2024 Q2 marketing cheat sheet: key dates & strategy considerations

With Q1 boxed off, be sure to stay in front of audiences and keep your strategy ship-shape heading into April, May and June.

1. Q2 2024 key dates & awareness days

Who doesn’t want to appear on the ball? Following on from the Q1 cheat sheet, there are a few key dates and events you might want to factor into your quarter two plans.

April

• Stress Awareness Month (more info)

• 1 — April Fool’s Day

• 1 — Easter Monday

• 2 — World Autism Day

• 6 — UK tax year begins

• 7 — World Health Day (#WorldHealthDay)

• 8 — Solar eclipse

• 9 — End of Ramadan

• 21 — National Tea Day

• 22 — Earth Day

• 23 — St George’s Day

May

• National Walking Month (#Try20)

• 4 — Star Wars Day

• 5 — World Laughter Day (#WorldLaughterDay)

• 6 — Early May Bank Holiday

• 6-12 — Deaf Awareness Week (#DAW2024; #DeafAwarenessWeek)

• 11 — Eurovision finals

• 13-19 — Mental Health Awareness Week (#MentalHealthAwarenessWeek)

• 13-19 — Learning at Work Week (more info)

• 17 — International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia

• 20-26 — Water Saving Week (#WaterSavingWeek)

• 21 — UN Cultural Diversity Day (more info)

• 27 — Spring Bank Holiday

June

• Pride Month

• 3-9 — Volunteers’ Week (more info)

• 5 — World Environment Day

• 6 — National Fish and Chip Day (#NationalFishAndChipDay)

• 8 — Global Wellness Day (more info)

• 10-16 — International Men’s Health Week

• 14 — UEFA Euro 2024 starts

• 15 — Trooping The Colour

• 16 — Father’s Day (UK)

• 17-23 — Learning Disability Week (more info)

• 20 — Official beginning of summer and summer solstice (the longest day of the year)

• 22 — Windrush Day

• 24-30 — Work Wellbeing Week

• 26 — Glastonbury Music Festival

2. Here comes the sun

Yes, you may only have just celebrated Easter, but hot on the heels of a mild spring, is a (hopefully) non-classically British summer — and that means planning.

With plenty of experience marketing for home, garden, travel, food and drink brands, we know that seasonality is a big deal. It is likely all good agencies and in-house marketing teams worth their salt have some of this nailed down already, or at least mapped out.

But if not, then early Q2 is the time to really engage your audiences, drive their loyalty and get them off the fence regarding that purchase. Whether that’s a big-ticket buy like a summer house, pizza oven or holiday, or just the everyday FMCG essentials — barbecue-season, anyone? — all brands can capitalise on the shifting seasons.

How? Well, pay attention (of course).

We talked about the importance of staying close to what matters to your consumers in Q1, and this remains true for all plans for the year. Cost is still a concern, so consider added value, monetary or otherwise. If you need to watch that bottom line, give value through tips, education and strategic content that answers customer questions.

This value-giving activity creates trust. The result of that is a move from consideration to purchase. If you have a product that’s perfect for summer, then start sowing the seeds, give sneak peeks to loyal audiences and entice new ones with treats and insights.

3. From summer to sleigh bells…..

Are we insane? It feels like we’ve barely had the decs down!

This is true, but by the end of Q2, retailers need to be getting those festive promotions, plans and budgets in order. By July, it’s go time.

Yes, it sounds crazy, but staking a claim on the festive market is no walk in the park, so having your snow-covered ducks in a row is an important step to retaining a competitive advantage. Of course, it’s not as simple as simply listing out what you’d like, it has to be carefully attuned to the needs of the consumer, the incoming trends and more.

Once again, it’s important to remember that this is a time for thinking big, but you don’t have to stretch the budget until it hurts your bottom line. Jingling your customers’ spending and loyalty bells can be done with the right combination of innovation, planning, great communication, brand humanisation and added-value insights — not always giveaways and deals (but they certainly don’t hurt).

4. Digital nostalgia

In an attempt to build connections with growing audiences, brands are finding themselves spread thinly over an explosion of channels and platforms. Perhaps on occasion, they can fail to foster those all-important real and emotional bonds with consumers.

We’re always harping on about building an authentic and recognisable brand, and nostalgia is one of the trends likely to pull back those lapsed loyalties, as well as helping you build new ones.

By this, we mean reminding consumers of the pre-digital brand affection they once knew. Before, there were mascots and brand icons, earworms which nestled in our brains and made core memories out of a certain cereal or fizzy drink choice.

Branded content, be it audio or merch, are all methods once used to cement sentiment about brands. So, the answer for 2024 may lie in finding contemporary ways to revisit some bygone eras.

Branded audio is certainly one tactic that has the power to bridge old and new marketing methods and connection with audiences across a broad range of demographics. For more info on how to move forward by looking back, head over to our nostalgia marketing blog.

5. Values in, social showboating out

Part of having an authentic brand proposition is knowing your values and what you stand for. It’s increasingly important to consumers to see their favourite brands taking a stand for where they can — whether that relates to sustainability, pride, diversity or another important social cause.

But — and this is a big but — this is not for likes and praise. Your brand should only stand up for, or speak out on, social causes in which it believes. This is because standing for anything will invariably drive criticism from others and you have to have conviction and the foundations to prove you care about it enough to forgo any custom from those who may not agree with you.

Flip-flopping ons social issues is bad for your brand, as much as being performative about it is. We’ve written in a little more detail about how to avoid greenwashing and other forms of insincere marketing spin.

However, by standing firm, committing to causes you care about and investing in good relating to those causes, you will ultimately drive a positive sentiment and loyalty amongst those who share your values.

Does this all sound a little like hard work?

Then maybe we can do some of the heavy lifting for you in 2024.

Our talented, award-winning team covers all digital marketing specialisms — social media, branding, PPC, SEO, content, PR, email, e-commerce and web development.

If you could do with a helping hand staying ahead of the curve this year, drop us a line today!