Good LSM: Fun Marketing Holidays
One of our favorite ways to generate ideas for blogging, promotions or special events is to reference our Marketing Holiday Calendar! The holidays to “celebrate” range from classic Hallmark holidays to silly and fun, but they’re always helpful in generating content or marketing ideas! Plus, they’re great excuses to have fun with your employees and customers!
We spotted three small businesses celebrating holidays in their industry over the past month.
Wine + Junk Food
National Junk Food Day was Tuesday, July 21. Bottlerocket, a wine shop with locations in New York City and Connecticut, celebrated by hosting a wine and junk food pairing. Sure, it’s not your typical wine tasting – but that’s what makes it fun! Plus, sometimes you just want to eat some junk food and drink some wine, are we right?
Ice Cream for Charity
National Ice Cream Day was Sunday, July 19. Portland-based Salt & Straw creates small batch, unique ice cream flavors by the scoop or pint. For National Ice Cream Day, they asked their customers to visit one of their locations, post a picture of their favorite scoop and mention their favorite local charity. At the end of the day, they would tally up the charity with the most mentions and donate a portion of the day’s proceeds to go to that organization. Not only are they giving back to their location community (and engaging their customers in the process), they’re generating positive buzz for their brand! 
Dog Photo Contest
Bring Your Dog to Work Day was Friday, June 26. Animal Connection, a pet store in Charlottesville, VA, chose to celebrate the occasion by hosting a customer photo contest! Customers were asked to submit a photo of their dog at work, and three winners would receive various goody baskets from the store. We’re sure customers love sharing photos of their cute dogs, and the store has the opportunity to promote new or unique products in the various gift baskets. Plus, running the promotion through Facebook guarantees those that submit photos will be keeping an eye on your Facebook page! (Also, how clever are the names of the prizes?)
Depending on your industry, what marketing holidays you choose to highlight will vary. For example, if you run a coffee shop, what about holidays related to coffee, beverages, and pastries? Or, if you own a small retail shop, why not celebrate the holidays related to your industry? While it may seem far fetched, we bet you can find several “National ____ Day (or Month)” relating to your business!
