Marketing Campaigns.” ROI Factor Blog. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2016.
• Http://cdn.macrumors.com/article-new/2015/08/applebacktoschool-800×652.jpg. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Jpg.
• @fragrancetalk. “Epic Back to School Promotion Ideas for Your Brand.” Strutta Blog. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2016.
• Nicasio, Francesca. “Back to School Marketing: 7 Ways to Encourage Parents and Students to Buy From You – Vend Retail Blog.” Vend Retail Blog. N.p., 2016. Web. 13 Nov. 2016.