5 Great Groundhog Day Promo Ideas

Watch Bill Murray in Groundhog Day right now on Amazon Prime.

When you think of holiday-themed promotions, you probably think of holidays like Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Labor Day, and increasingly Chinese New Year…but you probably don’t think of Groundhog Day. Even though it has become more of a quaint tradition than a retail holiday, that doesn’t mean that your brand can’t take advantage of it and run some fun and creative promotions. Here are a few sure-as-heckfire ideas to get you inspired before Punxsutawney Phil makes his annual appearance.

Create an irresistible animated gif email

Why not leverage these cute guys to get extra clicks to your website? While videos won’t play inside email clients, animated gifs will, and they’re all the rage with the best email marketers. To accomplish this you’ll need an email marketing software that can support sending and tracking of animated gifs with no issues. We recommend Constant Contact for best results. There’s even a free trial so no extra budget need be spent!

Offer themed promo codes for sales

Everyone loves a promo code, and if you don’t have a lot of time to hash out ideas for big promotions, this is still a great way to bring in some interest. A themed promo code, a cute landing page graphic and some social sharing to get the word out will help you garner some business in this strange no-man’s land between New Year’s and Valentine’s. Need a good example? Check out Kmart’s promotion above.

Pick a themed gift with purchase for each outcome

If you’re looking to drum up even more interest in your brand or products, create a promotion based around a special gift with purchase. For a fun twist, however, have it reflect and be dependent upon good ol’ Phil’s prognostication. What do I mean? Take a look at the example above from M-Edge. The brand ran a promotion where customers would either receive a screen protector or a book light depending on whether or not Phil saw his shadow. Once it was announced that Phil saw his shadow, they immediately began promoting the booklight deal.

Hold a contest calling for pics of fans and their (non)shadows

Engage your social media-based fans by holding a fun photo contest. Challenge them to take a photo where they do (or don’t) see their shadow and reward the funniest, most creative or best submissions with a special discount or prize. It’ll engage your fanbase and give you lots of great content that you can then share across your social platforms. To make it easier to keep track of, have contestants tag you in their photos/posts, use a designated hashtag for submissions on Twitter and Instagram or create a specific board for it on Pinterest.

Ask fans for their own predictions

Like Rivers Casino, you can also encourage your customers to make their own predictions about Phil before he makes his prognostication. Promote it across your social channels, use a dedicated hashtag or Facebook post, choose a winner from the correct guesses and then reward them with a special promotion or prize.

Create themed specials related to the possible outcomes

If you want to go even bigger, you can base product/service intros on Phil’s outcome, like Pier 1. If you’re a fashion brand, Phil’s shadow could either push you to keep the sweaters around for another six weeks or introduce spring styles early. If you’re a lawn care brand, the outcome could push you to offer specials on snow-removal products/services for another six weeks, or begin promoting your lawn mowing products/services early.

Above all else: Don’t be afraid to get creative! Use this as a time to brainstorm and testdrive ideas that you might want to use for future holiday sales. Once the major holidays begin to roll around again, you’ll be better prepared and have some great insight and campaigns under your belt to help inform your future promotions.