Welcome to this month’s “Looking Ahead” feature. Here we’ll review events, occasions, holidays and anniversaries that you can use in an event-driven marketing promotion or campaign in August 2014.
The calendar is pretty threadbare this month when it comes to major holidays. 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…
…and remember major sporting events such as the US PGA Championship, the US Open Tennis and the start of the football season in the UK.
It’s also “Elvis Week”, August 11-17. Elvis Presley died on 17 August, 1977.
Other events…
August 1 – International Beer Day (first Friday in August)
August 4 – Friendship Day
August 8 – Infinity Day
August 9 – Book Lover’s Day
August 10 – St Lawrence’s Day (patron saint of brewers)
August 12 – International Youth Day
August 13 – International Left Hander’s Day
August 15 – Assumption Day
August 17 – Davy Crockett Day (anniversary of the birth of the American frontier legend in 1786)
August 19 – World Humanitarian Day
August 20 – Lemonade Day (the classic beverage invented in Paris in 1620)
Taking a look at some country-specific events…
In the USA…
Couple of local occasions…
August 1 – Colorado Day
August 15 – Hawaii Day (third Friday in August)
Also, August 15 is “National Relaxation Day”. I believe this is specific to the USA…but why should everyone else miss out?!?
In the world of sports, there is the PGA and the start of the US Open in tennis.
Canada…
August 4 – local holidays in most provinces (e.g. British Columbia Day, New Brunswick Day, Alberta Heritage Day)
August 15 – Gold Cup Parade (Prince Edward Island)
August 18 – Discovery Day (Yukon)
U.K.
August 4 – Summer Bank Holiday (Scotland)
August 25 – Summer Bank Holiday (UK except Scotland)
The soccer season restarts this month with the EPL “kicking off” on August 16.
The Commonwealth Games in Glasgow conclude on August 3.
Australia…
Down under…it’s a pretty thin month for events.
There’s a Bank Holiday in NSW on August 4 (also Picnic Day in the Northern Territory)…
…and the Royal Queensland Show in Brisbane (August 13).
(Show dates vary across Queensland, so check the details for your local area.)
We’re coming to the end of winter in Australia so if you’re planning a spring-related promotion this is a good time to prepare.
To end this month…
…a number of noteworthy anniversaries.
100 years ago, the First World War had just broken out (starting on 28 July, 2014).
150 years ago, the American Civil War was raging.
75 years ago, the Second World War was about to start in Europe (and 70 years ago, that conflict was at its height).
On 6 August 1889, the Savoy Hotel in London opened.
On August 15, 1914 the Panama Canal opened.
10 years ago on 19 August 2004, Google went public and its shares started trading in public.
For advertising and marketing geeks…
…on August 5, 1886 Bruce Barton was born in Robbins, Tennessee. Cofounder of agency BBDO, Barton was on of the greats of the industry and author of a number of influential books.
That’s it for this month. Every success with your event-driven marketing in August 2014!