Welcome to this month’s “Looking Ahead” feature. I’ll start with the comments I added to last month’s post…
…addressing the issue of how responsible marketers should adapt to conditions when we are in a time of crisis with pretty much the whole world dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic.
It’s understandable that many marketers are wondering…
(1) Should I stop marketing altogether?
(2) If I carry on marketing, do I need to make changes and how do I avoid looking like a tone-deaf jerk?
Ryan Deiss at Digital Marketer has put together a great video briefing that I think makes a lot of sense and provides valuable guidance.
Well worth watching the whole briefing, simply click on the following link…
“How to market in a time of crisis”.
Here are the key points…
Firstly, be clear (and honest with yourself) if your product or service is ESSENTIAL or NON-ESSENTIAL in the current environment.
If it’s essential…and people want and need what you offer…then carry on marketing. Of course, act ethically and adapt your messaging to acknowledge what is going on and be appropriate for the times.
If your product is in the non-essential category…then now is the time to focus more on delivering value and support to your existing customers…and on audience expansion…NOT revenue extraction.
Now may not be the best time to launch something new, but it is an ideal time to grow your list. People are in information harvesting mode right now, because when uncertainty blends with spare time, what else are we left to do? So, now is not the time to slow your marketing efforts. Now is the time to tweak those marketing efforts to be even more value first than you might have been before, which means…
• More top of funnel content…
• More lead magnets…
• More give, give, give…
In other words…be helpful NOW as far as possible…and prepare for when the current crisis is over.
Some useful tips for marketing communications…
TIP #1: Double-check your messaging and tone. Speak with more empathy and sincerity, and avoid the extremes of being too light-hearted or too scarcity-driven. (People are scared enough…let’s not add to it.)
TIP #2: Double-check your visuals. Professional videos and images of crowds seem out of place and almost offensive in a world where most people are quarantined and the only human connection is through a Zoom conference. So ditch the professional imagery, and start mirroring everyone’s current reality.
I would suggest you double check EVERY email, letter or other communication that goes out…particularly anything that might have been automated or pre-planned.
One other point…
…this crisis will end. if you’re currently closed…or restricted in what you can do…it’s important to prepare for the reopen and getting back to full speed as fast as possible.
Special promotions can play a BIG part in that…
…so it’s worth being prepared.
In May 2020…
…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 10.
“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 1 – International Space Day (first Friday in May)
May 3 – World Press Freedom Day
May 3 – World Laughter Day (first Sunday in May)
May 3 – Lemonade Day (first Sunday 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 5 – World Asthma Day (first Tuesday in May)
May 7 – Password Day (first Thursday in May)
May 8 – World Red Cross And Red Crescent Day
May 8 – Anniversary of VE (Victory in Europe) Day
May 9 – Europe Day
May 10 – Mother’s Day (USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, most countries in the British Commonwealth outside the UK, northern Europe)
May 11 – Accounting Day
May 12 – International Nurses Day (on the anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale in 1820)
May 13 – Leprechaun Day
May 13 – Numeracy Day
May 15 – International Day Of Families
May 15 – Endangered Species Day (third Friday in May)
May 16 – Biographers Day
May 16 – World Whisky Day (third Saturday in May)
May 17 – World Telecommunication And Information Society Day
May 18 – International Museum Day
May 20 – Be A Millionaire Day
May 20 – World Meteorological 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 26 – Dracula Day
May 27 – Cellophane Tape Day
May 28 – Hamburger Day
May 29 – Paper Clip 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 1 – Lei Day (Hawaii)
May 4 – Kent State Shootings Remembrance (Ohio)
May 4 – Rhode Island Independence Day (Rhode Island)
May 5 – Cinco de Mayo
May 6 – National Nurses Day
May 7 – National Day of Prayer
May 8 – Military Spouse Appreciation Day
May 8 – Truman Day (Missouri)
May 10 – Mother’s Day
May 10 – Confederate Memorial Day (North Carolina, South Carolina)
May 11 – Confederate Memorial Day observed (South Carolina)
May 15 – Peace Officers Memorial Day
May 15 – National Defense Transportation Day
May 16 – Armed Forces Day
May 21 – Ascension Day
May 22 – National Maritime Day
May 22 – Harvey Milk Day (California)
May 25 – Memorial Day
May 25 – 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.
Normally, May would see a couple of major sporting occasions in the USA…the Kentucky Derby and the Indy 500. These have been rescheduled.
In Canada…
May 10 – Mother’s Day
May 18 – Victoria Day (All except NS, PE, QC)
May 18 – National Patriots’ Day (Quebec)
May 21 – Ascension Day
In the UK…
May 8 – Early May Bank Holiday
May 9 – Liberation Day (Guernsey, Jersey)
May 21 – Ascension Day
May 25 – Spring Bank Holiday
Also…it’s “National Smile Month” from May 18 to June 18 in 2020. 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 4 – Labour Day/May Day (Northern Territory)
May 10 – Mother’s Day
May 21 – Ascension Day
May 26 – National Sorry Day
That’s it for this month. In these difficult times, wishing you every success if you are able to continue with your event-driven marketing in May 2020…and better times ahead.