Updated on: 28th June 2023
Father’s Day is a holiday beloved by many. As well as the fathers who get to experience being gifted and thanked, their children also get an opportunity to spend time with their loved ones and show their appreciation. But another group of people who look forward to Father’s Day every year is business owners, as the holiday presents a fantastic opportunity for promoting their business.
If you’re looking to maximise on Father’s Day and boost sales this year, but you’re not sure where to start, here are 10 key Father’s Day marketing campaign ideas you need to try.
1. Research Your Audience
What kinds of things does your customer base want for Father’s Day? The best way to find out is by sending out a survey before you start planning your marketing campaign.
By utilising your email list, you can reach out to you’re a wide range of customers to gauge the kinds of things they’re planning on getting for dad this year – as well as the things fathers might be interested in receiving. You can use this list to curate your gifting range ahead of Father’s Day and promote it to your audience, who you already know will be interested!
2. Target the Right People
For the majority of Father’s Day marketing campaigns, you won’t just need to appeal to fathers – you’ll also want to target their children, as they’ll be the ones buying gifts and experiences to show their appreciation on Father’s Day.
As well as thinking about who tends to buy products for Father’s Day, you should also consider why they do so to ensure your campaign is as targeted as possible. Common reasons why people buy presents and experiences for loved ones on Father’s Day include:
- To show appreciation for everything their father has done for them
- To say thank you for their support, time and commitment
- To acknowledge everything their father has taught them
Think of the ways people can show gratitude to their father (e.g., gifts, quality time, favours) and apply that to your product or service offering. For example, if you own an online stationery shop, you could create Father’s Day cards, or if you’re a retailer, showcasing your range of gifts is an excellent route to go down!
3. Stay Mindful
Whatever your Father’s Day marketing campaign, it’s important to remember that not everyone will be celebrating this holiday, or have a father to share the occasion with. Therefore, you should be mindful of who will be on the receiving end of your marketing efforts.
Many brands send out an email to their mailing list ahead of their campaign going live to give these customers a chance to opt out of Father’s Day marketing messages, and adjust their mailing list accordingly.
By being respectful of all your customers, not only are you narrowing down your target audience to create a really effective campaign, but you’re also showing customers that you care about them, which will do wonders for your brand as well.
4. Host a Competition
Social media competitions are a tried and tested way to engage customers at any time of the year. But they’re particularly appealing for holidays such as Father’s Day – especially for those who’ve left gift-buying until the last minute.
According to Hubspot, businesses acquire an average of over 34% of new customers through contests and competitions, meaning not only are they a great way to build hype for a particular product, but they’re also effective for building an audience.
Hubspot also suggests that the best months for competitions are June and November, meaning a Father’s Day competition is perfect timing for peak performance.
For the competition, you could ask customers to follow you and tag a friend for a chance to win a Father’s Day gift bundle, or create a puzzle and the first person to guess the answer correctly wins a discount or experience through your business. There are lots of different ways to get creative with this! We recommend searching #competition on Instagram to see what formats other brands are finding success with.
5. Promote Father’s Day Gifts
Once you’ve decided on your Father’s Day offering, the next key step in any marketing campaign is promotion. There are lots of different channels for promoting your range, but the best strategies will employ a combination of different tactics. Here are some of the most popular ways to advertise promotions ahead of Father’s Day.
Make the most of the audience that have already signed up to your mailing list, as these will be the easiest audience to engage. People generally start buying Father’s Day gifts up to a month before the actual day, meaning you should initially email your customers around this time. From then on, you can email one a week, sending a last-minute reminder the week of Father’s Day to make the most of last-minute buyers.
On the email, include the products you want to promote, and any blogs with Father’s Day ideas using your products or services to inspire customers to purchase.
Organic social posts
Alongside any competitions you might be running, it’s also a good idea to post about your Father’s Day collection on social media as well. Treat it like you would a new product launch, and build excitement for the range – and remind customers that it’s only available for a limited amount of time to harness the power of FOMO (fear of missing out).
Blogs
Blogs are a great way to create engaging, longform content that informs and inspires not only your customer base, but the wider internet as well. Research key words around your products, create Father’s Day gift idea lists featuring your range and show case studies of happy customers to help motivate readers to become buyers.
