As an allergy sufferer, sometimes I think we should change the saying, “April showers bring May flowers,” to “April showers bring … a whole lot of pollen.”

Okay, I realize my version doesn’t rhyme, or even have the right number of syllables, so it will never replace the original. Yet, pollen is still a real part of spring, and an inevitability that millions of people with allergies are very aware of—and dread—each year.

For innovative email marketers, pollen doesn’t have to be bad news. Instead, with a little creative thinking, you can use this annual event as a new way to create personalized campaigns that connect with consumers in ways they may not expect.

Even better, using pollen counts can be an effective approach for a wider variety of industries and brands that you might at first think. So even if your company doesn’t sell allergy medicine—or even anything for the outdoors—you can still use weather conditions to your advantage.

LG turns pollen counts into a marketing advantage

Leading electronics and appliances retailer LG recently came up with a great way to incorporate pollen counts into its email campaigns.

In this case, LG used Liveclicker’s LiveForecast advanced email experience to personalize emails with five-day forecasts of expected pollen counts in the recipient’s city or region. More, these forecasts were displayed with color coding and a custom graphic, both of which would quickly catch a reader’s attention. For example, on the worst days, the graphic would include a red bar with the words, “Pollen level: Very high,” while the custom graphic displayed more pollen than other days.

The entire creative was set against a backdrop of a blooming cherry tree just beginning to shed its early flowers (just looking at it makes my eyes water) and displayed an industry seal to demonstrate that LG’s products are officially certified to be asthma and allergy friendly.

Why would an appliance and electronics company like LG create this type of email, especially considering it sells products designed for indoor use?

It turns out they had a very good reason. LG created this real-time personalization experience to promote its line of washing machines, air purifiers, and other LG products that could help reduce pollen and other common household allergens.

This innovative email approach led to a new way to connect with consumers, “warn” them that they could be facing an upcoming pollen problem, and then demonstrate just how LG products could help them overcome these potential  issues. Clever…and very effective!

Additional uses for pollen counts

On one hand, personalizing emails with pollen counts and other weather conditions may seem too specific, or not an approach every company can use. Yet creative marketing teams in a wide variety of industries can use this real-time information as an effective marketing tool.

Some other powerful use cases:

• Hospitality companies such as bed and breakfasts, inns, and hotels could build pollen forecasts into their email campaigns to encourage booking when the weather seems especially good.
• Spas, indoor water parks, entertainment centers, bowling alleys, and other indoor destinations can promote their services when pollen counts seem high.
• Museums, restaurants, concert halls, cinemas, and theaters can let their customers know when the weather doesn’t seem ideal in certain regions and encourage them to come inside.
• Retailers can create personalized offers on seasonal allergy medicine and bundle these with other promotions related to sunscreen, bug repellent, citronella candles, and more.
• Car washes or car-detailing services can let customers know when pollen counts are going to be high and even offer a special promotion to win their business, transforming a common occurrence into a real windfall.

As you can see from the LG example and the suggestions above, there are many different ways to use pollen and weather forecasts in your email marketing campaigns. Don’t forget, you can use these forecasts in either situation—when pollen is high or low—giving you a rare win-win opportunity.