Once again, the seasons are changing. Fall leaves turning orange and crisp autumn air have a way of bringing shifts in perspective and habits that your business can use to plan a successful seasonal marketing campaign. With the end of the year coming right around the corner, it’s the perfect time to get started on your planning by looking at the year ahead.
The holidays and themes that come with the seasons present an opportunity to create relevant content and seasonal marketing campaigns that will resonate with your audience and help you come up with creative promotions. Plus, who doesn’t love a sale just before Christmas or a fresh seasonal merch drop in fun colours?
The fall and winter holidays have people shopping with intent which means as a business owner you can look at the trends to figure out how to cater to their specific desires. Today we have compiled a master list of holidays and seasonal marketing themes you can use for inspiration when planning your year, as well as a couple ideas to get you started!
Fall
Back to School
Back to school means back to the routine of busy life! Offering educational content is a great way to participate in this theme or you can promote items that will help parents, teachers, and kids adjust to the swing of things once again.
2. Labour Day
This holiday is the perfect opportunity to show your team some appreciation. After all, it takes all hands-on deck to run a small business!
3. Youth Sports
Back to school is shortly followed by the starting up of fall sports leagues and clubs. Youth sport events are a great chance to promote your business by sponsoring teams and showing your presence in the community.
4. The fall season
Lean into the cozy vibes of the seasonal change and see where you can add a little (pumpkin) spice to your marketing! Colder and shorter days tend to shift people’s attention to the holidays and nesting their homes for the winter season. Beautiful fall foliage serves as the perfect inspiration for new colour schemes and décor!
5. Daylight savings
Don’t let your customers forget about the time change! They’ll be so happy when you tell them they’ll get an extra hour of sleep that they’ll be extra receptive to what else you may have to share with them.
6. Thanksgiving
This family centered holiday is a great opportunity to show your customers how grateful you are for their support. Recognize them with a message of gratitude or offer a promotion as a gesture of thanks – the choice is yours!
7. Halloween
Make the fun last all month by building up to the 31st with themed décor and playful marketing. Show off your spooky side by dressing up and sharing photos on your social media!
8. Small business week
Small business week is an annual celebration put on by the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) for entrepreneurs to share their journeys, network, and celebrate their businesses across the country. During this week small businesses will be in the spotlight as people are encouraged to shop local and support ventures they care about. You can join in on the fun by interacting with the hashtags on social media and participating in the BDC’s events!
Winter
9. Black Friday/Boxing Day
Use this shopping holiday as an opportunity to clear out products that make sense for your business and get ready for new stock! Customers will be excited to see deals and will be shopping for the holidays around this time.
10. Christmas
As one of the largest holidays of the year, you will want to make sure to prepare your promotions and products well in advance. Make your seasonal marketing campaign work for you by participating in the buzz of holiday shopping!
11. New years
Everyone will be celebrating the end of the year and starting to think about where they are headed next. As a business how can you be a part of your customers next chapter? Share your achievements and goals for the future to let your clients know what to look forward to.
12. Winter solstice
The winter solstice is the darkest day of the year before the light starts to come back – it also marks the mid way point of winter! Use this as a chance to connect with your audience, with an offer to brighten their night.
13. Valentine’s Day
This holiday is not just for couples! Everyone loves chocolates and celebrating their important relationships, whether it be with friends, family members, or even pets! This is a great time to offer self-care products and services as well as 2 for one deals – one for you and one for a special someone. As people are looking for events and activities to do with their valentines this is also a great time to offer experiential promotions or kits for an at-home date night.
Spring
14. Saint Patrick’s Day
Channel the luck of the Irish by embracing the colour green! As one of the first holidays of the spring this occasion has a lighthearted and fun spirit. Celebrate by dressing in green or offering themed treats to celebrate.
15. April Fools
Don’t get caught looking like a fool! Have some fun with this holiday and show off your sense of humour by poking some light fun with your clients. Get creative with your jokes or announce a make-believe product that will entertain your audience. This holiday can be a fun way to connect and show some personality.
16. Easter
Easter brings about themes of springtime and renewal. With a fresh pastel colour palette to go along with this holiday and season, it’s the perfect time to drop a new collection of appropriately themed products. You can even design a seasonal marketing promotion around the premise of an easter egg hunt to give your customers a fun thrill and use your social media channels to post helpful hints!
17. Earth Day
This day is a great opportunity to highlight your companies’ efforts to care for mother nature. Recycling, participating in community clean ups, or even shutting the lights off when possible to conserve energy are all ways to take care of our earth year-round.
18. Mother’s/Father’s Day
Help your customers find the perfect gift for by coming out with a gift guide! This is a great way to make shopping less stressful and introduce people to products they may not have seen before.
Summer
19. Canada Day
Celebrate this national holiday by wearing red and white! Being a Canadian company is definitely something to be proud about. Plus, Canadians will be extra patriotic about shopping local around this holiday to support the community. Offering a Canada day promotion is a great way to draw attention to your business at the start of the summer.
20. The Calgary Stampede
Calgary locals know very well that this week of July supercharges the hospitality, retail, and entertainment industries in the city. For 10 days Calgary adopts the work hard play hard mentality – get in on the fun by dressing up, hosting a pancake breakfast networking event, and decorating your location with western flair.
21. Long Weekends
Nice weather is a prime excuse for celebration any day of the week. The long weekends of summer will have people exploring and adventuring outside, sipping cool beverages on patios, and enjoying outdoor events with friends. This is a great time to invest in outdoor signage or send representatives out to street festivals to promote your brand.
Conclusion
Coming up with seasonal marketing campaigns is a great way to make sure your efforts stay relevant to your customers – Holidays provide a great source of inspiration for fun events and products that spice up business as usual.
Make sure your seasonal marketing campaigns run smoothly by working with a marketing agency like Wingman Direct Marketing that offers customizable solutions for your business.
Contact us today to talk about what a strategic partnership may look like for your business, you don’t have to fly solo!