December is chock full of holidays that pair perfectly with Astro Offers, Sharing the Love Adoption Programs, and My Promotions. We have added new Astro Templates and Astro Images to your Marketing Suite that you can use to showcase your store's special promotions for the month. Our Knowledge Base is also full of helpful Social Media Tips.
December 13th: National Horse Day is dedicated to the noblest of creatures, the horse - of course!
This holiday recognizes the amazing contribution that the horse has made, and continues to make, to our society and country. Horses, in general, contribute roughly $9.2 billion to the US economy. Whether they're helping plow fields; move food and supplies into rural areas; move livestock in ranches; or just provide sweet, thoughtful equine therapy; horses have woven themselves into the fabric of life in America.
On this day it would be really special to call attention to your favorite horse rescues, like A Home for Every Horse, your most admired horse charities, or your favorite horse organizations like the American Horse Council. Especially calling attention to advocacy groups that are local to your area so your customers are most likely to get involved.
Since National Horse Day falls on a weekend this year it would be an ideal time to run an in-store My Promotion on select horse supplies that you carry. Or you can encourage your customers to enjoy one of your favorite horse movies! Or better yet, get out there and go for a nice ride!
Marketing Materials: Holiday Template with Fun Facts about horses and room to add a custom My Promotion. Astro Images x 3, My Promotion Images x 1.
My Promotion Idea: $/% Off Select Horse Supplies, Feed, and/or Treats to run from Friday through Sunday (11th - 13th) or longer if you so choose. Astro has added a My Promotion Image to your Astro Image Library.
December 13th: National Ice Cream Day, not to be confused with July's National Ice Cream Day, is all about the pints and quarts of frozen creamy treats that are perfect for enjoying at home.
This holiday is the ideal time to point out to your customers that ice cream isn't just for humans - no sir. Cats and Dogs can enjoy a nice yummy cup of fro-yo too, ya know.
The coolest thing about fro-yo for pets is it is not only delicious, but these treats are also very nutritious. Brands such as The Bear & The Rat and Boss Dog Brands have formulated fro-yos and frozen goat milk treats that contain oodles of probiotics and digestive enzymes that contribute to a pet's gut health. This gives a boost to their digestive system, aids in the absorption of nutrients, and boosts their immune system. It is thought that up to 80% of the immune system is in the gut, a good balance and diversity of bacteria help keep the gut, and in turn the immune system, happy and healthy. And guess what? These treats, if given regularly, can even help improve stinky pet breath!
Marketing Materials: Holiday Template with fun facts about fro-yo and frozen goat milk treats for pets and a spot for you to add your own in-store My Promotion for the holiday weekend! Astro Images x 1, My Promotion Images x 1
My Promotion Idea: $/% Off Fro-yo for pets. You can choose to discount all fro-yo that you carry at your shop, or pick and choose between the brands you carry. You can run your promotion on Sunday only, through the weekend, or for the whole week even.
December 15th: National Cat Herders Day is based on the idiom "Like Herding Cats". This saying was popularized after the unveiling of Hewlett Packard's 2009 Super Bowl commercial, Cat Herders. (Which is a priceless piece of commercial cinema! 😸)
A Cat Herder is someone who can "lead and handle life or a situation even when it is uncontrollable".
Based on this definition I hereby declare all Astro Retailers to be honorary Cat Herders! You guys have faced the hardships that 2020 has thrown your way, embraced those challenges, adapted your business (many of you have opened online stores with etailPet to compliment your brick and mortar stores), and grown as leaders in your communities. The most moving thing that we have seen is that so many of you have stepped forward to share your ideas with your peers!
Your customers also deserve the honorary title of Cat Herder, many of them are likely literal Cat Herders who are fostering homeless cats and kittens. Make sure your community knows about your Sharing the Love programs so any pet parents who have adopted this year are aware. Communicate your participation to your local shelters and rescues, print flyers for your foster friends to hand out when they adopt out a rescued cat. Include a checklist of cat necessities so they don't forget anything when they stop by your shop. Show them that you are a valuable resource when it comes to their pet care questions!
Marketing Materials: Holiday Template with Offers Elements & Sharing the Love info. Offers Pairings. Astro Images x 1
Suggested Astro Offers Pairings: Since this holiday ties in so nicely with National Cat Lover's Month, those same Cat-themed Offers will work for this holiday as well.
Social Media Fun: Invite your customers to share pics of their literal Herd of Cats, or to share a story about a metaphorical Herd of Cats that they were able to handle even though the situation seemed impossible.
December 20th: The holiday season can be a bit stressful, but National Ugly Sweater Day provides the perfect respite to let off some steam!
It also affords plenty of opportunities to showcase your shop's winter apparel selection by running a holiday-themed My Promotion between now and Christmas, or you can dress your shop pets up in their best winter attire. When your customers see first hand just how cute your VP of Quality Control looks in their sweater, it is sure to drum up some seasonal sales. No shop pet, no problem, post some pictures of your staff's pets rocking their sweaters around the store - the cuter the better!
By far though, the best way to celebrate National Ugly Sweater Day is by hosting an online Fashion Show on your social media! To make it interesting you can add a Contest with reward categories such as:
The coveted "Ugliest Sweater Award" (of course)
"Shaggiest Neck-Floof" (for the pet with the shaggiest neck bursting forth from their sweater collar)
"Most Festive, Festivus Sweater" (the cheeriest holiday sweater of them all!)
"Best Creature Hybrid" (for the pet in best animal-themed sweater)
"Attention Hound" (for the wackiest sweater)
"Gift from Grandma" (best homemade sweater)
Since you are running this as an online contest you can open it up to all pet contestants; cats, dogs, hamsters, snakes, chickens, goats, ferrets, and so on! The winner of each category can get a prize of your choosing, or bragging rights until Ugly Sweater Day 2021!
Marketing Materials: Holiday Template with My Promotion Element to share your Winter Apparel Sale. Astro Images x 3. My Promotion Images x 2.
My Promotion Idea: $/% Off Sweaters and Apparel. You can choose to run this promotion for just the day of, the whole weekend, or until Christmas.
Social Media Fun: A Fashion Show / Ugliest Sweater Contest will become an anticipated tradition for your customers in the years to come! Instagram will be the simplest place to host your event since tagging images is pretty straightforward and all entries will show up on your Tagged page.
To participate your customers will need to:
Follow your store's page on Instagram
Post a pic of their pet in their finest sweater on their Instagram page (or their pet's page if they're influencers 😻)
Tag that picture with your store's Instagram @ name.
Include a caption with their pet's name and their favorite holiday song!
Give them a time frame by which to get their pictures in by. Encourage all pets to participate!