Here’s why. This week was Shrove Tuesday and next Thursday is Popcorn Lovers Day. These are just two examples of how national holidays and awareness days (or weeks or months) can be used by companies in their marketing activities.

Clearly not every business can use all the calendar milestones. Not only would it dilute the messages and appear to be jumping on every bandwagon but importantly they wouldn’t always be relevant. However, when appropriate they can be effective.

What caught my eye around Pancake Day were:

It wasn’t just food companies marking Pancake Day though, many businesses used images in their social media campaigns that day and took the opportunity to have team events or staff lunches around our battered favourites.

On the flipside (sorry!)… popcorn has had a huge resurgence over the last few years with brands such as Metcalfes  leading the way with innovative marketing campaigns, contemporary graphics and strong messages around low calories and healthy options.

There is no doubt that Popcorn Lovers Day is sure to bring similar well-timed campaigns and promotions, particularly from the manufacturers themselves but also in conjunction with cinemas and film streaming operators. I’ve already got my bag of Sweet & Salty ready in anticipation of viewing some great examples of #goodmarketing  – I’ll keep you posted of any favourites!