Posted on: 2017/05/08
If done correctly any holiday can become a great marketing message. Leveraging current events like Cinco de Mayo bring fun and relevance to your email marketing, while keeping it fresh. The trick is to avoid being overly cheeky and to respect the origins of the holiday.
Cinco de Mayo occurs every year on May 5th and is celebrated in Mexico, but has become even more popular in the United States. The date is to commemorate the Mexican Army's unlikely victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla, on May 5, 1862. Historian Justo Sierra has written that, had Mexico not defeated the French in Puebla on May 5, 1862, France would have gone to the aid of the Confederacy in the U.S. Civil War and the United States' destiny would have been very different.
A study in 2006 found that there were more than 270 official US celebrations of Cinco de Mayo. Los Angeles' Fiesta Broadway has been billed as the largest in the world, attracting crowds over 500,000 people. It's clear that the US has taken this day for celebration, so any marketing efforts should reflect that.
Here are some themes you can leverage:
- Underdogs - Everyone loves a good underdog story. Beating insurmountable odds to win the day. How has your company beat the odds, or how have your customers? Do you have products that can help them win the day? Even if it's just beating high prices, this message can resonate.
- Celebrate - Have a party! Bring customers in for some drinks and in-person conversation. If you are purely digital celebrate with discounts or special offers.
- Number Five - Here we can get a bit cheesy. Buy 4 get the 5th free. 5 cent shipping. $5 off any order. You get the idea.
- Be colorful - Cinco de Mayo is celebrated with bold bright colors. Even if your messaging is normally serious with many shades of grey, here is your chance to pop with color.
Here are my three favorite emails from this past Cinco-de-Mayo:
