September guide: creative marketing calendar, sharing hot spots

The weather is clear and cool in autumn, which is the best time to start a new chapter. The September marketing calendar is officially released! In this carefully compiled calendar, we will reveal the popular festivals and opportunities suitable for marketing in September. Let us start the creative marketing journey of September together~

Fall is here, and with it comes a host of exciting festivals and occasions. Whether it’s the start of a new school year, the harvest season, or an anticipated traditional festival, September offers many opportunities to promote your brand. Let’s explore the marketing potential of September and create eye-catching events!

1. National Festival

1. September 10th is Teachers’ Day

(1) Leverage elements and directions

Elements: Gratitude, Hard Work, Knowledge, Education, Learning, Social Responsibility

direction:

• By taking advantage of Teachers' Day, people can be encouraged to express their gratitude to their teachers.
• You can offer special deals and discounts to teachers. For example, you can work with relevant merchants to provide teacher-only coupons during Teacher’s Day or offer discounts on education-related products.
• Carry out social responsibility activities to focus on issues and challenges in the field of education. For example, you can launch a public welfare activity to donate books, stationery or other educational resources to schools in poor areas.
• Invite well-known educators or outstanding teachers to serve as brand ambassadors, and convey praise and support for teachers through their stories and success cases.

(2) Points to note when leveraging momentum

• Choose the appropriate direction based on your brand characteristics and target audience, and make sure it is consistent with the festival theme.
• Deliver positive values.
• Comply with relevant laws and regulations and do not involve political and sensitive content.

(3) Reference cases

The German propolis brand Zirkulin released the film "This Kind of Teacher": "Young teachers are speaking, and their love is happening quietly. Voice keeps love online forever! This time it's Zirkulin's turn to protect the good voices of teachers!" and released the interactive topic #This batch of teachers is a little different#, encouraging people to express their gratitude to teachers.

NetEase and Jindian, together with Xinhuanet, have worked together to create a story that will amaze you: "This teacher is really capable!" In addition to their selfless dedication and greatness, these teachers also show a vivid and interesting side.

NetEase Media accurately focuses on the core meanings of reunion and gratitude. By restoring the teachers' real classroom and campus stories, it shows the uniqueness of the teachers' wisdom. Their wisdom does not only exist in the maxims in textbooks.

After the release of this series of wonderful videos, it quickly resonated with the entire network, attracted a large number of users' attention and praise, and effectively narrowed the distance between the brand and users. This also reflects the brand concept: "Jindian selects 1% of the goodness and gives it to the people you love most."

"In the past you educated me with books, today I express my gratitude with flowers." The copy creates a sense of gratitude and a strong atmosphere for Teachers' Day by comparing the past and the present.

At the same time, it emphasizes the image of each teacher's hard work, which resonates with and makes readers understand. Providing a promotional activity of a 50-yuan flower red envelope with no threshold can attract users to participate and increase their willingness to buy. This limited-time and limited-quantity discount method can stimulate users' desire to buy and facilitate the completion of transactions.

2. September 27th is World Tourism Day

(1) Leverage elements and directions

Elements: travel, exploration, nature, beauty, culture, history, leisure, health

direction:

• Emphasizing tourism as a form of adventure and discovery, people are encouraged to actively participate in travel and experience different cultures and customs.
• Highlight the beauty and natural scenery during travel, promote the uniqueness of the tourist destination, and attract people to explore.
• We can emphasize the connection between tourism and cultural heritage and historical inheritance, promote tourist destinations with historical and cultural significance, and provide culturally related experience activities.
• Emphasize the positive impact of tourism on physical and mental health, and promote healthy and leisure tourism methods, such as natural scenery viewing and outdoor sports.

(2) Points to note when leveraging momentum

• When promoting tourist destinations and special attractions, ensure that the information is true and accurate, and do not exaggerate or mislead consumers.
• Comply with relevant laws and regulations, do not involve sensitive content, and respect local culture and religious beliefs.
• Pay attention to tourism safety issues, provide relevant travel tips and suggestions, and ensure the safety and rights of tourists.

(3) Reference cases

The film "Writing New Stories Through Travel" uses the classic quote from Western philosopher St. Augustine, "The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page," to encourage every passenger and invite passengers to read the world with China Airlines, compile every bit of their journey into a unique travel storybook, and fully release the desire for travel in every cell of the body.

China Airlines has always been playing the role of connecting passengers with the world, carrying everyone's expectations for travel. We are committed to collecting and passing on various travel stories, treating them as precious treasures. These stories tell the beautiful moments in life and record the touching and growth people experience during their journeys.

