I’ve got a close friend who has made a terrific living selling lobster dinners online – live and frozen – delivered overnight in the U.S. He is a master marketer, utilizing niche and obscure holidays and celebrations to promote deals and packages.
Based north of Boston, he pays close attention to the calendar, planning specials, giveaways and contests around holidays such as Christmas and New Year’s, the Super Bowl, Memorial Day and Father’s Day. But he also capitalizes on the smaller ones (St. Patrick’s Day, Halloween) and the obscure ones such as National Lobster Day (Sept. 25) and National Seafood Month (October), Mardi Gras and Oktoberfest.
Similar to the Super Bowl, he takes advantage of other U.S. sporting events like the NCAA Final Four, the opening days for baseball and American football, occasions when Americans gather together to watch games.
His use of a calendar has consistently improved sales in the 17 years he has been in business.
But let’s take our lobsterman’s idea a step further. What if U.S. e-commerce merchants used a global calendar to offer promotions and sales?
Holidays to Remember on the Global Calendar
Back on May 5, we blogged about the connection of Cinco de Mayo and the payments industry. Though it commemorates the Mexican army’s victory over France in the Battle of Puebla, it is increasingly celebrated in the U.S. because of our Mexican population. Businesses, especially those in the food and beverage industry, capitalize on Cinco de Mayo for campaigns.
There are infinite ways for U.S. businesses to expand reach through holiday campaigns:
- Did you know Russians typically exchange Christmas gifts on Dec. 31? And that Russia’s Orthodox citizens celebrate Christmas Jan. 7?
- The Chinese New Year is a national holiday celebrated on Feb. 8, followed by its Spring Golden Festival, which marks the beginning of a new Zodiac animal sign.
- Brazil celebrates its version of Independence Day on Sept. 7. Greece’s Independence Day, Metapolitefsi, is July 24.
- Diwali, India’s Festival of Lights, is observed in the month of October each year.
- The UEFA Champions League Final, soccer’s European ‘Super Bowl’ which is now regularly televised in the U.S., is scheduled for Saturday, June 3, 2017.
You get the idea. The possibilities are endless.
The Best Global Calendar Resource
Recently we were turned on to a terrific resource that global e-commerce merchants should look into: The global holiday calendar at TimeAndDate.com. Countries are broken down into singular pages, listing their holidays (national and observed), enabling e-commerce merchants to easily plan a campaign around any country.
International holidays and events can serve as a gateway into a new markets to increase sales and your audience.
