Child Care Marketing During the Holidays and Winter

Every child care owner knows that the beginning of the new school year – usually late summer, is the best time to increase child care enrollment.  Moreover, smart child care owners capitalize on this by ramping up their child care marketing efforts during late summer and early fall.

The second best time to increase child care enrollment is at the beginning of a new year.  Unfortunately, few child care owners increase or adapt their child care marketing efforts to increase enrollment during January.  Some feel that it is just not right to market during the holidays or marketing during the winter is too hard.

Everyone and parents, even more so, are inundated with ads, promotions, mailings – you name it during the holidays.  So an overt marketing campaign during the holidays might get lost in the shuffle. However, another aspect of the Christmas holiday and New Years is the focus on family and the future.  Many stay-at-home mothers and fathers are pegging the first of the year for going back to work, school or starting a new company which will require at least part-time if not full-time child care.  So, even during the rush of the holidays, they are thinking about what is next for their family in the new year.

A simple form of marketing is yard signs and banners.  Some folks consider signs to be a “passive” form of marketing, but none the less can be effective with the right message, engaging graphics coupled with a registration incentive.  Signs are a great choice for child care marketing during the holidays and winter season.

Keys to an effective holiday or winter season child care yard sign or banner:

• Engaging four color graphics – even better an eye-catching animal, character, scene or image matching the winter season.
• A Call-To-Action – enroll now, registration special, or winter special.
• Location – a sign that cannot be seen by drivers as they pass by will not be effective. Make sure yard signs are at least 18” X 24” for average moving traffic and larger if placed near a multi-lane highway with fast moving traffic.  Banners are great for placing on playground fences, attached to permanent business signs, or installed with poles.  The goal, of course, is making sure the placement is visible to general passing traffic.  Moreover, do not forget to place additional signs, so your current parents see when they drop-off and pick-off.  Consider offer existing parents a referral fee as part of your winter enrollment promotion.

Child Care Owner offers several professionally designed, eye-catching, winter themed yard signs and banners for child care marketing.  Click to view samples.

Child Care Owner – “Your Child Care Marketing Department”.  Child Care Owner specializes in marketing for the Child Care Industry – Child Care Websites, Child Care internet Marketing, Social Media Marketing, and promoting your child care services with print marketing materials.

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