October “National Day” Campaign Ideas for Local Advertisers

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October has become synonymous with the pink ribbons that commemorate breast cancer awareness. Companies across different sectors, locations and sizes can create a campaign around breast cancer awareness. It’s something that can run all month.

Many small businesses partner with a local or national nonprofit. Those partnerships may include donating a portion of proceeds or giving away free promotional items with a purchase.

Local businesses can partner with community health care providers to promote mammograms through events. Some advertisers may also have their own stories they want to share that personalize the experience.

Tactics to use:

• Radio spots to hype events and initiatives
• Social media marketing that uses trending hashtags around the month
• Mobile messaging campaigns sent to customers that encourage them to stop by on certain days the company is donating proceeds
• Video or OTT ads that tell a story about the company’s commitment to breast cancer awareness

Financial Planning Month

Financial literacy is a problem in this country. Many people are anxious about finances and debt, yet they don’t know the basics around saving, investing and credit scores. Research from the Milken Institute stated that 57% of Americans are financially literate. The report’s conclusion asserted that it “paints a grim picture of financial literacy in the U.S.”

Financial advertisers are already changing their messaging and approach based on consumer behavior. October is another chance to highlight how they can help consumers feel more competent about their finances.

Some ideas include:

• Create an awareness campaign regarding financial literacy that can run on social media and via email marketing.
• Ask your financial advertisers if they’d be interested in hosting finance 101 classes at no cost, either in person or virtually. It could be a great way to earn trust and new customers. You could promote these via email, social media and geotargeted display ads.
• Run promotions around savings products with an extra incentive or bonus for new customers. These would work well on radio, TV, social media and display ads.

You can also tie these to National Get Smart About Credit Day, which is October 20.

Health Literacy Month

The health system can be confusing and complicated. Many individuals have a health literacy gap, which impacts how they follow treatment plans and understand them. This month is a good opportunity for any health care advertiser to develop educational campaigns about a variety of topics like:

• Preventative screenings
• Chronic disease management programs
• Healthy eating
• Physical activity
• Medication adherence

These awareness ads can present your clients as thought leaders in the community, building trust with patients. Recommend social media, OTT/CTV, video display ads and TV spots. The direction for the ad could be to join a program, find a clinician or sign up for healthy living classes.

National Pumpkin Spice Day (October 1) and National Pumpkin Day (October 26): Pumpkin spice season is officially here! It’s a favorite topic for memes but also a huge revenue generator. More products keep coming to market, and consumers spend hundreds of millions of dollars on them.

Coffee shops, bakeries, restaurants, spas or other retailers with these products can take this theme and run with it using humor, storytelling and appetizing visuals. Other pumpkin-related advertisers include pumpkin patches and those selling decorative elements like jack-o’-lanterns.

Encourage them to extend promotions for the whole month with ads on social media, OTT/CTV, broadcast TV spots and geofenced display ads.

National Name Your Car Day (October 2): Naming your car is a rite of passage for first-time car buyers and becomes a tradition for every car to follow. Nearly half of car owners name their cars. This light-hearted national day offers opportunities for auto advertisers to have a bit of fun with their campaigns.

A car naming contest with the reward of special savings could attract buyers and encourage engagement. Advertisers can expect the auto industry to pick up, and national days like this could spark new campaign ideas for them to capitalize on.

National Taco Day (October 4): Tacos are beloved by many in all demographics, from kids to seniors. Many different types of restaurants have tacos — not just traditional Mexican spots.

Don’t let advertisers miss this chance to show off their delicious tacos by offering deals on taco night. Go with social media and mobile messaging for these ads.

World Mental Health Day (October 10): Mental health is a top-of-mind subject for so many. After more than two years of a pandemic, more people are willing to talk about mental health and how it’s OK not to be OK.

This day is a great time for advertisers to show their support for mental health. They could create an awareness campaign just as recognition. They may also want to partner with local nonprofits that work to provide mental health services to all.

Again, this is an opportunity for your customers to donate a percentage of profits from the day. Additionally, in conjunction with a nonprofit, they could host an event dedicated to helping those who don’t have access to mental health treatment options.

You could suggest promotion on social media, radio and TV. To complement this, recommend a mobile messaging campaign for current users who opted in to receive alerts.

Support Your Local Chamber of Commerce Day (October 18): Your local chamber of commerce plays a significant role in the community business ecosystem. To celebrate this day, why not pitch something to the chamber and its members to boost membership? Other businesses could also share stories of why they are part of the chamber.

Short video ad testimonials would resonate well. Social media is another avenue for exposure. Talk to the chamber first to gauge their interest; then, devise a plan to get local businesses on board to develop a campaign.

National Chocolate Day (October 28): As if we need a reason to eat more chocolate! Nonetheless, there’s a day dedicated to this favorite sweet. Restaurants could use it to appeal to diners by offering a free chocolate dessert. Bakeries can run a buy one, get one offer.

Because chocolate is visual, advertisers can create short video ads that can appear on OTT or social media to get viewers craving something sweet.

National First Responders Day (October 28): First responders are essential to any community. They are the front lines of emergencies and deserve appreciation.

Any advertiser that wants to show appreciation could be a target. They could use the day to offer discounts to first responders or simply do a branded ad that recognizes the dedication of these individuals.

If your advertiser wants to share a promotion, use more targeted ad properties like display, OTT or social media. For the recognition ads, you’re looking for reach, so TV and radio would work well.