In-person events
Attending craft fairs ahead of Father’s Day is a great opportunity to showcase your range and make extra sales, especially if you specialise in hand-crafted gifts or food, which are popular options for Father’s Day presents.
Create a bright foam sign to draw attention to your Father’s Day promotion and offer a discount to really drive sales home.
Flyers
Direct mail campaigns are always an effective way to get the word out about your products as it boasts a 28% return on investment. And as flyers are so cost-effective in the first place, they’re a great option for businesses on a budget. Send flyers out to customers in the post, or hand them out in the streets to put your brand literally in the hands of the buyers.
6. Create a Special Menu
Going out for a meal to celebrate Father’s Day is an age-old tradition for many families. On one hand, this offers a great opportunity for your restaurant, takeaway or café business. On the other hand, it also means that competition will ramp up to secure bookings for the holiday. To ensure your venue is sold out on Father’s Day, you’ll need to come up with a unique offering to trump competitors.
One way to do this is to create a special, limited-time menu, especially for Father’s Day. We recommend creating some potential menu options, then scrolling back up to idea 1 in this list, to send out a survey to gather opinions on the most popular dishes for your audience. That way, you’ll know you’re catering the right food to the right people.
In all of your promotions, whether that’s on your website, social channels, or the menu itself, be sure to remind customers that this menu is only available for a limited amount of time – so they’d better book a table to avoid missing out!
7. Build a Gift Guide Using Your Products
We’ve all been guilty of Googling ‘gifts for X’ on the run-up to a special occasion, and Father’s Day is no exception. That’s when your brand can get ready to swoop in with all the answers, and share the ultimate Father’s Day gift guide. Including your own products, of course.
Whether you create a landing page dedicated to Father’s Day gifts, a listicle-style blog to gather online searchers, or send out a gift guide email linking to your recommended products, putting all of the options in one place is a great way to suggest gifts your customers might not have thought of.
One company that’s great at this year-round is Firebox, who have gift lists and options for a range of occasions and recipients.
8. Tell a Story
The most memorable campaigns are those that evoke emotion, which is why storytelling is such a key aspect when it comes to Father’s Day marketing ideas. Pulling on a few heartstrings could be the key to bolstering revenue this year, but with many of us now used to bitesize information and video content, capturing your audience’s attention could be a challenge.
According to a 2021 article by The Science Times, users who spend more than 90 minutes a day on TikTok show signs of narrowing their attention span over time.
One of the best tips to remember when creating a marketing story is that your business isn’t the hero – your customer is! Sharing real customer stories is a great way to build emotional connections to your audience. Or, showcase aspirational stories where your customer could be the hero on Father’s Day if they use your product to save the day.
9. Update Your Homepage
One of the first places existing customers will land is your homepage. Changing your homepage banners and content inline with seasonal marketing is a great tactic for boosting products you know will perform well at different points of the year.
Whether you’re hosting a sale, selling special edition products or promoting your gift guide, make sure your homepage design reflects this to incentivise customers to learn more. A strong call to action (CTA) will go far here – make sure to add a button in a contrasting colour that tells the customer what step to take next, e.g. ‘Shop Now’.
Want to keep ahead with important 2022 marketing dates? Check out our essential 2022 marketing planner here!
10. Incentivise with Discounts
A sure-fire way to pique your customers’ interests is to host a flash sale on your Father’s Day offering – especially if there isn’t long to go before the holiday. If a potential customer is on the fence about buying your product vs a competitor’s, providing a discount could be the tactic that secures their custom. Email out discounts to top customers, host a site wide sale, advertise for free delivery on your social channels, or send vouchers out in the post – there are lots of different ways to attract customers and boost sales ahead of Father’s Day.
Your Father’s Day Marketing Campaign Begins
Now that you’ve got plenty of Father’s Day marketing ideas to have a go at, all that’s left to do is set your strategy down in stone. Although all of these ideas can be used by most businesses, we recommend picking a few that are really targeted to your ideal audience. Make sure to set SMART goals to measure the success of your campaign so you can improve your results year after year.
