In addition to traditional holidays like Christmas, New Year’s, and Thanksgiving, there are plenty of fun and quirky holidays throughout the year that provide unique opportunities for brands to engage with their audience. These lesser known “National Holidays”, such as National Pizza Day, National Coffee Day, or National Pet Day, can be leveraged by brands to create exciting sweepstakes, giveaways, and contests that capture the attention of their target audience, generate buzz on social media, and attract new customers.

Here are three upcoming fun holidays that brands can use to promote their products through creative and engaging sweepstakes, giveaways, and contests.

National Ice Cream Day (July):

One of the national holidays brands can leverage is National Ice Cream Day, which falls on the third Sunday in July. For ice cream brands, restaurants, and food-related businesses, this holiday presents an opportunity to offer discounts, promotions, and special menu items. To make the most out of this holiday, brands could even leverage the power of RTM’s voting sweepstakes to create engagement and generate excitement among their audience. Participants would vote on their favorite flavor of ice cream to gain an entry into the sweepstakes. Once the votes are in, the brand can announce the winning flavor, randomly select a grand prize winner from that flavor and blast an email to all voters to receive a special offer, as an added perk for participating in the big vote.

National Tequila Day (July):

National Tequila Day is the perfect opportunity for tequila brands to engage with their audience and promote their products. In addition to offering specials and promotions, brands can run a user-generated-content contest with Realtime Media’s  templated microsite solution to create buzz and increase brand awareness.

To enter, participants can share their favorite tequila cocktail recipe and an image of the final product on the RTM-hosted microsite. The brand could then collect the entries and choose a winner based on predetermined criteria.

When it comes to prizing, Realtime Media can even help ideate and make strategic prizing recommendations for your brand’s target audience by leveraging our extensive experience and expertise. For starters, the winner could receive a private mixology class with a professional bartender, creating a memorable and unique brand experience!

National Beach Day (August):

This holiday honors the joys of spending a day at the beach and can be an excellent opportunity for beachside businesses, such as hotels, restaurants, and rental shops, to offer promotions and discounts on their services . In a crowded hospitality space, a hotel could truly distinguish itself by executing a captivating social media sweepstakes. Participants can be encouraged to share their favorite beach photos, tag the hotel’s brand page, and use a specific hashtag, leading to increased brand visibility and engagement. The grand prize of a weekend getaway, complete with free meals and activities, can incentivize participation and create a lasting impression on potential guests.

National holidays provide a unique opportunity for brands to stand out and connect with their audience in a memorable way. By creating engaging sweepstakes, giveaways, or contests, brands can offer irresistible prizes, discounts, and promotions that not only attract new customers but also foster long-term loyalty.