Summer is coming, how can brands play April marketing?

April is coming soon, and the April hot marketing calendar has been released, including the elements and directions of April festivals, points to note and reference cases, etc. Let's review the marketing strategies of brands in previous years and explore the marketing codes of April!

1. National Festival

1. April Fools’ Day

(1) Leverage elements and directions

Jokes, "white" lies, hilarious moments.

(2) Points to note when leveraging momentum

• You can use some light-hearted and interesting words to make jokes. In poster creation, some light-conflicting information, humorous paragraphs and homophonic words can well convey the humorous atmosphere of the festival.
• On the basis of fully understanding the characteristics of the product, extract the strongest selling points of the product, focus on humorous text, and continue to deepen the product's copywriting expression. Avoid putting the cart before the horse.

(3) Reference cases

1) Meituan Takeaway

"Today, we are proud to introduce three heavyweight products to you: the takeaway invisible cloak, the snail noodle odor-absorbing bottle, and the takeaway projection version! Three major products are launched with sincerity! Friends, which one is your favorite?"

Meituan Waimai jokingly released three products on April Fools' Day. They were innovative and interesting, playing a joke on users in a lighthearted way and livening up the festive atmosphere.

2) Three Squirrels

"Have you ever told lies just to avoid worrying the people who care about you?"

"White lies" exist everywhere in life, and some words that touch the heart usually resonate with people. Three Squirrels uses "warm lies as posters" to break the positioning of food brands and have a more working-class lifestyle.

3) BYD

BYD takes "pleasing oneself" as its starting point and combines it with its own product positioning, which can not only make users feel that life is lived for themselves, but also launch products in an interesting way and inform users of product features.

2. April 5th: Qingming Festival

(1) Leverage elements and direction

Spring, outing, green, nature, and remembrance.

(2) Points to note when leveraging momentum

• Qingming Festival is not suitable for large-scale marketing activities. You can focus on the "warmth route", such as remembering the old friends, going on outings, etc.
• Brands should convey positive and energetic values ​​to consumers and avoid making jokes.
• When taking advantage of the situation, one must take into account the nature of the festival. If one does so at an inappropriate time and without regard for proportion, it can easily arouse people's disgust.

(3) Reference cases

1) McDonald’s

McDonald's takes advantage of the unique Qingming Festival to promote products that are suitable for Qingming and full of spring, which is in line with the tone of the catering brand.

2) Liby

"Protect nature, protect life, protect each other, and protect beauty."

Liby uses creative posters with simple copywriting to express its attitude and feelings towards protecting nature and beauty, thereby enhancing the brand's influence.

3) Haier

Haier makes good use of its own IP of Haier Brothers. Based on the cartoon, Haier takes advantage of the cartoon style of the poster, which looks very cute. Coupled with the essential elements of Qingming Festival: drizzle, outing, and spring outing, it gives people a happy feeling.

3. Easter, April 9

(1) Leverage elements and directions

Rabbits, lilies, fertility, new life, Easter eggs, candy.

(2) Points to note when leveraging momentum

• Pay homage to the festival's mascot with bunny-inspired food and drink.
• Treat Easter as the beginning of a new life and set new goals like welcoming the New Year.
• Don’t overuse Easter themes on your website or social media homepages, as this can easily drive consumers away.

(3) Reference cases

1) Water Code

"Shuimi said that if you eat an Easter egg today, your life will be happy. There are always bumps and bumps in life, but there will also be Easter eggs. Shui wishes you Easter eggs and good luck every day, and take good care of your skin!"

Easter eggs are not only present at Easter, but also every day in our lives. Water Code delivers good luck eggs to us on this day.

2) Sony

“Every Easter, people make beautiful Easter eggs and give them to their friends. They represent people’s good wishes. Happy Easter! Xperia would like to share the joy of the changing seasons with you.”

Easter symbolizes rebirth and hope, and is the day to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Sony uses Easter eggs and a lighthearted and cheerful style of painting to express good wishes.

3) Cloud charging

"Today is Easter, let your phone's battery be revived."

Easter also symbolizes rebirth. Yunchongba combines the shape of Easter eggs and the power of mobile phones to symbolize rebirth and resurrection, highlighting the characteristics of the product and making people feel it is very innovative.

4. April 22 is Earth Day

(1) Leverage elements and directions

Green, environmental protection, protect the earth, public welfare.

(2) Points to note when leveraging momentum

• It all revolves around one core: protecting the earth, protecting our common home.
• Focus on rare animals, marine environment, energy conservation and emission reduction, etc., give full play to creativity and display a variety of forms of expression.
• The purpose of the brand is to provide consumers with a greener and more environmentally friendly lifestyle, thereby arousing people's attention to the earth's environment, and at the same time highlighting the brand's social responsibility to practice low-carbon and environmental protection.