Tourism Australia has launched the animated short film "G'day" online in China. The film tells the story of how Ruby the kangaroo and Louie the unicorn first met in a gift shop on the Great Barrier Reef and then embarked on an exploration journey in Australia. The film not only presents Australia's beautiful scenery and rich culture, but also uses the classic local slang "G'day" (short for Good day, meaning hello) to convey the kind, friendly and warm Australian greetings to tourists around the world.

The Swiss National Tourism Board released an advertisement on March 30 to promote Switzerland's train tour route. The advertisement invited famous tennis players Roger Federer and Trevor Noah to participate. Both stars have half Swiss ancestry.

In the short film, the two initially planned to shoot a promotional film together. They were discussing the shooting of the Swiss travel promotional film at the beginning. Federer said that there was no need to act in a comedy, just travel along the Swiss train route and tell everyone how beautiful it is. However, things did not go entirely as planned. The two accidentally got on the wrong train, but unexpectedly experienced an unforgettable train trip.

3. September 29th: Mid-Autumn Festival

(1) Leverage elements and directions

Elements: moon, family reunion, moon cakes, moon-watching, traditional culture, blessings

direction:

• The combination of festive elements and products can stimulate people's interest in and recognition of the products.
• You can take the family as the core, focus on the emotional communication among family members, and strengthen family unity and gratitude through creative interactive activities and exclusive gifts.
• Launch mooncakes with unique flavors to stimulate consumers' desire to taste and encourage them to share the Mid-Autumn Festival delicacies with their relatives and friends.
• You can design Mid-Autumn Festival greetings and invite users to share their holiday wishes and memories through social media and other channels.

(2) Points to note when leveraging momentum

• Must be consistent with brand image and target audience
• Don't overdo it

(3) Reference cases

Meituan Pao Errands uses a light comedy approach to present a runner trapped in the world of mooncakes: "I don't just deliver mooncakes, I can do anything you can think of or not! Can you give me some other work for this Mid-Autumn Festival?"

On the basis of Meituan's "buy, pick up and deliver", the attribute of Meituan's errand service is strengthened, which can run errands for "everything". After watching it, the audience is likely to have the thought: "Huh!? I can also ask a errand service to try next time!"

Through five stories, the Mid-Autumn Festival movie of Truensu showcases the warmth and harmony of the family, presenting the emotion of family reunion during the Mid-Autumn Festival. These five stories range from graduation and leaving home to four generations living under one roof, covering people of different ages and stages of life, and can resonate with the audience and resonate with their emotions. It is easier to narrow the distance between the brand and consumers, and let consumers feel that Truensu is a brand that understands consumers and cares about the family. This way of publicity helps to establish an emotional connection between the brand and consumers, and enhances consumers' favorability and recognition of the brand.

Nestlé Yiyang teamed up with Zhengzhou Song and Dance Troupe to create a Mid-Autumn Festival limited edition Nestlé Yiyang milk powder gift box, and launched the promotional video "The Bright Moon Through the Ages, a Mid-Autumn Festival in the Golden Era" on Weibo with the topic "Nestlé Mid-Autumn Festival Appears at the Tang Palace Night Banquet". The video takes the Tang Palace ladies' moon-watching and play during the Mid-Autumn Festival as the clue, and integrates the gift box cover into the scene.

2. Topical Festivals

1. September 1st is the first day of school for primary and secondary school students

(1) Leverage elements and directions

Elements: education, social interaction, youth, friendship, dreams, stationery, parent-child relationship, start of school, academic planning, psychological counseling

direction:

• Emphasize that the new semester is the beginning of children showing themselves and pursuing their dreams, and encourage them to actively face challenges and pursue growth.
• You can emphasize that school is a place for children to make friends, build social circles and develop interpersonal relationships, and encourage children to take the initiative to communicate, cooperate and respect others.
• Products related to the start of school, such as school bags, pencil cases, notebooks, etc., can be launched to meet the needs of students, and preferential activities and customized services can be provided.
• Back-to-school preparation and equipment guide. Provides guidance and suggestions on purchasing school supplies, course selection, study planning, etc. to help students and parents better cope with the challenges of the new semester.
• Family parent-child interactive activities. Encourage family members to participate together and enhance family cohesion.
• Provide academic planning and psychological counseling services to help students set clear goals, develop a correct learning attitude, and provide professional psychological support.

