A few post-mortem thoughts on Hurricane Dorian:
We are reminded that forecasting the track of hurricanes remains highly uncertain. Thankfully, much the East Coast of the US was spared the worst of the storm. Sadly, the same could not be said for parts of the Bahamas, which was devastated while the storm was at its peak intensity.For advertisers looking to leverage hurricanes, here are our suggestions:
- Advertise when the storm impact is as far out into the forecast as possible.Once it is bearing down, it is likely too late – and it may seem insensitive for brands to target those in the path of unfolding danger and devastation.
- Messages should be around preparedness – generators and insurance, not bottled water and plywood. The latter are more reactionary, and will fly off the shelves regardless.
- There are creative ways in which we can leverage a dangerous storm without targeting the most likely areas to be hit. E.g., if a tropical storm is bearing down on North Carolina, we can set up a trigger to serve to otherwise hurricane-prone areas not in the path of the storm – e.g., coastal Texas, Louisiana, etc..
Introducing Lindsay Feinstein, WeatherAlpha Sales and Marketing Director
Lindsay joins the WeatherAlpha team from the publishing world where she has spent the majority of her career working in advertising sales and digital marketing for several notable publications including Rolling Stone and The Hollywood Reporter. She’s also had music-related articles published in Billboard Magazine. With over 15 years of sales experience, Lindsay has an established network of contacts with both agencies and brands-direct covering a wide variety of verticals including entertainment, finance, and CPG. In her free time, Lindsay enjoys DJ’ing and has had residencies at notable nightclubs in both Los Angeles and New York City. Lindsay graduated from UCLA in 1998 and obtained her B.A. in Communications Studies.
