You’re just waking up from a long night’s sleep. The curtains are swaying and slightly open. A dash of sunlight slips past from the outside and slowly lights up your room in that glamorous morning orange. Some birds are chirping outside and you acknowledge that the city that never sleeps is just slowly waking up as more cars take on the street.
You swing out of bed and prepare a cold smoothie for this hot summer day. You’ve been blasting some indie rock, or maybe upbeat jazz, since you left your bed and you could not feel more summery. You pick out a colorful outfit for the day and decide to transform your morning weekend walk into a lovely stroll around the park in order to take in all of the green trees, blue skies, and summer vibes.
You don’t know if it’s just you, but it seems that everyone around you is smiling and has an extra bounce in their steps as they sway happily to their destination on this beautiful Saturday morning in July. People are sitting outside eating breakfast; others are lying on the grass, just enjoying the rays of sun as their skin absorbs them and slowly warms their skin up.
Fast-forward three months. You’re lying in bed and as you open your eyes you hear the soft cries of raindrops as their splatter on different surfaces outside. You left your window lightly open and a slight breeze catches you off guard, making you want to stay under the sheets for the rest of the day. You decide to take a hot shower to get the blood flowing and you turn on some light acoustic folk, or maybe some slow bossa, and hop right under the warm waterfall that your shower’s created.
You regrettably get out of the shower and think about what you would like to do with your Sunday. You pour yourself some hot coffee and sit under some blankets as the music takes you away. You decide to stay in and watch a movie before running a couple of errands.
The movie’s over and you decide to get dressed. Picking only neutral colors complemented with dark red and green, you finally put together a cliché autumn outfit before stepping outside into the chilly afternoon.
As you meander outside you start to realize that there seem to be fewer people on the streets. Most of the ones you see seem a little down. The rain stopped about an hour ago, but the clouds are still looming over the skyscrapers and you see the wind blowing through the park’s trees, sending some of the beautiful orange leaves into an everlasting floating journey to the ground.
Obviously, your moods vary depending on the weather. In the summer, people naturally gravitate toward things that seem more fun, outgoing, spontaneous, and refreshing. In the colder months, people tend to gravitate toward something cozy, warm, and relaxing. The environment around us affects us in many ways.
Brands and their experiential events aren’t exempt from any of this effect. These events take a lot of planning, but oftentimes brands forget about an important aspect of their event – seasonal moodiness and how weather can affect the atmosphere at the event.
Out of the many ways that weather can affect mood and play a role in your brand’s event, there are two main ways that it can play a role in your favor. The first is obvious – you want to align your brand’s goals and image with the overall feel of the weather. An event that is a little more upbeat and refreshing should take place in the spring and summer months whereas an event that is more cozy and focuses on something more relaxing could be a better fit for the autumn and winter months.
Another way to tailor an event with the weather is to shock consumers’ seasonal patterns and go completely against the weather in order to play on their desire for some different weather. Since people tend to want what they can’t have, giving them a preview of the weather they are waiting for can lead to a successful event.
Regardless of the route you pick, you want to make sure that it’s well executed and that consumers can relate to the product in the given weather. Consumers’ moods will be different depending on the season, so it’s important to keep in mind that they may have certain feelings that could be played on in order to enhance their experience at your brand’s event.