(2) Points to note when leveraging momentum

• Adjust according to brand positioning and target audience
• Focus on the needs of students, parents and educational institutions, and the special significance of the school season
• Delivering a positive, education- and family-focused message

(3) Reference cases

Nike's 2022 back-to-school film "Never Done Playing" focuses on family play, encouraging parents to spend more time playing with their children and bring more companionship and joy to their children's childhood. This creative promotional film gives parents an important message: learning is important, but playing games and having fun with family is equally important.

This theme is consistent with the Nike brand's consistent philosophy of positivity, sports and optimism. By encouraging parents to participate in games and sports activities with their children, the film conveys the values ​​of health, vitality and family unity. In addition, this also provides parents with an opportunity to build a deep emotional bond with their children and enhances the recognition of the positive influence of the Nike brand in the family.

Nikon's brand film "Our Future" conveys Nikon's support for young people by depicting the story of high school students pursuing their dreams, and promises to seek energy and technological innovation in the future to build a sustainable society. This promotional method not only demonstrates Nikon's sense of responsibility and mission as a brand, but also inspires young audiences to actively pursue their dreams and contribute to society.

The short film "Lighting up the New School Season" released by CCTV News and vivo is often intended to encourage students to face the new semester and study life positively. Through warm stories and emotional expressions, such activities attempt to convey care and support, give students courage and motivation, and help them adapt to the new learning environment and challenges.

3. Solar terms and festivals

1. September 8th: White Dew

(1) Leverage elements

Elements: Autumn, health preservation, autumn travel, traditional culture, poetry

(2) Direction of leveraging momentum

direction:

• The White Dew solar term marks the arrival of autumn. The weather gradually turns cooler, and the temperature difference between morning and evening increases. You can use autumn as the theme and emphasize the characteristics of autumn, such as the autumn sunshine, the red maple leaves, and the cool breeze.
• The White Dew season is the time when crops mature, and it can emphasize the themes of harvest and thanksgiving, expressing gratitude to nature, as well as people's joy and reward for the fruits of their labor.
• As the temperature gradually drops, people's awareness of health preservation will also increase. You can pay attention to topics such as health and health preservation.
• Autumn with pleasant weather is a good time for outdoor activities and travel. We can recommend some places and activities suitable for autumn travel, such as viewing red leaves, picking fruits, mountain hiking, etc.

(3) Reference cases

Haier Electric's White Dew solar term poster uses ancient Chinese poetry and other traditional elements to create a beautiful artistic conception, inspiring users' beautiful aspirations.

Ele.me’s “Twenty-Four Food Classics – Eat According to the Seasons” captures people’s health-conscious pain points.

Wuliangye uses festive elements to reshape its brand logo, bringing a sense of freshness to users.

2. September 23: Autumnal Equinox

(1) Leverage elements

Elements: seasonal food, harvest, health, autumn outing, balance, change, traditional culture

(2) Direction of leveraging momentum

direction:

• The Autumnal Equinox is the time when day and night are equal, and the yin and yang of heaven and earth are in balance. It can emphasize the themes of balance and harmony, such as balance and harmony in all aspects of life, work, emotions, etc.
• Autumn is one of the seasons when changes in nature are most obvious. We can take advantage of the autumnal equinox to emphasize changes and transformations in life, encouraging people to face challenges, adapt to changes, and seek growth and progress.
• During the autumnal equinox, the weather gradually cools down, which is a good time to enjoy the harvest food and pay attention to health preservation. You can promote the special ingredients and health preservation methods of autumn, such as the healthy combination of persimmons, chestnuts, pumpkins and other ingredients, as well as health preservation knowledge about replenishing qi and blood, protecting and strengthening the lungs, etc.
• During the autumnal equinox, the scenery of nature becomes more beautiful and colorful. We can recommend some places and activities suitable for autumn travel, such as mountain climbing, viewing red leaves, picking fruits, etc.

(3) Reference cases

Pechoin: "#Autumnal Equinox# This day is the most "fair" day of the year, with equal days and nights, and a balance between cold and heat. I hope the Autumnal Equinox Goddess will bless us so that our efforts can be equally rewarded."

McDonald's: "Equal day and night, equal cold and heat, what kind of spicy spices do you taste in such a big chicken steak?" It makes people want to try it.

Haier Home Appliances used the Autumnal Equinox to promote the intangible cultural heritage Qingxu Caimenlou, and its favorability increased.

3. Summary

In September, we welcome important festivals such as Teachers' Day and Mid-Autumn Festival. Different marketing strategies and creative activities should be used for different festivals to establish emotional resonance with consumers and increase influence. September is a month full of opportunities. Seize the key festivals, carry out creative marketing, and promote operational development.

Author: Li Miao

Source: WeChat public account "Operation Party (ID: yunyingpai666)"