It’s that time of year again. While other people are decorating their homes with decorative gourds and trying to cram pumpkin spice into every conceivable foodstuff, I’m doing early brainstorming for Wave Season.
I mean, it’s not that pumpkin spice is necessarily a bad thing, but I’d rather spend my time trying to hone my storytelling skills and my ability to paint vivid pictures with words. I know an awful lot of people in the Upper Midwest area of the country, and they’re going to start seeing snow any day now. The better I’m able to create a really clear image in their minds of the escape from the winter to come, the happier I’ll be.
With the cruises the best part is, it’s all based in fact. I don’t ever have to manufacture false promises of sunshine, the calming sound of the waves, the gorgeous blues and greens of the water, the relaxing rock of the ship as it cuts through the Caribbean on its way to yet another powdery white or pale pink beach paradise. It’s all true. It all exists. Which can be pretty hard to believe when one has been staring at snow, ice, slush, and more snow from under the many layers of protective woolen clothing. There are so many places where, in the depths of January, you can worry more about sunburn than frostbite—and it is my job to highlight them.
I draw on my own experiences and sights for these stories. Sure, I also am able to show actual photos; but if I’ve got a client on the phone, it’s good that I can tell them first-hand what it’s like to be in Aruba and Curacao when they’re all decked out in their holiday finest without the tiniest speck of snow to ruin it. I can lure them with envy when I suggest that they may be able to do all their Christmas shopping in shorts and flip-flops. For those living in a section of the country that can boast of six-month-long winters, this is a strong lure indeed.
Is it manipulation? Perhaps. But it’s also knowing the market, and bringing them the one thing they want in the dead of winter – a true vacation from all the shoveling, plow-dodging, salting, and dry, itchy skin. You can bet that it’s a need that I plan to exploit as often as possible.
You can have your pumpkin spice everything. I’ll merrily trade it in for an umbrella drink on the Lido Deck any day of the world.
Crickett Lancaster is the owner of the home-based agency Go Away! in Brooklyn, NY. She’s an avid knitter, a karaoke fiend, and loves the freedom of being able to work in her pajamas if she so chooses. She occasionally posts travel-related rants and reviews athttp://www.crickett.net, and can also be found on Facebook or email.
