Six Months of Seasonal Marketing Ideas

Category: Business
seasonal marketing

Updated for 2021 on March 1, 2021

In February alone, you survived Groundhog Day, Valentine’s Day and Family Day (and of course the crew at Wingman Direct Marketing also celebrated Aviation Day on February 23rd. Here’s us last year at the Hangar Flight Museum). This will be followed quickly by Daylight Savings Spring Forward Day on March 14th, then St. Patrick’s Day on the 17th, the first day of Spring on the 20th and then Easter on April 4th. Whew!! That is a lot of days to remember and that isn’t even a full quarter.

But, for your business, these are all days you can leverage to develop content and promotions. Your seasonal marketing does not need to be restricted to Black Friday, Christmas, Boxing Day and New Years. Marketing is a year-round adventure. Each season has its own unique nuances and the opportunity to hang your business promotions on.

There is an almost limitless list of special days and seasons with no shortage of ways to make your marketing campaigns timely. To demonstrate this, we at Wingman have collected 15 late Winter, Spring and early Summer dates to use in your promotions. Take a peek below and use any of these dates to help you develop social media content and/or to generate unique promotions for your business:

Late Winter Seasonal Marketing

  1. Daylight Savings — The worst day of the year for those that love their beds. You lost an hour but gained a promotion.
  2. Tax Season — Death and taxes don’t have to be shared in the same sentence. Save for tomorrow. Use the proceeds of your tax return (if you got one) on a warm weather vacation, savings for next year, or home renovation.

Spring Seasonal Marketing

  1. First Day of Spring — Spring Equinox this year falls on March 20th. Spring is all but synonymous with flowers. Garden centers and big box hardware stores do big business during this time of year. Your content this time of year should include garden topics, flowers, deck stain and paint. DIY-type promotions take advantage of this time of year incredibly well.
  2. St. Patrick’s Day — Make sure that your clients and team are wearing green! This is also a great opportunity to highlight “Going Green for St. Patrick’s Day” messaging in your promotions—literally and figuratively. Besides decorating your business in green or handing out green promotional collateral or food (donuts!), take this chance to promote your business’ green initiatives. Who knows, maybe you’ll find some gold at the end of your marketing rainbow.
  3. Trade Show Season — It starts with home renovation and RV shows, then home and garden and bridal shows. There are always wellness conferences, auto shows, and travel conferences. Pick the ones that work for your business to attend or better yet, to exhibit. (Spring is also hockey playoffs season).
  4. Spring Cleaning — The arrival of spring brings with it warmth and renewal. Tis the season of organizing your closets and your digital files. Clean your home and start exercising that winter body; bathing suit season is around the corner. If your business has a retail outlet, you can offer massive discounts to shed your store of old stock and make room for the Spring/Summer lineup. Spring is also a great time to refresh your business branding.
  5. April Fool’s Day — The saying goes, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” This is true every other day of the year. Today, take the opportunity to playfully mess with your prospects and clients. Have some fun. Any business can take advantage of this day’s impish intentions. You don’t have to actually have a promotion. Just get your message in front of your customers in a sassy or playful way. This is a great day to showcase your business’s human side.  
  6. Easter — Easter, in its secular definition has become a day about the chocolate-laying bunny. It is celebrated by almost half the planet. Unlike April Fool’s Day, this is not the day for a lot of jocularity, but it is a great day for messages of observance and rebirth. Your business can host Easter egg hunts (in-store and online), offer fresh Spring flowers to all the ladies (and men), and have chocolate available for everyone. Egg, chick, and bunny shaped promotional collateral in soft Spring colours are subtle ways of sharing the day with all your clients and prospects.
  7. Earth Day — April 22nd is Earth Day. This is a great excuse to show-off the “green” side of your business. Take a moment and market the good you do in the world. In addition, get your staff involved in these environmental causes by participating – possibly even hosting – a cleanup day and offer discounts to participants.
  8. Mother’s Day — This is a huge retail holiday, and you can guarantee that discounts and sales will be offered by everyone and their mother (pun intended). This is a fun opportunity to use your social media platforms to possibly showcase the mothers of your staff (if they are willing). Have your staff write something nice about their Moms to accompany the photo, and encourage your followers to do the same. Have your full staff Like and Share broadly.
  9. Victoria Day — The annual May-long weekend in Canada is synonymous with camping…and blizzards. It is Canada after all. This is the first long weekend of “Summer” and your potential customers are on the cusp of shorts and t-shirt weather, so use this to your business advantage. It is also the unofficial start of BBQ season, so fire up the grill and the savings. If you’ve got the space outside your store, invite your customers to a barbecue. Feed them burgers, hot dogs and chicken, and then direct them to your store.

Early Summer Seasonal Marketing

  1. School’s Out —June 20th is the start of Summer in 2020. Bring your work outside and take it to the sidewalk. Retail shops can have sidewalk sales and for everyone else, it’s patio season.
  2. Canada Day – Celebrate the red and white. O’ Canada! Gearing up for Canada Day 2020 means opportunity to show your fun side. During this July long weekend, celebrate the red and white patriotic side of being homegrown.
  3. Stampede Week – Yee-haw!! Plan to host and/or attend up to 10 different pancake breakfasts. These are perfect networking events. Host a client hoe-down. Dress in your Western best, don your favourite SmithBilt black cowboy hat, and decorate your retail location with balsa wood, hay bales and lassos.
  4. Summer Vacation — We are not suggesting your business should have a vacation giveaway but depending on your business, you can promote the break, stay-cations, and summer-related products and services.

Whatever the season, whatever the promotion, WMDM’s Strategic Partnership solutions can assist you with the overall marketing map which should include some seasonal marketing ideas. Or, our Mission Execution crew can assist your business with planning and executing a one-off or series of campaigns.

WMDM Solutions and Services

Take your business to new heights with Wingman’s customizable Solutions and expertly managed service offerings. You don’t have to fly solo. Book a Wingman today.