Everyone expects their inbox to be flooded with emails that cater to Valentine’s Day in February, but there are so many more opportunities for marketers to generate additional revenue during the month of February. Let’s take a look at some February email marketing campaign ideas that go beyond Valentine’s Day.
February Email Marketing Campaign Ideas
Black History Month
For starters, February is Black History Month. Last year, Uber ran a promotion for the month of February that offered discounted transportation for riders who visited African-American museums and landmarks. Consider what ways would make the most sense for your company to celebrate Black History Month and then let your contacts know about it via email campaigns throughout February. Some ideas include: charitable contributions, % of sales going toward foundations that help the African American community, etc.
American Heart Month
February is also American Heart Month. Heart disease is a leading cause of death for both men and women. Because of this, it’s important to spread the word about heart health. Companies can get onboard with this in their email campaigns in February by highlighting the benefits of staying active, leading a healthy lifestyle and getting regular checkups. Whether you sell sporting goods, clothing,or run a healthcare facility, there’s opportunity to incorporate American Heart Month into your email promotions. The food industry can get involved as well by offering up heart healthy dishes and/or recipes to provide inspiration for the month.
Groundhog Day (Feb 2)
Whether you believe the groundhog seeing his shadow foretells 6 more weeks of winter or not, it’s an easy day for marketers to play with and send fun campaigns. Some marketers go ahead and send campaigns before the groundhog sees or doesn’t see his shadow while other marketers wait for the results and then send their campaigns. Regardless of which is a better fit for your company, be sure to offer up some kind of promotion to your subscribers and have fun with the creative and subject line.
Here’s an email campaign that JCrew sent out on Groundhog day after the groundhog determined there would be 6 more weeks of winter:
Valentine’s Day (Feb 14)
Unlike Christmas and birthdays, people don’t plan as much in advance for Valentine’s Day. 46% of folks say they’ll start shopping in early February for Valentine’s Day. Because of this, it makes sense for marketers to send their email campaigns in the week or two leading up to Valentine’s Day.
Folks continue to shop for the typical Valentine’s gifts for their sweetheart, such as jewelry, candy, night out experience gifts, and flowers, but many people are buying gifts and experiences for friends, co-workers, and pets rather than that special someone.Because of this, marketers have options to market to different segments over the Valentine’s Day timeframe.
Here’s an example of a campaign geared toward the recipient getting what THEY really want:
Presidents’ Day (Feb 18)
While Presidents’ Day is a federal holiday that’s held on Washington’s birthday and honors not just Washington, but all presidents of the U.S., it’s also a day when folks are looking for deals in their inbox.
There’s no need to advertise Presidents’ Day in the weeks leading up to the day, but rather advertise it the weekend before and extend the sales a day or two after if possible.
Many companies incorporate patriotic imagery in their Presidents’ Day sends—think stars, stripes, flags, etc. This Toms email took a fun and unexpected approach to their Presidents’ Day promotion by offering 17.32% off, playing off of the year 1732, George Washington’s birth year.
Other February Events
Other February events/holidays that marketers can have some fun including in their February email campaigns include:
- Library Lovers Month
- National Children’s Dental Health Month
- National Time Management Month
- National Wear Red day – Feb 1
- Chinese New Year – Feb 15
- Umbrella Day – Feb 10
- National Engineers Week (Feb 17-23)
- World Yoga Day (Feb 22)
For these types of campaigns be sure to have fun with the creative, subject lines and offers. Campaigns like Umbrella day and World Yoga day be a surprise in the inbox since most folks aren’t aware they exist. If it makes sense for your company, you can even create your own “holiday” in the month of February and market that.
Conclusion: There are More Opportunities for February Email Campaigns than just Valentine’s Day.
Think outside of the box and view little known “holidays” and events as opportunities to have fun with your marketing campaigns.
These unexpected campaigns are an easy way to generate additional revenue alongside your standard February campaigns like Valentine’s Day and Presidents’ Day.
Have questions about any of these ideas? Our experienced strategy team has helped hundreds of clients implement them, and they’d be happy to help you, too! Just reach out.
