Had enough of Mother’s Day promotions? Liven up your spring promotions with some good laughs, unique marketing, and holidays that seem just made for your business. Whether you’re trying to boost your visibility or give your employees something to get excited about, you can do a lot with funny holidays in May!
Funny national holidays like Lumpy Rug Day may seem like just something to fill a calendar, but these holidays are a great opportunity to engage with your customers and get them excited about your brand. Here are just a few ways businesses are using weird, silly, inspirational, and international holidays to create fun and tasteful marketing content.
Pro tip: While May has a few cultural holidays like Cinco de Mayo, you don’t want to use these holidays purely for promotional reasons. It’s good to acknowledge the holidays of major religions and cultures, but using them to promote your business when you have no inherent connection is in poor taste and will offend more customers than it excites. Be tasteful and respectful whenever you address cultural or religious celebrations.
May 2
The bond between brothers and sisters is so underrated in the US, and it’s time we celebrate it! Restaurants and other recreation businesses can offer sibling specials for those families who are waiting for an excuse for some serious sibling time. Office teams can also show off their sibling love with sibling highlights as part of a getting-to-know-the-team activity.
May 3
Can’t wait until Halloween to get your spooky on? Businesses can celebrate this fun holiday with customers with springtime spooky themed treats, activities, and discounts. This is also a great time for local paranormal destinations to promote themselves in their community and on social media.
May 4
If you haven’t heard about this holiday yet, you need to make some nerdy friends! Chosen for how the date sounds like “May the Force be with you” (May the fourth be with you), this informal holiday has grown in popularity over the years as fans dress up, watch Star Wars movies, and get active on social media. Your business can join in the celebration with your own Star Wars themed promotions. Just be careful avoid the wrath of the Disney copyright office with your online advertisements.
May 6
Nurses do a LOT for our communities, and today’s the day to celebrate them! Clinics can take a day to celebrate their nurses with internal celebrations, and highlight their achievements on social media. Other businesses can also host fundraisers to help with any local shortages in essential equipment like masks, gloves, face shields, and more.
Tuesday of the first full week of May
Teachers are another one of those community heroes that tend to get the short end of the stick when it comes to things like funding and appreciation. Support your local teachers with donations of school equipment (that normally comes out of teacher’s pockets) and funds for field trips. At the same time you’re helping your community, you’re also raising awareness for your brand!
May 11
Keto, vegan, pescatarian, there are so many different diets and rules we set for ourselves to try and maintain a healthy lifestyle. But don’t you ever wish you could just cut loose and eat what you want? Well, this holiday is all about that, creating the perfect opportunity for bakeries, pizzerias, and other indulgent food businesses to invite new customers to give in to those cravings for one day and eat!
May 13
Despite its popularity, there are way too many people who haven’t discovered the joys of real, luxury hummus. Spread awareness for this delicious and nutritious dip by sharing your own recipes on social media, inviting customers to do the same, and offering free samples of gourmet hummus in your restaurants. Don’t forget to bring the fun to your work team with a hummus party!
May 17
Everyone has their secret clutter space, whether it’s a closet they never open or their entire house. Reach out to these pack rats with solutions like junk hauling, organization tutorials on your social media, and more. Host office contests like a desk organizing to show off workplace feng shui skills, or embrace the mess with a contest to see who has the craziest hoard at home.
May 18
While this is a great day for kids to step up and help out in the kitchen, this holiday also offers great opportunities for businesses to help families ditch the dishes for a day. Restaurant deals and special breakfast-lunch-dinner combos can keep home dishes on the shelves and encourage customers to try new places for eating out. You can also team up with other restaurants in your area to offer more variety for a full day of no dishes!
May 19
Anyone can plant food of some kind, whether it’s a full-fledged outdoor garden or a small, potted herb by the kitchen window. This holiday, companies involved in gardening, such as landscapers, plant nurseries, and more promote ways for customers to get started growing food at home, and even work with communities to start a community garden!
May 23
Founded by Instagrammer Kate Richards, this holiday isn’t as totally insane as it sounds. The idea of it is people coming together as a community to enjoy garden-made cocktails in the garden, chickens not required. This means that you can follow the spirit of this holiday more by promoting your local farmer’s market (and not offering cocktails with your KFC.)
May 24
Everyone can feel like a princess on this day, and it doesn’t have to be costly! Businesses can get easy plastic party tiaras as a gift given at checkout (you know parents will line up for their kids to get one) and others can offer discounts for those who come in dressed like royalty. You can also work with your local library or other public centers to create a tiara party for the community kids to enjoy!
May 25
Not to brag, but we actually sell promotional paper bags, which would be the perfect purchase accessory to give your customers. After all, why give paper bags without adding your logo as part of the bargain? Sales plugin aside, this day is all about ditching the plastic for paper, a perfect promotional opportunity for grocers and other local shops.
May 27
If you haven’t ditched your winter habits and started putting on sunscreen by today, well, you’d better start now. Sunscreen is an important part of protecting your skin from dangerous sun damage, and your customers need to get in on the know! Share your new sunscreen wisdom with customers on social media (especially if you live in sunnier states) and promote your own sunscreen options.
May 28
Anyone can pick up a fast food burger on the way home, but today isn’t about cheap fillers and frozen buns. Today’s the day for barbecue restaurants and other eateries to show off how they do a burger, with delicious pan-fried mushrooms, caramelized onions, fresh tomato and lettuce, gourmet patties of all kinds, and your own special additions that no fast food place can possibly hope to compete with.
Didn’t find a holiday that suits you? These are just a few of the many fun holidays in May that can inspire your next promotion. Next time you’re feeling at a loss for social media content or promotional themes, check out the silly holidays of the month to help get your customers engaged with your brand and social media.
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