15 MARCH MADNESS, a.k.a. the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championships, starts today and for retailers the date’s become one of surprisingly rich potential, be it to do good, raise awareness (basketball is the leading cause of eye injuries in young males) or just leverage the general madness theme. Alpine Vision in Colorado Springs, CO, chose the first, donating a percentage of proceeds from sales during the tournament to a charity called Nothing But Nets, which fights malaria in Africa.
8 WORLD GLAUCOMA WEEK comes just a month after Glaucoma Month but it’s another opportunity to get out and speak about the condition in your community. See how you can get involved here: worldglaucomaweek.org
23 Puppies were made for social media … or maybe puppies made social media? What is beyond a doubt is that NATIONAL PUPPY DAY brings the two together beautifully. Share a pic of your store mascot.
26 The staggering success of Singles’ Day in November ($30 billion in retail sales in China alone), should serve as a lesson to all retailers that dates — as goofy as they seem — can be unmatched marketing pegs. On MAKE UP YOUR OWN HOLIDAY DAY, give thought to what date could set your business apart; it could be an anniversary, a countdown to the sale of your 5,000th pair of contacts, or a twist on National Sneak Some Zucchini onto Your Neighbor’s Porch Day (an actual event in Pennsylvania) and start marketing the heck out of it.
