These days, a holiday doesn’t necessarily have to mark a day of national or religious significance. It can celebrate lemonade, working “like a dog,” and Brazilian blowouts. And there’s the thing: Anyone can declare a “national” holiday. In true American fashion, it’s simply a matter of marketing the hell out of it to make it a reality.
Please, do not confuse National Donut Day with Armed Forces Day. The latter was created by President Harry Truman in 1949 and the former is a marketing schtick promoted by Dunkin Donuts. Although the Congress still votes on commemorative resolutions to recognize certain days on occasion — as it did with Pi Day in 2009 — most remain unofficial.
But that hasn’t stopped marketers from clambering on the bandwagon of ginning up ridiculous holidays for just about every day of the year. There’s National Pancake Day (IHOP), National Underwear Day (skivvies monger Freshpair) and National Pie Day (American Pie Council).
“It can be a really great excuse to have a pillar moment in the year that wouldn’t otherwise exist, but there needs to be an obvious connection with or incentive for the consumer or it comes across as desperate,” said Andrew Cunningham, social marketing lead at digital Huge.
The good news: There’s a made-up holiday, usually with thinly disguised marketing goals, for you to celebrate every day of the month.
Ad position: web_incontent_pos1
More in Marketing
In the marketing world, anime is following in the footsteps of gaming
As marketers look to take advantage of anime’s entry into the zeitgeist, they might be wise to observe the parallels between the evolution of anime as a marketing channel and the ways brands have learned to better leverage gaming in recent years.
With the introduction of video ads and e-commerce, Roblox looks to attain platform status
Roblox is expanding into more areas than just ads in 2024. Much like platforms such as Amazon and Facebook have transcended their origins to evolve from their origins as online marketplaces and social media channels, Roblox is in the midst of a transformation into a platform for all elements of users’ virtual lives.
PepsiCo wants to remain a ‘driver of culture’ as it turns to influencers and activations amid rebrand
The soda-maker says it can translate cultural relevance into sales volume.
Ad position: web_bfu