Smart businesses that are successful leverage the holidays to market their business. Now the question for you is, “Are you smart?” If you aren’t using the holidays to push specific products and changing up your advertising to go along with the holiday season, then the answer to that question for you is a big fat NO! When I mention holidays, I don’t mean just Thanksgiving and Christmas. There are holidays, observances, and celebrations every month in the U.S. that you can use to help you grow your business!

HOLIDAY MARKETING IDEAS

• Give away promotional items that are relevant for the current holiday.
• Hold online contests for your fans and followers on your social media platforms that are holiday themed.
• Have sales that are specific for the current holidays.
• Encourage your employees to dress up and get into the spirit of the holidays. If necessary, provide them hats, such as custom Santa hats for the Christmas season.
• Offer extended hours or “special hours” for VIP customers for certain holidays for “special deals.”
• Offer foods and snacks related to the holiday for your clients and customers when they visit your place of business.
• Partner with other non-competing businesses to market your products and services.
• Give free gifts with purchase and make those free gifts something that related to that holiday.

PROMOTIONAL ITEMS FOR EACH MONTH

JANUARY

NEW YEAR’S DAY

Having your customers think of you at the beginning of a new year is always a good thing, so make sure they toast with a champagne glass with your logo! Other great New Year’s Eve items include party kits containing traditional party supplies such as top hats, noisemakers, tiaras, and throws to celebrate the stroke of midnight! Start off the new year on the good side of your clients and your potential customers!

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR DAY 

Promotional hand fans honoring the late Martin Luther King Jr., who was known for his role in advancing civil rights, are great giveaways for this day.

FEBRUARY

VALENTINE’S DAY

While Valentine’s Day is not a national holiday, this observance on February 14 is one that is observed by millions of Americans and billions of dollars is spent on this holiday for decorations, gifts, and advertising. So why not give your customers something that will stick around, instead of candy that will be quickly eaten! This heart shaped magnetic clips are great to hold notes on the refrigerator and they will stick around for years to come!

WASHINGTON’S BIRTHDAY

The official name of this federal holiday is Washington’s Birthday; however, it is commonly known as President’s Day. The holiday is in honor of our first president, George Washington, but it seems that future presidents have hijacked the holiday! It is a BIG time for sales at retail stores (those are the smart guys we want to learn from). This George Washington Stress Reliever is a cool promo for this holiday.

MARCH

ST PATRICK’S DAY

St. Patrick’s is a holiday celebrated on March 17 in honor of Saint Patrick, the most commonly recognized patron saint of Ireland. One thing the Irish are well-known for is their love of drinking. In honor of this holiday, many American take part in a few alcoholic beverages. These leprechaun bottle koozies are very festive for this holiday and will keep your bottled drinks cold!

APRIL

EARTH DAY

Earth Day is becoming more and more popular and supporting this cause is a great way to win the hearts of your customers. Typical giveaways for this holiday are recycled and Earth-Friendly promotional items such as these recycled adhesive notepads.

MAY

MEMORIAL DAY

Show your patriotism with these 16″ patriotic beach balls with red, white, and blue panels and white stars. Proudly display your business logo. These are great to promote Memorial Day, Armed Forces Day, Flag Day, and Independence Day!

JUNE

FLAG DAY

Nothing shows patriotism like our American flag! Have your website, business name, or slogan printed on the wooden sticks. These promotional flags are great for any patriotic holiday!

BEGINNING OF SUMMER

A great promo to help kick off the start of the summer season is promotional sunscreen! Not only are they a useful giveaway, but they are mandatory to protect your skin for a damaging sunburn. These are especially great for beach town, tourist-based businesses, such as hotels and condos!

JULY

INDEPENDENCE DAY

Celebrating our country’s independence on the 4th of July is a passion of millions of Americans each year and that’s why buying patriotic promotional items are great investments. These products show your patriotism to your country as well as market your business.

AUGUST

BACK TO SCHOOL

Promotional backpacks are an excellent giveaway for back to school promotions. Most kids need a new backpack each year to carry their school books and supplies, so these are great items to meet that need and market your business. Choose from premium backpacks or drawstring backpacks, which are great for holding gym clothing.

SEPTEMBER

LABOR DAY

This is a day honoring all of those who work, so it stands to reason that this is the perfect time to reward your own employees. For this holiday, think of premium corporate gifts, not cheap giveaways. Show your hard workers that you notice them. Useful items such as nice bags, premium drinkware, or even an executive pen are ideas for a great employee give away item.

OCTOBER

HALLOWEEN

Of course, Halloween is the big holiday for October. If you really want to start generating customer loyalty, start giving away custom trick or treat bags each year. What you will find happening is that your customers will come back each year expecting the Halloween bags. This is a great thing because that means they are still coming back. Check out some of our great Halloween bag designs that can printed with your logo!

NOVEMBER

PREPARING FOR WINTER

Although the official first day of winter isn’t until December, that doesn’t mean that we lack winter weather, particularly in the Northern states. Therefore, giving away winter-related promotional items is always a great idea. Items such as promotional ice scrapers and custom embroidered blankets are a few excellent giveaways.

THANKSGIVING

This is the big holiday of the month and it focuses on a celebration of the harvest festival that the Pilgrims celebrated back before our country was even formed. It centers around thankfulness. This is a big time for family get-togethers and feasts, so why not focus on kitchen-related giveaways such as custom aprons or kitchen promotional items?

DECEMBER

CHRISTMAS

This is the holiday that is celebrated all month long for Christians. It celebrates the birth of our Savior, Jesus. Since most people in the United States do put up a Christmas tree, custom Christmas ornaments are great promo items to give away to your clients and employees. If you want your recipients to start a collection of ornaments from your company, try varying your ornament styles and colors each year. Other ideas for the month of December include end of the year corporate gifts. When you think of a corporate gift, the idea is to impress your clients or employees with a premium item and NOT a cheap trinket. Therefore, nicer items such as electronics, wine-related gifts, premium watches and clocks, crystal items, digital picture frames, and items of the like.