February overseas marketing calendar: Brazil’s back-to-school season, Super Bowl, Valentine’s Day…

After the lively Spring Festival of the Year of the Rabbit, everyone is about to start a new year of struggle. So, for overseas brands and cross-border merchants, what topics can be leveraged and what marketing nodes are worth paying attention to in the coming February?

In this article, Inpander has prepared a February overseas marketing calendar for everyone, which includes major global festivals and marketing hotspots, to help companies plan well before important marketing nodes arrive, and achieve a double harvest of brand building and product sales!

1. Back to school season

◉Time : January-February

◉ Market involved: Brazil

From January to February every year. During this period, local retailers offer a lot of discounts, up to 50%, and people always take the opportunity to buy a lot of goods. This period is also the back-to-school season in Brazil, so back-to-school related products are likely to sell well .

Overseas brands can learn about the preferences and orientations of students and parents from the hot topics of the back-to-school season, making the advertising content more down-to-earth. At the same time, they can also cooperate with KOLs to break the boundaries of products, content and social networking, accurately improve the favorability of college students or parents, and stimulate their shopping desire. In addition, it is recommended that advertisers launch new products two weeks before the back-to-school season to test in advance which products will be favored by students and parents.

For example, during the back-to-school season, the well-known fashion brand Guess launched the #inmydenim brand challenge on TikTok, calling on TikTok users to show the best back-to-school looks created with denim clothing.

2. Black History Month

◉ Time: The whole month of February

◉ Market involved: North American market

In the United States, February has been designated as "Black History Month", and various activities are organized across the country to celebrate the achievements of African Americans (i.e. "black people") in overcoming various difficulties and to commemorate their contributions to the history and culture of the entire country.

For overseas brands and cross-border sellers, this month they can take advantage of the opportunity to promote and launch related products , such as T-shirts against racial discrimination. Brands can also introduce to the public African-American representatives who have made outstanding contributions in the industry , such as the first female millionaire in American history who succeeded through her own efforts - Mrs. CJ Walker, who owns the famous hair care business.

3. Super Bowl

◉ Time: February 12

◉ Market involved: North American market

The Super Bowl refers to the annual championship game of the NFL Professional Football League, which is usually held on the last Sunday of January or the first Sunday of February. This day is called Super Bowl Sunday. The 57th Super Bowl will be held on February 12, 2023 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, USA.

Among them, the Super Bowl halftime show has been the most watched TV program in the United States for many years, comparable to the "American Spring Festival Gala". Similarly, this day is also the day with the largest advertising expenditure in the year. According to FOXBUSINESS, in 2022, the advertising price of the Super Bowl hit a new high, and many companies paid $7 million for a 30-second advertisement.

Therefore, this hot event with huge commercial value must be taken advantage of! Overseas brands can post posts with the #SuperBowl tag on social media and use the hot topics of the event to initiate interactive activities to win discount coupons, discount codes , etc.; they can also post light-hearted content such as game complaints and post-game celebrations to attract users' attention and interaction.

Of course, don’t forget that women are also the main audience for watching the Super Bowl, so women cannot be ignored when choosing advertising audiences. When choosing advertising materials, “move if possible”, rich images and creative video materials can better drive consumer emotions.

4. Valentine's Day

◉ Time: February 14th

◉ Markets involved: Global

Valentine's Day on February 14th of each year is also a global marketing highlight. Most couples will start searching for gift inspiration two weeks before Valentine's Day, and the week before the holiday is their peak ordering period.

Overseas enterprises may wish to learn about the hot topics that users are concerned about during Valentine's Day through social media, and combine themes such as "love" and "Valentine's Day gifts" with marketing materials to attract more consumers; they can also release customized products for couples , couple sets, and carry out "buy one get one free" marketing activities. Of course, "single" topic tags will also be a good direction for reverse marketing.

The Body Shop is a typical example. Last year on Valentine's Day, the brand launched a kissing contest on Instagram. As long as you upload a photo of yourself kissing your lover or friend on Instagram and attach the tag #SendingAKiss, you will have a chance to win The Body Shop's latest fruit-flavored lipstick set.

5. Carnival

◉ Time: mid to late February

◉ Markets involved: Europe and South America

People in Europe and South America have the tradition of celebrating Carnival. Masquerade balls, float parades, masks and banquets are the main features of Carnival. Although the time of these festivals varies, most of them are held in February and March.

Carnivals in different countries have their own characteristics. For example, in Brazil, as early as one or two months before the festival, major cities and groups from all walks of life in Brazil began to prepare for the festival celebrations. The main streets of the city were also dressed up in festive costumes, and high stands were built on both sides of the street. Although the ticket price for the best box in the Rio de Janeiro Grandstand was as high as more than a thousand US dollars, it was sold out early.

Previously, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, dozens of cities in Brazil canceled the 2022 Carnival celebrations and switched to online events, triggering a wave of users sharing online events on social media. The 2023 celebrations will return to offline events. For companies going to Brazil, this period is undoubtedly a good time to focus on marketing and expand brand awareness .

Carnival leverages the momentum to tweet 👇

6. American Pet Day

◉ Time: February 20

◉ Market involved : United States

There are many pet-related festivals in the United States, and February 20th of each year is National Love Your Pet Day, which encourages people to express our love and gratitude for pets. Therefore, sellers in the pet track can pay more attention to this day .

Overseas brands can consider social media marketing, post pet-related content, and bring up hot topics to attract traffic and interested users. For example: interesting comics and texts, daily feeding videos of pet owners, etc.; or launch stray animal rescue activities, and find relevant pet bloggers to post soft advertising placements, or find well-known Internet celebrities to live broadcast and sell pet products.

Author: Inpander

Source: WeChat public account "Inpander Going Global (ID: gh_eeba4131474f)"