Here’s the look ahead at the month of October 2015 and some of the events, anniversaries and occasions that savvy marketers can use as the basis and reason for an event-driven promotion…
…to create your own marketing calendar October 2015.
Of course, the stand out occasion, beloved by many marketers, is “Halloween” on October 31.
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 after-life 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 scary about it!
Apart from Halloween October has plenty of different events and occasions…
October 1 – International Day Of Older Persons
October 1 – World Vegetarian Day
October 2 – World Smile Day (first Friday in October) 
October 2 – International Day Of Non-Violence
October 3 – World Card-Making Day
October 4 – World Animal Day
October 5 – World Teacher’s Day
October 5 – World Habitat Day (first Monday in October)
October 6 – “Mad Hatter” Day
October 8 – World Sight Day (second Thursday in October)
October 9 – World Post Day
October 9 – Curious Events Day
October 10 – World Mental Health Day
October 10 – Tuxedo Day (this style icon made its first appearance in America in New York City on this day in 1886)
October 11 – International Day Of The Girl Child
October 12 – World Arthritis Day
October 13 – International Day For Disaster Reduction
October 13 – Face Your Fears Day
October 14 – World Standards Day
October 15 – World Maths Day (also observed on the first Wednesday in March)
October 15 – Global Handwashing Day
October 16 – World Food Day
October 16 – Dictionary Day
October 17 – International Day For The Eradication Of Poverty
October 17 – Mulligan Day (or “Second Chance” Day)
October 19 – Evaluate Your Life Day
October 20 – World Statistics Day
October 20 – World Osteoporosis Day
October 21 – Apple Day
October 22 – International Stuttering Awareness Day
October 24 – United Nations (UN) Day
October 24 – World Development Information Day
October 24 – “Make A Difference” Day
October 25 – Picasso Day (anniversary of the birth of the great artist in 1881). Also known as “International Artists Day”
October 27 – World Day For Audiovisual Heritage
October 28 – Birthday of Bill Gates (founder of Microsoft)
October 28 – International Animation Day
October 29 – World Stroke Day
October 29 – International Internet Day (in 1969 2 college campuses linked up to kick off what we now call the internet)
October 30 – Checklist Day
October 31 – Halloween
And October has traditionally been a scary month in financial markets…
…with October 24 and October 29 the anniversaries of significant milestones in the 1929 “Wall Street Crash”.
October 31 is also the anniversary of the death of Harry Houdini in 1926 and celebrated as “Magic Day”.
Taking a look at events in particular countries…
In the USA…
October 4 – Feast of St Francis of Assisi
October 9 – Leif Erikson Day
October 12 – Columbus Day (Florida and most regions)
October 12 – Native Americans’ Day (South Dakota)
October 12 – Indigenous People’s Day (in some places in CA, MN, WA),
October 13 – US Navy Birthday
October 16 – Boss’s Day
October 18 – Alaska Day (Alaska)
October 19 – ‘Alaska Day’ observed (Alaska)
October 30 – Nevada Day (Nevada)
October 31 – Halloween
Canada…
October 12 – Thanksgiving Day
October 31 – Halloween
U.K.
No major national events this month, apart from Halloween which is now enthusiastically observed in the UK.
However, it is “National Chocolate Week” from October 12-18 2015, culminating in The Chocolate Show, 16-18 October at Olympia National Hall, London.
Daylight Savings Time ends on October 25. Keep an eye out for local events or occasions specific to your industry.
Australia…
Looking at Australia…
October 2 – AFL Grand Final Friday (Victoria)
October 3 – AFL Grand Final
October 4 – Daylight Saving Time starts
October 5 – Labour Day (NSW, ACT, SA, QLD)
October 31 – Halloween
Remember to check out local events in your area.
There are also a number of religious holidays in October across a number of different faiths. So, check the details if it’s appropriate for your audience.
Taking a look at some significant anniversaries…
…there were major events taking place in World War 1 (100 years ago), World War 2 (70 and 75 years ago) and the Korean War (65 years ago). If that’s relevant to your audience, it’s well worth doing a little research.
Some other noteworthy anniversaries…
October 25 (1415) – Battle of Agincourt
October 10 (1865) – the first successful oil pipeline begins operating in the USA in Pennsylvania
October 1 (1890) – Yosemite National Park established in California, USA
October 2 (1890) – birth of Groucho Marx
October 21 (1915) – first transatlantic radio-telephone call made by AT&T from Virginia, USA to Paris, France
October 2 (1925) – first successful test of a working television system by Scottish engineer John Logie Baird
October 1 (1940) – the first super-highway (the Pennsylvania Turnpike) in the USA opened
October 24 (1945) – the United Nations formally established
October 29 (1945) – the first commercially successful ballpoint pen goes on sale at Gimbels department store in New York City
October 2 (1950) – first edition of the “Peanuts” comic strip by Charles M. Schultz published
October 1 (1975) – the “Thrilla in Manila” when Muhammad Ali knocked out Joe Frazier to win back the World Heavyweight Boxing Championship
That’s it for this month. “Happy Halloween” and hope your event-driven marketing campaigns are “frighteningly” successful!