Holiday helpers serve everyone

National Farriers Week, Talk Like William Shatner Day, International Balloon Animal Week … Not one of those is made up.

You're right if it feels like there’s a holiday for darn near everything. Some recognize historical events like Juneteenth or Presidents Day and others are informative. There are religious holidays and some that pay homage to centuries of traditions. Then there’s the downright goofy. (Goofy is in the eyes of the beholder, of course.) When they’re backed with pops of publicity, they get your attention. That’s the goal.

As a planner or promoter, special days can work as standalones or as part of broader publicity and marketing campaigns.

Create and be creative with your own holiday.

From sports to books to your business bestie’s birthday, you, too, can create a holiday for publicity purposes. At least a dozen directories worldwide highlight those events each year, and you can apply to include yours when you’re ready to launch. The key is to ignite your creativity and communications caravan and hit every corner your audience travels. Use all available publicity platforms including legacy (earned and paid) and owned (social, print products, etc.) media.

Directory deadlines vary.

If you want your holiday listed in directories, note some deadlines are tight and require applications months in advance. For instance, Chase’s Calendar of Events’ deadline is April the year before its print version comes out. National Day Calendar, on the other hand, has a shorter lead time. Brownielocks doesn’t list a deadline, but it’s a good resource. These are just a few of the directories you’ll find in a quick online search.

Directory listings are valuable.

Directory mentions provide valuable real estate, but don’t wait until they’re printed to publicize your “holiday.” Invest in publicity so your people can take the baton and elevate it to heights only fans can. Provide them with your message and let ‘em run.

Newsjack

If you don’t want or have time to create a holiday, use others to newsjack/ piggyback/jump on an already broken-in bandwagon. It’s likely creators produced materials and messages for you to amplify an annual special day/week/month. All you need is your special story or angle. Icing.

This leads to a tease to next week’s SIDEbar. Hope you’ll join us. 😎

Until then, stay chill and celebrate every day.

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© Gail Sideman; gpublicity.com 2024

"What communicators understand innately is that reputation is earned every day and can be lost in an instant. — Spotify chief public affairs officer Dustee Jenkins said to Burson CEO Corey duBrowa1 at WPP Beach