Plan ahead for the long post-holiday weekend

If you're weathering the economic storm but would like to see a little more sales activity around the holiday, you aren't alone. I've been re-reading articles on holiday marketing recently, just to make sure we don't miss any tricks. I was reminded that the calendar is creating an opportunity for museums and theatres to end their year on a strong note.

With Christmas on a Thursday this year, lots of people have scheduled extra days off between the 25th and New Year's. But 72 straight hours with kids and visiting family can make any home seem small. After the wrapping paper is cleared out, most people will be looking for something to do. Museums are always great options for getting children and relatives out of the house. And your facility becomes even more attractive when the weather outside is frightful. You may even want to offer a special price on warm drinks in your cafe those days, just to round out the invitation

If your theatre is holding matinees that weekend, those also can be lower-cost impulse decisions that provide a change of scenery after days of holiday festivities at home.

Spend time over the next two weeks pitching the story with your local media. If you want local TV and radio morning shows on Friday the 26th talking about options for getting out of the house, you'll have to work a few days further ahead than normal. They'll likely be short staffed during the holiday week so anything you can do to provide them with interviews and information prior to that will increase your chances of coverage. Newspapers will also have been working skeleton crews that week (especially Christmas Eve and Chritmas Day), so talk with reporters early so they can sell the idea to their editors and work the story before the holiday starts.

Remember that people will do the majority of planning for the days leading up to Christmas. This year make sure you're the answer to the post-holiday question "What can we do today?"