As we head into the 2025 event calendar season and start planning the calendar, I want to take a moment to go through and chat about some of the key event dates to watch.
Just like I talked about in our Black Friday Cyber Monday blog, it’s always incredibly helpful when we leverage an event and brand exposure to use the hype around a pre-existing date rather than just starting our own.
It’s also really helpful to know what the dates are so that we can avoid the craziness of suppliers being pre-booked.
1. New Year
New year, new you, as the saying goes, why not start the year with a bang with an activation in January? This is a great time of year to get your team together with a wellness retreat or goal-setting time to make sure your team is well set up for the year.
Brands that focus on this new wellness trend, should also look to leverage this time, make the most of everyone’s health reset mindset, and get right in front of them with an activation.
2. Australia Day
A national day filled with lots of mateship and comradery can be a great opportunity to launch those summer products into the market. Leverage a country’s day in the sun to get your brand out there.
3. Valentines Day
Maybe your product is more centred around love and friendship, Valentines day is a great opportunity to build a campaign in the lead-up to the day, with an activation to get everyone talking and thinking about love.
4. End of Financial Year
This date is a massive one for sales and discounting product to clear it out, as well team events to celebrate a major milestone in the calendar year. Think about seminars, discount sale activations, and client appreciation events.
5. Halloween
This one is a little more specific and not applicable to everyone, but Halloween is a great chance for bonding with teams getting dressed up and into the season; it’s also a great chance for any creative challenges and opportunities. This is a great date to do internal events with your team.
6. Melbourne Cup
Of course, the race that stops the nation, is a great chance again for team events to bring your group together. However, there are always issues with availability and venues when it comes to Melbourne cup. Not only does it stop the nation, it slows the events industry as well with the demand for things.
7. Christmas and Holiday Seasons
Need we say anymore, this is the biggest season and time of the year for everyone, not just in events. From Christmas parties to charity events and shopping centre activations, it’s a great chance to come together in events and activate your brand.
Our Tips for planning around key dates;
Book Early
Book early and get in before the rush to make sure that you don’t miss out. These popular dates, are popular for a reason and mean that everyone else is having the same thoughts as you. Chat to an event planner, get your venue and suppliers locked in as soon as possible so you don’t have to worry.
Check Local Calendars
Make sure you do a quick due diligence with your team and the key elements around the area; you don’t want to be activating your event at the same time as competitors or key stakeholders making it more difficult for yourself.
Tailor Your Event
Just like we talked about in the Black Friday Blog, you are going to be competing for buyers’ attention and time, just like everyone else in busy times. This means you need to stand out amongst the crowd, a simple Christmas activation won’t cut through the noise. Think about how to make things engaging, fun and different to capture attention.
Promote Early
You have to be in it to win it as the saying goes, and when you have lots of competition at a busy time. The best way to deal with this, is to get ahead of everyone and get in early!
2025 is going to be another incredible year of events and experiential marketing activations, and it’s never too early to start thinking about how you can use these mediums to blow up your brand in 2025! I can’t wait to chat further about it!