15 Engaging and Funny Holidays in August to Inspire Your Next Promotion

Fall is coming in fast, but not fast enough! This month may feel a bit dry for marketing opportunities beyond back-to-school sales, but you don’t have to settle for notebooks and pencils to keep your business relevant through ‘til October. Check out these made-for-social-media funny holidays in August to help keep customers engaged and your company morale sky-high. 

How to Promote Your Business with Weird Holiday Marketing

Funny national holidays like Raspberry Cream Pie Day may seem like just something to fill a calendar, but these holidays are a great opportunity to engage with your customers and get them excited about your brand. Here are just a few ways businesses are using weird, silly, inspirational, and international holidays to create fun and tasteful marketing content. 

• Inspired Sales: Find the weird national holidays that connect to your industry and use them to inspire exciting deals for your customers. For example, restaurants and bars can run some seriously delicious promotions on National S’mores Day.
• Contests: Just like many businesses offer prizes for costume contests on Halloween, you can offer promotional merch as prizes for contests like best knee-slapper on National Tell a Joke Day.
• Social Media Content: Get customers engaged with your social media pages by asking how they’ll celebrate your favorite August social media holidays, and share images of how you’re celebrating, too!
• Create Local Traditions: Found a holiday that jives perfectly with your brand? Do something big to celebrate every year and get people coming to your door! Decorate, host an event, offer free samples, or even create your own branded giveaways to commemorate what you will make into a new local tradition.

• Coordinate With Another Business: Is a holiday not particularly relevant to your industry? Find another small business who can help you create an engaging promotion that both of you benefit from!

Pro tip: For months with cultural and/or religious celebrations, you want to avoid celebrating them for purely promotional reasons. It’s good to acknowledge the holidays of major religions and cultures, but using them to promote your business when you have no inherent connection is in poor taste and will offend more customers than it excites. Be tasteful and respectful whenever you address cultural or religious celebrations. 

15 Inspiring, Wacky, and Weird Holidays in August

1. National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day

August 4 

Just as there are so many different ways to make and enjoy a chocolate chip cookie, there are lots of ways to celebrate this savory-sweet holiday! Share them with customers or take to social media to find the best recipe your followers can put together. However you celebrate, make sure it involves actually eating some cookies of your own with your loyal staff. 

2. Sandcastle Day

First Saturday of August 

The sun isn’t gone yet, and everyone could use a day at the beach as summer simmers down. Host a beach party or reach out to your coastal customers to post their own sandcastle creations in return for big promotional savings. You can even create your own in-house sandcastle made of cardboard, packing foam, or whatever you have on hand for a big summer blowout decoration. 

3. Sisters Day

August 6 

Family is everything, and customers will love being able to take a day to celebrate their relationship with their sisters. Offer sister specials for those taking their favorite sibling out to celebrate, and ask your customers how they’re showing appreciation for the sisters in their lives. 

4. International Cat Day

August 8 

This purr-tastic holiday is more than just another way to sell cat trees and laser pointers. Customers love sharing their furry babies on social media, so turn this into the ultimate August social media holiday by flooding your page with their adorable cat pics. You can also highlight some cute kitties at your local shelter who are in need of adoption. 

5. Book Lover’s Day

August 9 

Book loving isn’t just a hobby, it’s a lifestyle! This day is a day of celebration for everyone with a mile-high to-read list and a pile of new books building up on their shelves. Share reading lists from your employees on your social media, offer prizes for kids who complete summer reading programs, or even host a fundraiser to donate money towards promoting child literacy. 

6. Annual Perseid Meteor Shower – Peak Night

Varies slightly year to year 

Around this time of year, every year, a meteor shower lights up the sky at night. Encourage customers to enjoy this marvel of nature by hosting a night viewing of the shower, posting about it on your social media, and showering your customers in special meteor-themed deals that they can’t refuse. 

7. National Garage Sale Day

Second Saturday of August 

Before things get chilly, this day is here to help customers cut down on the clutter and turn their trash into someone else’s treasure. Companies can join in by hosting their own blow-out sales to clear out their clearance, garage-sale style! Posting special deals online is another great way to get customers to mark this day on their calendar to check out your selection for great savings. 

8. Relaxation Day

August 15 

Everyone needs a break, and this day is all about taking that extra time to unwind. To prevent burnout in your business, consider using this day to give your employees a day off for themselves, or share special gifts to help them relax at home. Spas, yoga studios, and more can also capitalize on today’s theme to encourage customers to tap into their more zen side. 

9. National Thrift Shop Day

August 17 

A great day for deal-trackers, it’s time for thrift shops to take their spot in the limelight! While thrift shopping has increased in popularity over the years, not everyone is aware of the great bargains and unique finds that can be found in a local thrift store. Take the time to do some online and local marketing in preparation for this day so customers are ready to celebrate with a trip to your store. 

10. National Honey Bee Awareness Day

Third Saturday of August 

If you don’t know how important honey bees are to the planet, you really need to spend some more time online. Communities are coming together to try and help support their local bees by protecting local flora, encouraging bee-keeping, and more. Join in the effort with your own fundraiser and awareness campaign (that will incidentally bring more awareness to your own brand at the same time.) 

11. Senior Citizen’s Day

August 21 

While many companies try their best to aid senior citizens with discounts and special accommodations, it can still be difficult for senior citizens to enjoy a day out in the fast-paced young-centric world we live in. Give them a day to celebrate their golden years by hosting an all-day senior special, whether that’s done with discounts, special senior-only shopping hours, or a fundraiser to help promote public transport and other essential services for senior citizens. 

12. Be an Angel Day

August 22 

While everyone has a devil on their shoulder they like to listen to from time to time, this unique August holiday is all about embracing your angel side. Random acts of kindness and genuine compassion for others is the highlight of this holiday, so ask customers how they’re helping others and join in the fun with your own surprise acts of kindness. You can celebrate as a company by giving random gifts to customers, helping people load their groceries, or encouraging employees to engage in other small acts of service to make everyone’s day more angelic. 

13. More Herbs, Less Salt Day

August 29 

While this may come as a surprise to some, there are actually more seasonings out there than just salt! Encourage customers to cut down on the sodium and embrace some real flavor in their life by posting home recipes for spiced-up dishes and promoting cultural cuisine. Local Asian restaurants can join in by offering low-sodium specials for their customers, while also highlighting the variety of other herbs and spices used in their dishes. 

14. Frankenstein Day

August 30 

This day is about more than just a scientist who didn’t know how to parent his monsters. Today, we celebrate Mary Shelley, the young author who created a genre with her revolutionary novel. More than just a day for those who can’t wait two months for Halloween, this holiday offers a chance to celebrate the origins of sci-fi and the then 18-year-old girl who got it all started. 

15. National Eat Outside Day

August 31 

The sunny days aren’t all gone yet! Encourage customers to take advantage of good weather before fall hits hard with a pleasant lunch or dinner outside. Restaurants can offer their food to-go, highlight their outdoor seating arrangements, and offer eat-outside specials for anyone looking to create a picnic meal. 

Didn’t find a holiday that suits you? These are just a few of the many funny holidays in August that can inspire your next promotion. Next time you’re feeling at a loss for social media content or promotional themes, check out the silly holidays of the month to help get your customers engaged with your brand and social media.