How Pioneering Brands Can Leverage National Days

- Jill Weible

Why Brands Should Leverage National Days

National Days present a unique opportunity for brands to generate buzz and capture attention. With the right strategy, these observances can help your brand stand out, reach new audiences, and boost engagement. This blog will walk you through maximizing your brand’s potential by promoting relevant National Days and positioning your brand as a leader in its category.

Why National Days Matter for Your Brand

Lately it seems that there’s an established National Day for almost everything, including some very bizarre days such as National Fruitcake Toss Day and National Take a Walk in the Park Day. Social media has been a significant force behind the rise of celebrating National Days because of the ease of sharing and commenting, aided by specific hashtags and their relatable content. 

Because of this, celebrating National Days relevant to your business is an excellent way to attract attention and drive engagement. They serve as pre-built, highly shareable content opportunities for brands. Whether launching a product, announcing a new initiative, or simply engaging with your audience, aligning your message with a National Day can amplify your reach.

For instance, National Hot Dog Day, celebrated on the third Wednesday in July, is the perfect moment to promote your hot dog brand. But how do you stand out when every other hot dog brand does the same? The key lies in creative storytelling and building anticipation.

How to use Creative Storytelling to Capitalize on National Days

1. Create a Multi-Phase Social Media Campaign around the National Day

To rise above the noise, think beyond just posting once on the official National Day. Instead, create a multi-phase campaign that builds excitement before, during, and after the event. 

Pre-Day Teasers: Start by teasing your National Day campaign in the days leading up to the event. For example, as a hot dog brand, you could share a pre-post promising a fun surprise on National Hot Dog Day. This teaser post drives suspense and anticipation among your followers, who will be eager to see what’s coming. Posting a survey beforehand and revealing the results on your National Day is a fun way to collect comments and keep discussions going. 

Exclusive Reveal: On the big day, reveal something exclusive, such as a new product, a unique promotion, or an interactive social media challenge. The goal is to offer something that ties into the day and position your brand as the leader in its niche.

Post National Day Follow-ups: Leverage the National Day after it ends. One way to follow up is to make a tongue-in-cheek joke about the National Day. It’s even OK to be silly if it fits your brand voice, that is! For example:

Image: A hot dog lounging on a beach chair, wearing sunglasses, with an umbrella drink in hand.
Caption: “Yesterday we were the main event 🌭, today we’re just relishing the memories. 😎🍹#ChillinAfterTheGrill #HotDogVacationMode #StillSizzlingInOurHearts”

Pro Tip: Remember to post relevant hashtags on each social post for greater audience reach and visibility. 

2. Choose a Worthy Cause

Consumers appreciate when brands support worthy causes. When choosing a cause, it’s important to align with it authentically and meaningfully. Brand transparency is a fantastic way to do this. 

You can share images of your employees in support of the cause, or if permissible, employee stories that relate to it. If that is not accessible, partnering with an expert or influencer is an alternative. Repost or create educational content about it and be accountable for your support. If you plan to host a fundraiser or donate your time to a cause, follow up with photos and provide updates on fundraising results.

3. Go All Out with Experiential Marketing

Experiential marketing allows customers to interact with your brand in real life. These brand experiences not only capture attention but also create memorable moments that can be shared widely on social media.

A great example of this is Ghirardelli®’s celebration of National Peppermint Bark Day. On December 1st, 2023, the brand launched a life-sized snow globe installation at Hudson Yards in New York City. Visitors could step inside the snow globe for a holiday-themed photo op, and were treated to free Peppermint Bark Squares and hot cocoa. 

Brand Marketers can couple a branded photo-op, like the Ghirardelli snow globe, with a unique hashtag and encourage participants to share photos and their experience with your brand on social media that’s easily searchable and reusable. The “chain reaction” of activity on social channels provides a treasure trove of user-generated content.

Additional samples, coupons, or prizes can go to participants who post and tag their event experience on social media.

4. Special Edition Product Launches That Align with National Days

Another effective way to leverage National Days is by launching or promoting a special edition product tied explicitly to the occasion. Planters® recently did this to great effect with the launch of their Special Reserve Peanuts, which was timed perfectly for National Peanut Day on September 13^th, 2024. The Special Reserve Peanuts, designed for peanut aficionados, were released in limited-edition, hand-cooked batches. Smith Design collaborated with the Planters brand to create the premium packaging and collector’s edition box which added an exclusive feel, elevating the product and making the day special for their audience.

Smith Design also designed the Hormel® Pepperoni Party Confetti packaging which released on September 20^th, 2024, which of course was National Pepperoni Pizza Day! Along with the release of the new product, Hormel ran a special sweepstakes for fans to declare their intent to take PTO (Pepperoni Time Off) on National Pepperoni Day. The grand prize is a Pepperoni Pizza vacation to either New York City or Chicago during National Pizza Month in October. Pizza fans were also encouraged to share their PTO news on social media using hashtag #PepperoniTimeOff to increase their chances of winning.

Key Takeaways for a Successful National Day Campaign

Whether you choose to have some social media fun with a National Day, support a worthy cause, or plan a unique experience, remember to:

1. Plan Ahead: Build your content strategy well in advance. Planning is crucial to ensure your brand owns the day and stands out.
2. Use a Storytelling Approach: Use teasers and pre-announcements to build excitement leading up to the day, reveals on the day of, and follow up with relatable content.
3. Use Hashtags to Effect: Remember to use the proper hashtags of your National Day so they can be easily found and shared. Consider coupling that with a unique to your brand hashtag that can be searched to find posts by your audience.
4. Analyze the Results: Have a look back at your efforts. Did they pay off in either engagement or brand awareness? 

By strategically leveraging National Days, you can attract new leads, drive engagement, and position your brand as a leader in its category. Whether through experiential marketing, product launches, worthy cause support, or creative social media campaigns, these observances provide an ideal platform to promote your brand in a way that feels timely, relevant, and impactful.