Episode 38: Peak Marketing Moments: Showing Up When It Matters
Tim and Robbie discuss why relying solely on Black Friday and major holidays limits growth, how to identify planning and seasonal moments that matter most to your audience, and how personalization and consistency help brands earn trust. Through real-world examples across industries—from consumables and toys to cycling and events—this episode shows how showing up at the right time, with the right message, creates stronger connections and better results.
“You don’t earn the right to be part of personal moments unless you show up consistently before and after the transaction.”
Objectives
In this episode, you will be able to:
Understand why Black Friday shouldn’t be your only peak marketing moment
Identify planning, seasonal, and personal moments within the customer journey
Learn how to earn the right to collect and use customer data thoughtfully
See how emotional and post-event moments can drive stronger engagement
Build a more intentional, year-round marketing strategy that shows up when it matters
Transcript
Robbie Fitzwater: [00:00:00] Okay, Tim, you have nostalgic feelings about a brand I do.
Tim Lowry: About Quality Street. You haven't had them. You need them. I need to hear about this wonderful Irish brand, Quality Street. If there’s a World Market near you, you can go and experience Quality Street. But as a child, I remember four to six weeks out before holidays would happen.
So their showtime was Easter—a big candy-giving holiday—and Christmas. And they’d do these big tins just stuffed full of chocolates. And it had this song that would play in the background of the commercial and go, “magic moments…” blah, blah, blah. Can’t remember the rest of it. Just remember “magic moments.”
And it has stuck with me for 40 years.
Robbie Fitzwater: Burned in the—
Tim Lowry: —back of your brain. So let me say this: when I say “magic moment,” my mind goes to a shiny tin full of chocolates. This is my magic moment.
Robbie Fitzwater: This is our magic moment. And folks, this is Tim’s first karaoke moment on the show. You heard it here. First two words. Two-word song.
Okay guys, this is Tim and Robbie with the Content Community Commerce Podcast. We talk about topics at the convergence of content, community, and commerce. And today we’re going to be talking about something that’s relevant for any marketer out there, and really something that people need to be thinking about in different ways, from different angles, depending on your business.
We’re coming off Black Friday, and we want to talk about how we think and strategically plan—not necessarily just for Black Friday—but how we build these moments that matter into our customer journey. We want our magic moments.
Tim Lowry: Yeah, our shiny tins will be flying off the shelves.
Magic moments. But it’s so relevant though, because yeah, we just came out of the Super Bowl of holiday shopping. And as you have a moment to start looking back, there are things you look at and think, “Here are opportunities,” or “Here are things that could have been done beyond this,” or things that could supplement it or set us apart from what everybody else is doing.
And I think for some brands—well, many brands—have opportunities for moments, but then also all of these additional moments that they could be building into their calendar year, where they get these pops that are exclusive to them.
And again, reflecting back on childhood, like here are your two times a year where I would probably never buy that candy in the summer, but whenever Easter or Christmas comes around, I’m eating like three pounds of chocolate from a box.
Robbie Fitzwater: It’s your favorite pack.
Tim Lowry: It’s delicious. And it’s a magic moment. Leave me alone—Daddy’s having his magic moment.
Robbie Fitzwater: Leave the world.
But for real though, this is a time where we’re kind of reflecting on all of this. We want to perform well at Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but there are so many times during the course of the year—and for every brand it’s going to be different—where you’re going to be a feature for your audience.
Again, I always think back to this idea that everybody’s the hero of their own journey. How do we help tee them up to be the hero? And help support them in ways that we can?
And while some of those moments are going to be seasonal or cyclical for your business or brand, like the holidays—holidays are a big time for gifting, like in the toy industry—what else is going to be relevant at different times?
We have groups in the athletic space coming out of the colder months when people are getting back into season. That’s a big time for them. For equestrian, for cycling—those are big times where we know people are thinking, “Hey, I want to put my best foot forward and enjoy myself as much as I can.”
So how do we tee them up for success? And then also, on a more personal level, how do we understand their unique contextual personal moments to earn the right to be part of those moments?
Tim Lowry: Yeah. And again, there’s so much value in this. Another thing I’m thinking about is if Black Friday and Cyber Monday are your one big moment—if you’re putting all your eggs in that basket—you might not hit your expectations. And you’ve lost other times of the year that could be more effective for you.
Like you said, with certain brands—athletic or outdoor—there are moments early in the year where you should be building your peak, because it’s a more practical time for your audience. Or if people need your product a month out from the holidays, getting to them a month before the event versus in the middle of it really matters.
Because in the middle of it, they’re like, “This is amazing. I’ll buy it for next year. But right now I’m heads down and I just need to survive.”
Robbie Fitzwater: Yeah, I’m just trying to survive.
So allowing yourself some breathing room, but also thinking about the planning—how you tee yourself up for those moments. What does the seasonality for your customers look like? What are their goals around each of those different times?
For the holidays, we have some groups in the coffee or consumable product space where people are purchasing items for hosting. They have lots of people purchasing coffee for large events they’re hosting, or purchasing grits and other items for serving large groups—serveware, serve dishes.
