But if we take the metaphor a little further, we could say that the “when” can be even more important, that is, the windows of opportunity that open in time can make them worth more than gold.
As is well known, on December 29 of last year, Pelé (Edson Arantes do Nascimento), the “King of Soccer” for many, died. Coincidentally, days before his foreseeable departure (given his delicate state of health) I began to see ads for his documentary on Netflix, a title that today is among the most popular on the platform, at least in Mexico.
Although the documentary film was released at the beginning of 2021, Netflix has hung up on the current situation to promote its platform through the figure of “O Rei”. It is an example of how to take advantage of a window of opportunity within a marketing strategy.
These windows of opportunity are those that allow a business to benefit, stand out, or excel at a given time or under a given circumstance, and are even more important for small businesses.
Media windows are usually the ones that have the greatest impact on the public mind, and therefore the ones that can be most profited from. An event of national or global relevance serves the table to make time gold, either from the sales side or from the awareness of our target audience.
In the case of Pelé, the famous streaming platform is not the only one that has hung up on the situation. Pelé’s lifelong club, Santos FC, has already unveiled the shirt with which it will honor its idol throughout 2023, a special edition that will bear a crown (of the king) on the team’s shield.
Who is to say that there will not be fans of Corinthians, Palmeiras or Sao Paulo, Santos’ main rivals in Brazil, who will buy the shirt to be part of the tribute to their national hero? If they succeed, I think it could be considered a feat, given the passion of rivalries and soccer in the Carioca nation.
There are two specific elements within these examples that any strategy that wants to take advantage of a window of opportunity must have, such as speed and simplicity. In neither of the two cases is there more elaboration behind the strategy, since the objective is not to let the moment pass.
Within an extremely complex moment such as the one that is coming for 2023, with possible economic recession, high prices and international uncertainty (as indicated by most forecasts), it is more important to take advantage of the circumstances than the national context, global, and even local can provide us.
Obviously, marketing plans cannot wait for something transcendental to happen to position a brand or product. However, it is important that the window is kept open to see and take advantage of those opportunities that can be worth gold.