The Messaging Times

Marketers are always looking for a reason to link products and services to special events. A couple of years ago, I wrote about my surprise that Halloween is considered by some retail marketers to be a gift-giving occasion.

Now, it appears that Cinco de Mayo gives cause for celebration in marketing departments too. If you haven’t received any Cinco de Mayo emails yourself yet, the Retail Email Blog provides an example of one from Fingerhut.

What better reason to buy jewelery, silverware, furniture, cookware, electronics, clothing and other knickknacs than the day that commemorates the Mexican army’s unlikely defeat of French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862? I mean, it just makes sense.

The thing is, marketers don’t need a special occasion to promote products or services. It is common practice to create a promotional event for no reason at all. But it is a marketer’s job to create a story. And it is often easier and sometimes more effective when the story involves an occasion that is already known (at least by name) by the audience. It helps even more when the existing event involves celebrations of some kind (i.e. Thanksgiving, Christmas, the 4th of July, etc.)

Of course, when you share the storyboard with every other competitor in your market, your promotion can often become diluted. So it’s important to create your own unique stories as well. And as always, the value of your offer will ultimately determine if it is worthy of the audience’s attention and action.