So strategically, we want to have a peak before Thanksgiving, because that pre-Thanksgiving peak can be a really big win. That’s when people are loading up to host large events.
Tim Lowry: And they’re planning. You’re getting them in the planning phase versus the in-the-moment phase.
Robbie Fitzwater: Yeah. And we also want to have a big peak after Thanksgiving too, because people are hosting holiday events.
And honestly, for consumable products, if you have an enormous Black Friday/Cyber Monday peak, we need to go way upstream and talk about pricing strategy. Because if you’re just a seasonal product—like Quality Street—there’s a chance you’re leaving money on the table during the rest of the year.
Tim Lowry: I think it’s Cadbury or Nestlé. We’ll let them know.
Robbie Fitzwater: Let’s get Nestlé on the phone. She needs some help over here.
But really, this is about thinking strategically. When are people going to need the product? When are they hosting? When are they consuming it? Especially for consumable goods, those are really unique times of the year that create great opportunities.
Tim Lowry: As I’m hearing you talk, there are almost two kinds of moments you can build. There’s the preseason or early planning stage, and then there are personalized moments.
If a company says, “We don’t really have a season—our product is evergreen,” that’s where personalized moments come in. Birthdays are a great example. Everybody has one. And if you’re not doing that, that’s a moment lost.
Robbie Fitzwater: Yeah, and this really hit home when we started working with some groups in the toy space. There are a few distinct times a year when people buy toys, but you’re missing out on a huge other window—and that’s birthdays.
That’s customized for every person. You don’t necessarily want to ask for a child’s birthday right away, because that can feel super creepy. But if you earn the right to ask for data—like a favorite color—that’s a win. It helps parents, and it helps us.
Then we can say, “Hey, it looks like Sally’s birthday is about a month from now. Here’s an article on planning a kid’s party.” Or a week out: “If you’re still looking, here are some activities or ideas.”
We’re teeing them up with information they can actually use going into that moment.
Robbie Fitzwater: And we want to be there around that time. Being present and earning the right to be part of those moments is a really big win.
Another example is riding the wave of positive emotional moments. We work with a group in the cycling space that hosts an annual ride. Seeing the momentum coming out of that event was absolutely crazy.
Their audience was so engaged because they had just had a great experience. For the month afterward, we were following up, adding people to VIP lists, maintaining that relationship, and transitioning them into holiday shoppers. The response rates were incredibly high.
Tim Lowry: You’re riding the wave of that moment.
Robbie Fitzwater: Exactly. Thinking about those things strategically and understanding how to maximize those opportunities as much as possible.
Tim Lowry: Even thinking about it as a parent—spring break, summer break—there are moments where you’re looking for something fun for your kids. A toy, an activity, something to keep them entertained.
It’s easy to just default to a Memorial Day sale or something like that, but instead you can say, “Here are five fun things you can give your kid to help get through spring break.”
Robbie Fitzwater: Or items that are great for traveling.
Tim Lowry: Or what’s going to prevent a meltdown.
Robbie Fitzwater: And maybe prevent screen guilt.
Tim Lowry: Screen guilt is real.
Robbie Fitzwater: If you’re only communicating around major holidays, you’re blending into the noise. We’ll never send an email on the day of a holiday. Those go out weeks in advance.
The day-of is when every lazy marketer comes out of the woodwork.
Tim Lowry: If you haven’t talked to me all year and you text me on Thanksgiving with a sale, that’s not a magic moment.
Robbie Fitzwater: Exactly. You have to earn the right to be there.
There are also different types of shoppers now. You have people who plan early, people who are triggered by Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and people who wait until the last minute.
Reaching people early helps relieve fulfillment pressure and lets you capture revenue ahead of time. VIP lists do a lot of work during those moments.
Tim Lowry: And personalization goes beyond discounts. If a speaker brand asked what music you listen to, they could create moments around album drops or festivals.
Instead of showing up once a year with a sale, you’re part of someone’s soundtrack.
Robbie Fitzwater: Smaller brands can out-market bigger ones by being more thoughtful and contextual.
Tim Lowry: It’s about relevance.
Robbie Fitzwater: Exactly. Connecting content with context—how people are actually using your product.
Tim Lowry: Movies, music, life moments—those are all opportunities.
Robbie Fitzwater: And using data responsibly. When did someone first buy? When did they first sign up?
People care most about themselves. If it’s relevant, it works.
Tim Lowry: So what are the takeaways?
Robbie Fitzwater: First, identify your business-level moments. Where does your product serve a real need? What does seasonality look like?
Second, don’t rely on the same moments as everyone else. Memorial Day, Labor Day, Black Friday—there’s so much noise.
Third, earn the right to be part of personal moments. Ask for data only after trust is built.
We ask for horse names and birthdays, but only after someone joins a VIP group. And people lose their minds—in a good way.
It’s intimate, it’s specific, and it’s relevant.
Consistency and value earn trust.
Tim Lowry: I love it. Make those magic moments.
Robbie Fitzwater: This is Tim and Robbie with the Content Community Commerce Podcast. We’ll see you next time.
If you’ve had magic moments of your own, let us know. We always love hearing from you.
