Here’s the regular look ahead…

…this time at the coming month of November 2022…

…for events, occasions and anniversaries to use for campaigns and promotions in your marketing calendar for November 2022.

FIRST…a reminder that the end of the year and CHRISTMAS is fast approaching!

The first Sunday in Advent is on November 27.

For pretty much all marketers, Christmas and the New Year is a time of peak opportunity to make sales…

…BUT there is a lot of competition of course. So, it’s important to be well prepared.

Before that…in the USA it’s…THANKSGIVING (this year on Thursday November 24).

(In Canada, Thanksgiving Day is a month earlier on Monday October 10).

“Black Friday” follows, which marks the start of the Christmas season shopping frenzy!

On a more somber note, November 11 is Remembrance Day (Veterans Day in the USA).

One other occasion to note…

…”Singles Day” in China on November 11…which has become one of the world’s biggest online shopping days of the year.

Here’s a more comprehensive list of events and occasions… [Read more…]

Here’s a look ahead at the month of October 2022 and some of the events, anniversaries and occasions that smart marketers can use as the basis for an event-driven promotion…

…to create your own marketing calendar for October 2022.

The most prominent occasion, beloved by many marketers, is “Halloween” on October 31. Given what’s already happened in 2022…

…Halloween might well provide some light relief!

The origins of Halloween seem to be a mixture of pagan festivals marking the end of summer…

…combined with the idea that at this time of the year the spirit-world comes close to our world…

…adopted by the Christian religion as the eve of “All Souls Day”.

Whatever, it’s the traditional occasion to acknowledge the afterlife and the supernatural.

So, an opportunity to use themes in your promotions like…

“It’s Scary What You Are Missing!”

“Now a spooktacular, very limited time, opportunity”

“Terrifyingly scary profits coming your way…”

…and so on.

The theme of FEAR (of loss, for example) can also be used…

…but don’t get too terrifying about it!

Apart from Halloween, October has plenty of different events and occasions… [Read more…]

Welcome to this month’s “Looking Ahead” feature for September 2022…

…where we take a look at the events, occasions, anniversaries and holidays that we can use as the foundation for event-driven marketing promotions in the coming month.

It’s a time of a change of seasons. The September Equinox falls on September 23 at 01.03 UT (that’s 02.03 UK BST time…check for your particular location).

It’s Autumn in the north and Spring in the south…

…and these can be used as broad themes for a promotion.

Tied in with these, in the northern hemisphere it’s normally “Back to School” or “Back to Work” and the start of the run-in to the end of the year. In the current emergency situation, those ideas might need to be modified.

In the southern hemisphere, “Spring Time” or “Spring Cleaning” can be used as a theme.

After two year gap, the famous Oktoberfest in Germany resumes. The 187th Oktoberfest starts on September 17 and runs through until October 3.

Looking at some specific occasions… [Read more…]

Welcome to this month’s “Looking Ahead” feature…reviewing the holidays, occasions and events you can use to put together a marketing calendar for the month of August 2022.

There are no major holidays this month. In the northern hemisphere it’s the dog days of summer. In the south it’s the last blast of winter. These “seasonal” themes are available to you if there’s nothing else that’s suitable.

August is also a “Back To School” month for many northern hemisphere countries.

It’s also “Elvis Week”, August 9-17. Elvis Presley moved on to the “great gig in the sky” 45 years ago on 16 August, 1977. The new “Elvis” movie provides further justification for an Elvis-linked promotion.

Other events… [Read more…]

Time for our regular look ahead…this time at the month of July 2022…at the events, occasions, holidays and anniversaries that can form the basis for a marketing promotion.

Two big ideas stand out.

The first is…we are in the second half of the year. July 1 is sometimes referred to as “Second Half Of The Year Day”.

As with any milestones like this, it’s an opportunity to give people a bit of a jolt and get them to review their goals and plans for the year.

Of course, if they are off-track a little you might well be able to help them get back on track!

Secondly…

…it’s Summer (in the northern hemisphere)…

…but the depths of Winter if you’re in the southern hemisphere.

In the USA July 4 is the great national occasion…“Independence Day”. This theme of independence is very much a universal ideal and so can be used pretty much in any country. The idea of “personal independence” can be the basis for a promotion in many different markets. It’s worth keeping in mind that one of the primary reasons people go into business for themselves is the desire for freedom and independence.

Taking a look at some specific occasions… [Read more…]