The month of May 2013 is approaching…
…so time for smart marketers to plan ahead and look at some of the holidays, events and anniversaries in the month that can be used as part of an “event driven marketing” strategy.
The two standout 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 12.
“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.
And here’s a more detailed list of events…
May 1 – May Day (also “Lei Day” in Hawaii)
May 3 – World Press Freedom Day
May 5 – Cinco De Mayo (Mexican holiday often observed in the USA)
May 6 – “May Day” holiday (UK)
May 8 – World Red Cross Day
May 10 – “Thank You” Day
May 12 – Anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale (in 1820) (also International Nurses Day)
May 12 – Mother’s Day (USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, most countries in the British Commonwealth outside the UK, northern Europe)
May 14 – Star Wars Day (birthday of George Lucas)
May 15 – International Day Of Families
May 18 – International Museum Day
May 23 – Mesmerism Day (anniversary of the birth of Franz Mesmer)
May 27 – Spring Bank Holiday (UK)
May 27 – Memorial Day (USA)
May 31 – World “No Tobacco” Day
More ideas over at www.BlueMountain.com (look for the “On this day” section). Seems to be a bit of a musical theme this month with “Boogie Woogie Day” on May 22 and “International Jazz Day” on May 24.
150 years ago, the American Civil War was raging, so many anniversaries linked to that. One of note, on 10 May 1863 the great Confederate general “Stonewall” Jackson died after accidentally being shot in a “friendly fire” incident.
On May 15 in that same year, Frank Hornby was born. He was the British inventor and businessman who created Hornby model trains, Meccano construction sets and Dinky toys.
For other ideas, look out for local events and sporting occasions.
In the UK, the FA Cup final takes place on May 11.
In the USA there’s the Kentucky Derby on May 4 and the 97th Indy 500 on May 26.
Finally, a quick look at Australia.
Main event, as elsewhere, is Mother’s Day…
…but there’s also Labour Day in Queensland on May 6 and the Federal Budget on May 14.
Every success with your marketing!