4 St. Patrick’s Day Charms for Marketing Luck

For more than 1,000 years, the Irish have celebrated St. Patrick's Day with bacon and cabbage, special beverages and festive jigs—and this March 17 will be no different. Irish or not, you just might find luck at the end of the marketing rainbow by following these four tips:

1. Color matters. Not wearing green on St. Patrick's Day? Prepare to get pinched! When designing marketing materials, choose colors that fit with a project (you wouldn't create an orange shamrock!). Colors may even visually communicate messages to audiences. For example, using red may increase appetite, green conveys "naturalness," and blue grows customer loyalty.
2. Symbols are powerful. St. Patrick used the three-leaved shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity to Irish pagans, and today it is a traditional symbol used to commemorate the Irish and St. Paddy's Day. Creating and consistently using recognizable logos or images can help in building brand awareness and increasing customer loyalty.
3. Reach across the "Isles." Everyone is part of the Emerald Isle of Ireland on St. Patrick's Day! Some of the most successful marketing campaigns are ones that appeal to many people and make them feel included. Identifying target audiences and what resonates with them is important, but developing initiatives that are wide-reaching often have best long-term results.
4. Think green. At the end of the day, marketers are concerned about the green stuff: The bottom line and profit margins. Always consider budget and how to maximize returns on investment, so a big pot 'o gold is waiting at the end of the day.

With that, Happy St. Patrick's day, and may the luck of the Irish be with you!