May 2016 is approaching…
…so time for smart marketers to plan ahead and look at some of the holidays, events and anniversaries in the coming month that can be used as part of an “event driven marketing” strategy. You can then use these ideas to put together your own Marketing Calendar May 2016.
Two notable occasions are…
…firstly “May Day” (May 1, of course)…
…and then in most places apart from the UK, “Mother’s Day”, which this year falls on Sunday May 8.
“May Day” (May 1) is an occasion widely observed in the northern hemisphere and originally was a pagan festival linked to Spring and fertility.
Wikipedia has more about May Day traditions…
…including in the UK the May Pole, the May Queen and Morris Dancing.
Like many originally pagan festivals, May Day has been co-opted by the Church and in many Catholic countries May is a month honouring the Virgin Mary.
In the modern era, May Day has also come to be known as “International Workers’ Day” and associated with the labour movement.
Also in May…
…we have “Be A Millionaire Day” on May 20! This is a day to think and dream about what it would be like to be a millionaire.
It’s understood that the term “millionaire” was first used in the English language by Lord Byron in a letter written in 1816. At the time, there were only a handful of millionaires. Today it’s reckoned there are more than 13 million millionaires scattered around the globe. The origins of “Be a Millionaire Day” are not clear, but the day honours the desire to enjoy the freedom and power associated with being financially secure.
Here’s a more detailed list of events…
May 1 – May Day (also “Lei Day” in Hawaii), International Workers’ Day
May 3 – World Press Freedom Day
May 3 – World Asthma Day (first Tuesday in May)
May 4 – International Firefighters Day
May 5 – International Midwives Day
May 5 – Cinco De Mayo (Mexican holiday often observed in the USA)
May 8 – World Red Cross And Red Crescent Day
May 8 – Mother’s Day (USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, most countries in the British Commonwealth outside the UK, northern Europe)
May 9 – Europe Day
May 12 – Anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale (in 1820) (also International Nurses Day)
May 13 – Leprechaun Day
May 15 – International Day Of Families
May 17 – World Telecommunication And Information Society Day
May 18 – International Museum Day
May 20 – Be A Millionaire Day
May 21 – World Whisky Day
May 21 – World Day Of Cultural Diversity
May 22 – World Day Of Biological Diversity
May 22 – World Goth Day
May 23 – Mesmerism Day (anniversary of the birth of Franz Mesmer)
May 23 – World Turtle Day
May 25 – Geek Pride Day
May 28 – Hamburger Day
May 31 – World “No Tobacco” Day
Also…”Star Wars” Day is observed in May among aficionados…but the actual day is up for debate. The most widely recognised day is May 4…but there’s also May 14 (anniversary of the birth of George Lucas)…and May 25 (anniversary of the launch of the first movie in 1977).
Moving on to country-specific events…
In the USA…
May 1 – Law Day (also Loyalty Day)
May 2 – National Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Day
May 4 – Rhode Island Independence Day (Rhode Island)
May 5 – Ascension Day
May 5 – National Day of Prayer
May 5 – Cinco de Mayo
May 6 – National Nurses Day
May 8 – Mother’s Day
May 8 – Truman Day (Missouri)
May 9 – Truman Day observed (Missouri)
May 10 – State Holiday (North Carolina, South Carolina)
May 15 – Peace Officers Memorial Day
May 16 – Whit Monday
May 21 – Armed Forces Day
May 22 – National Maritime Day
May 22 – Trinity Sunday
May 22 – Harvey Milk Day (California)
May 25 – National Missing Children’s Day
May 30 – Memorial Day
May 30 – Jefferson Davis Birthday (Mississippi),
Note that on 8 May 1914 the US Congress designated the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day in the USA and the first national Mother’s Day was celebrated on May 9 that year.
Couple of major sporting occasions in the USA…Kentucky Derby on May 7…and the Indy 500 (the 100th) on May 29.
In Canada…
May 5 – Ascension Day
May 8 – Mother’s Day
May 15 – Pentecost
May 16 – Whit Monday
May 22 – Trinity Sunday
May 23 – Victoria Day (All except NS, NU, QC),
May 23 – National Patriots’ Day (Quebec)
In the UK…
May 2 – Early May Bank Holiday
May 5 – Ascension Day
May 8 – Victory in Europe Day (anniversary of the end of World War 2 in Europe)
May 9 – Liberation Day (Guernsey, Jersey)
May 15 – Pentecost
May 16 – Whit Monday (Spring Bank Holiday)
May 22 – Trinity Sunday
May 30 – Spring Bank Holiday
In sports, the FA Cup Final takes place on May 21.
Also…it’s “National Smile Month” from May 16 to June 16 in 2016. Primarily to promote better oral health, you could adapt this for other ideas (along the lines of greater happiness, simply spreading good cheer and that sort of thing).
In Australia…
May 2 – May Day (Northern Territory)
May 2 – Labour Day (Queensland)
May 5 – Ascension Day
May 8 – Mother’s Day
May 15 – Pentecost (Whit Sunday)
May 16 – Whit Monday
May 22 – Trinity Sunday
May 26 – National Sorry Day
Also, the Federal Budget will be handed down on May 3.
Taking a look at some anniversaries…
May 3 (1956) – first World Judo Championships held in Tokyo, Japan
May 5 (1891) – Carnegie Hall known as Music Hall until 1893) opened in New York City
May 11 (1916) – Albert Einstein’s theory of General Relativity published
May 24 (1956) – the first Eurovision Song Contest held in Lugano, Switzerland
Also…
…100 years ago, World War 1 was raging…
…and 75 years ago, World War 2 was in progress.
And if you’re looking for still more ideas, look out for local events and sporting occasions.
That’s it for this month. Wishing you every success with your event-driven marketing in May 2016!