It’s Time to Get Your Fall & Holiday Selling Started

*June is the month that kicks off Back to School and Holiday Selling*

Kick off Holiday Sales Now

Brand owners who sell wholesale know that June is the month that kicks off a frenzy of activity.

The big media players like Oprah, The New York Times, Glamour, Goop, Vogue ect are researching trends and investigating the popularity of specific brands for inclusion in their exhaustive holiday gift guides. They’ll roll out their recommendations to readers in late September through mid October, which means that if you have special designs, gift sets, price breaks or new products you’d like to sell a lot of at Christmastime, June is the month that you must start pitching.

The reason for this long lead time is the colossal importance of the season for media players who rely on the ad sales that these gift guides bring. Digital versions of these guides bring commissions earned from click throughs. Holiday gift guides also go a long way in the promotion of media brands - they can demonstrate their influence on the consumer product market by generating great sales, thereby attracting year round advertising revenue. Key editors from these guides appear on numerous morning shows and entertainment programs to promote their choices, further strengthening their brand and generating traffic and circulation to their pages.

In order for all this to work smoothly, freelancers need to be hired, gift guides need to be worked through, themes chosen, products selected, art direction decided, photos taken, copy written, and formats created. Then when a draft is pulled together, sales execs have ideas in hand with which to approach their advertisers. Once they have commitments and special notes in hand, they go back and revise the first draft, and start on final artwork and photos. It’s a lot of work!

As a brand, June is the month that you should lay the framework for getting into these guides. There are several metrics that you need to tick off in order to even be a contender for some of the larger media conglomerates.

These metrics involve social proof in the form of items like engagement on social media (note, this is not necessarily the number of followers on instagram - it has more to do with comments, the nature of your posts, and frequency of your posts); and positive reviews on platforms like Amazon.

Getting an early jump on the process is key to success for the holidays. Brand managers that zone out and hit the beach for weeks on end throughout the Summer, and then start their planning in September are usually very disappointed when the holiday season rolls around a few weeks later.

Other things we’re pitching in June:

Back to School
Fall Fashion
End of Summer Transition
Fall Decorating

So, what big events are happening in June?

June Weddings

Here come the brides, grooms, and honeymoons!

June Wedding season is in full swing which means bridal beauty, bachelorette parties, wedding food, honeymoon destinations, and everything else that goes with this $71 billion industry.

It is expected that there will be more than 2.24 million weddings in the United States this year - that is a lot of gowns, parties, flowers, makeup, hairstyles, special dances, cakes, special drinks, bridesmaid’s gifts, wedding gifts, and hangovers. There’s almost no industry that isn’t involved in the wedding industry in some way.

According to Pinterest, the Boho 70s are predicted to be big this year for weddings. Beautiful bohemian florals, flowy sleeves, and a whole lot of groovy vibes. Free-spirited, laid-back feels of the 70s are flowing through this wedding season, turning the month into a nostalgic dance of love.

Another big wedding trend: hiring professional content creators to document every moment leading up to and on the big day and posting to TikTok and Instagram

Other happenings in June:

Father’s Day - June 16
Summer safety
World Bicycle Day - June 3
World Environment Day - June 5
National Donut Day - June 7
World Oceans Day - June 8
National Ice Tea Day - June 10
Pride Month - all month long
Bonnaroo Music Festival in Nashville - June 13
Graduations
Juneteenth - June 19
Summer Solstice June 20
Full Moon - Strawberry Moon June 21
National Pink Day - June 23
International Pineapple Day - June 27
Pride Day - June 29

Trends

Tropical themed interiors with loads of rattan, wicker, bright breezy colors and natural fibers.
Home Coffee Bars! With the price of a latte at around $8 at most coffee spots, making your favorite brew at home just makes sense. Akin to the old wet bar nooks of the 1970’s and 80’s, coffee nooks are outfitted with drips, presses, cold brew systems, and even old fashioned percolators.
Solo Travel that incorporates introspective activities and tame adventure seeking.
Elaborate Picnics that incorporate elegant dishware and baskets, blankets and cushions, wonderful food - all set in gorgeous locations.

Keys: