There seems to be a national day for just about everything these days. Are these national days worthwhile celebrations, or clever marketing ploys? And for those looking to use these days as a marketing promotion, can it work?National Truffle Day (yes, that really does exist) falls on May 2nd. Whether you see this as an excuse to binge on sweet treats or yet another pointless national day, businesses are using it to their advantage. In the lead up to National Truffle Day, confectionary store Monty Bojangles offered 25% off truffles.It’s not just the more obscure days that are used for marketing purposes. Sainsbury’s stocks the famous Comic Relief red noses and have raised over £100 million since their partnership with Comic Relief began in 1999. From the sale of each nose, at least 60p goes to charity.
Comic Relief merchandise is sold only in Sainsbury’s and TK Maxx, with the red noses found only in Sainsbury’s. This exclusivity ensures that those looking to show their support in the form of fun facial wear visit a Sainsbury’s store, prompting them to buy more than just a red nose. By involving themselves with this event, the supermarket also benefits from some fantastic PR. February 9th brings us National Pizza Day. For pizza delivery company Domino’s, this was more than an opportunity to enjoy some guilt-free pizza. In 2016, Domino’s celebrated National Pizza Day with a social media competition. Fans could win a ‘push for pizza’ button, a pizza shaped button which can be registered online with the customer’s home address and toppings of choice and then used to order pizza with the push of a single button. To enter, fans had to tweet Domino’s with the sentence ‘’Dominos pushes my button because…’’. For Domino’s, this meant their brand name was spread around the Twittersphere, along with positive testimonials from customers. And for fans? Well, they had the chance to win a nifty pizza button.
A social media post celebrating even the strangest of days can make your company appear fun and approachable. The weirdest of National Days can raise a smile simply for how odd they seem, and the more obscure they are, the less likely it is that your post will be overshadowed by a huge corporation sharing their own celebrations. For those days relevant to your business, why not offer a small discount to celebrate?
If you’d like any help with using national days to market your business, we’d be happy to help. Get in touch with our team or talk to us: 01244 515569!