Hoping you can channel some good luck to boost St. Patrick’s Day sales this year? Holidays are a perfect time to ride the wave of merrymaking and attract more business.
With hordes of people looking for fun ways to celebrate, you have ripe moments to grab attention. St. Patrick’s Day will be over before you know it, so don’t leave the success of your promotions to chance. Whether it’s your goal to get more green, move old inventory, or meet new customers, plan ahead to make the biggest impact during this flash holiday.
Take a look at our St. Patrick’s Day promotion ideas to spark your creativity.
1. Create a themed food or beverage
Own a restaurant? The smartest way to get in on the fun is to go green with your menu. Yes, everyone is doing it, but sometimes, an obvious marketing strategy makes the most sense. Customers are on the lookout for exciting limited edition products during holidays. Don’t miss out on a chance to sell a short-term product in high volume.
No doubt, you’ll be seeing lots of green pastry, green beer, and green eggs and ham around town. Try to stand out with a product that isn’t easy to get from 20 other businesses. Any type of restaurant can create green food with the right ingredients and a little dye. Why not whip up an awesome green pizza, taco, wrap, or soup?
If you don’t want to come up with a new item, dress up your normal menu in clever ways. You can wrap coffee cups in leprechaun cozies and add green toppings and garnishes.
2. Write a daily tip
Post a guide to celebrating the holidays one tip at a time. A daily tip can keep regular traffic flowing to your Facebook and Twitter pages before the holiday. You want tips to be highly shareable, and they can be straightforward or funny.
Tailor the tips to your audience, and include clever graphics that will stand out on sites like Pinterest and Instagram. You can even compile all your tips into a blog post. With this simple St. Patrick’s Day marketing strategy, you end up with content for all your social media pages.
3. Create a themed merchandise display
Set up a holiday hub with all your green merchandise. Customers want it to be easy to grab everything they need in one place. Think about the items people are likely to buy, such as:
- Party supplies
- Snacks
- Clothing and costumes
- Themed jewelry
- Housewares
- Greeting cards
- Stuffed animals
Just keep your specific audience in mind, and think beyond the basics. If you sell craft supplies, don’t forget many people will be buying items for DIY decorations. You should also create a window display to draw people into your store.
4. Run a storytelling contest
Exploring holiday myths and legends is a big part of the St. Patrick’s Day hoopla. Who hasn’t heard of how Saint Patrick famously banished all snakes from Ireland? Give your social media followers a chance to weave their own tales about the holiday. Here are a few sample prompts.
- How did the first four-leaf clover come to be?
- Why do leprechauns wear green?
- Create an alternate origin story for St. Patrick.
- What’s the best way to catch a leprechaun?
You can adapt this contest in unlimited ways. Just provide a prompt with rules. Then, let others stretch their creative muscles to come up with some clever stories.
5. Offer a discount on green merch
A limited discount is a smart way to control costs. You can offer a price-cut on all green merchandise or keep it simple with a list of select items. If the qualifying items are spread all around your store, use shamrocks to lead customers to discount zones.
Thank everyone who comes in your store by handing out free costume necklaces or shamrock cookies to anyone who makes a minimum purchase.
6. Hold a “luck of the draw” promotion
Reach out to your loyal customer base with a mystery discount promotion. Mystery discounts are another way to host a sale without cutting deep into your profits. Create a tiered system with three or four levels, such as 10, 20 and 30 percent. You can even throw in a 50 percent “pot of gold” discount for one or two lucky winners.
The goal is to get customers to take a specific action. People won’t know the size of their discount until they click an email link or scratch a card.
No matter how you structure your promotion, everybody wins something. And the best part is, this idea works for in-store and digital promotions. You can use scratch cards, wafer-sealed mailers, QR codes, or basic emails for the big reveal.
7. Give a prize for the best holiday gear
Photo contests are useful for building buzz on social media. You get loads of traffic, and followers get social cred for showing their creativity to the world. Ask followers to post pictures wearing their best holiday gear, and let others vote.
If you have a brick-and-mortar store, you can feature the frontrunners with your St. Patrick’s Day display. That way, entrants get to enjoy a bit of local fame and have more reason to visit your store in person.
8. Host a St. Patrick’s Day fest
Is your business in a popular shopping location? Are you part of a booming business community? Take advantage of living in an area where there’s passionate support for local business.
Team up with a neighboring business to organize a mini-festival with food, entertainment, shopping, and crafts. That way, local vendors can easily sell their themed merchandise to a larger crowd. Reach out to local businesses that don’t have festival-related products to act as sponsors.
Many business owners value the chance to get publicity without selling products onsite. If your region already has a festival, you’re ahead of the game. Just register a booth, and encourage your social media followers to stop by.
9. Dress up your staff
Dressing your staff in costume is a fun way to bring St. Patrick’s Day spirit to your store. Costumes are also easy to tailor to your budget. You can buy readymade costumes or just themed hats, ties, shirts, or vests.
If your staff already wear uniforms, consider having a green version of your company T-shirts or vests printed for holidays. Keep these specialty clothes on hand, and you can reuse them for future promotions.
10. Raffle off a St. Patrick’s Day basket
Put together a St. Patrick’s Day basket packed with themed goodies. Toss in classic Irish foods, green baked goods, or holiday costume items, such as a leprechaun hat and bowtie. And include appealing novelty items, such as green schnapps or liqueur, peppermint popcorn, and green tea fudge.
You can decide whether to target adults, children, or both. Whatever you choose, tempt your audience by posting snapshots of some of the items in your basket.
11. Post St. Patrick’s Day trivia
Themed trivia is another way to boost social engagement. Ask questions about the history and legends surrounding St. Patrick’s Day, and give out prizes to the winners. You can structure a trivia contest in a variety of ways.
For example, award mini prizes, such as a small discount, to the first 10 people who answer a daily question. Another option is to have people submit their answers for the entire week and choose the weekly winner with the most points.
12. Host a “share your luck” fundraiser
Are you passionate about a social cause? Partner with a charity organization and collect donations from people who share your values. Whether you gather donations online or in stores, you have diverse options for branding a successful fundraiser.
For example, ask people to answer the question, “Why do you feel lucky?” Then, provide an email link or social media handle donors can use to tell others about their donation.
Make sure your St. Patrick’s Day marketing plan has a strong end goal. Chasing a pot of gold is pointless if you don’t have a long-term means of meeting new customers and keeping loyal ones. Use this high-energy holiday to spread awareness and get people excited to do business with you in the future.
Are you prepared? Support your St. Patrick’s Day promotion ideas with customized marketing products for your business.