(3) Reference cases

1) Daily Fresh Words

Packaging recycling Daily Fresh Daily Fresh is a high-end fresh milk brand under Mengniu. On World Earth Day, Daily Fresh launched the "Desert Organic Fresh Milk Earth Day" limited edition packaging, calling on consumers to pay attention to the sustainable development of desert ecology.

2) Tencent Music Entertainment × Discovery

On Earth Day, Tencent Music Entertainment and Discovery Channel jointly launched a "Special Music Charity Project". New generation musician Zhu Jingxi created the theme song "Golden Pagoda" inspired by the plateau plant "Golden Pagoda", calling on the public to pay attention to biodiversity.

3) Mystery

"Buy Omo, save energy" green action On April 22, Omo joined hands with Ant Forest to launch the "Buy Omo green packaging products and get Ant Forest Energy" green action, which for the first time in the daily chemical industry opened a closed loop of purchasing green packaging products and receiving energy.

During the event, purchase OMO's designated recycled plastic packaging products and use Alipay to scan the green energy sticker on the bottle to receive 100g of green energy, thus integrating environmental protection into daily consumer life.

5. April 23 is World Book Day

(1) Leverage elements and directions

Reading, books, knowledge, and public welfare.

(2) Points to note when leveraging momentum

• "World Book Day" only has one day every year, but its significance lies in making every day a "Reading Day".
• World Book Day celebrates books, authors, publishers and the joy of reading.
• People around the world, young and old, rich and poor, sick and healthy, enjoy the pleasure of reading.

(3) Reference cases

1) Dangdang.com x Zihaiguo: A golden house in the “pot”

In ancient times, there was a saying that "books are the golden house", and nowadays there is a saying that "a pot is the golden house". This year's World Book Day, Zihaiguo and Dangdang.com jointly launched the co-branded customized "Book Fragrance Pot", which can be regarded as a double combination of spiritual food and material food.

2) Migu Cloud Bookstore x Xianyu: Believe in the power of beneficial books

On this year's World Book Day, Migu Cloud Bookstore and Xianyu jointly launched a public welfare activity to believe in the power of "benefiting" books, donated a book corner to Qifeng Primary School in Qifeng Township, Fushun County, Zigong City, Sichuan Province, and "benefit" the dreams of rural children.

3) OPPO mobile phone: Let’s talk about the “self-willed” thing of reading

First there was Mo Yan’s live storytelling, then there was Dou Wentao’s live chat. This year on World Book Day, OPPO directly presented a private customized “round table” interview with the theme of “Let’s talk about this willful little thing called reading”.

2. Solar terms and festivals

April 20 Grain Rain

(1) Leverage elements

Rain, umbrella, grain (harvest), spring, summer.

(2) Direction of leveraging momentum

• You can borrow the weather of Grain Rain to match the rainy season with the brand.
• The brand can spread the excellent culture of China's 24 solar terms and integrate the beauty of traditional Chinese culture with modern aesthetics.
• The customs of Grain Rain are adopted, the main ones are: walking on Grain Rain, drinking Grain Rain tea to pray for health, fishermen offering sacrifices to the sea on Grain Rain, eating Chinese toon and appreciating flowers on Grain Rain.

(3) Reference cases

1) Heilan Home

Rain brings forth hundreds of grains, and tomorrow will be better than today. The days of shivering will be gone forever. Under the nourishment of rain, our desire for a better life is like a seed that breaks through the soil, climbing out of an irresistible vitality. Spring has returned, come to Heilan Home to refresh your summer T-shirts and embellish the bright sunshine of summer.

2) AUX air conditioner

"Grain Rain has passed, and the new summer is coming. The temperature is soaring, awakening your memories of the hot summer."

It usually feels stuffy when it rains in the summer, and April is the season when the temperature rises. AUX Air Conditioner takes advantage of this and associates the new summer with air conditioning, awakening people's memories of the scorching hot summer.

3) Herbal Medicine

"In the Grain Rain, when the mulberry trees grow, everything will flourish."

More and more people are beginning to realize the importance of "subtraction" in skin care. Herborist is rooted in the millennium herbal culture. Taking advantage of the Grain Rain solar term, it promotes the determination of "Chinese herbal skin care" and leads the trend of Chinese herbal skin care.

3. Summary

That’s all for this article. For any marketing activity, goal setting is the first priority. Brands should position themselves according to their product characteristics and push targeted marketing to users. Don’t just take advantage of the momentum for the sake of taking advantage!

Abundant rainfall is the guarantee for the growth of crops, and sufficient reference cases are also the source of inspiration for brands to leverage. I hope this article can help everyone.

Attached: April marketing node mind map, friends who need it can take it by themselves~

Author: Liu Yun; Official Account: Yunyingpai (ID: yunyingpai666)