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International Worker’s day, also known as Workers’ Day or May Day, is a celebration of laborers & the working classes. Even though majority Americans don’t realize that May Day has its origins in this country, it is as “American” as basketball & white bread. It’ll be a sin if we do not check out some historical facts before going into May Day marketing.
May Day & the Haymarket affair It wasn’t until the 1880s, that the organized labor was able to declare the 8-hour workday even though the working class agitated to shorten the workday without pay in cut from the early 1860s. Working conditions were severe then & it was common to work 10 to 16 hours a day in unsafe conditions.
May 1 was chosen as May Day to commemorate the Haymarket affair, which occurred in Chicago on 4th May 1886.
This is because, in that year on 1 May, there was a strike for the eight-hour workday. What followed on 4th May was the death of eight & injury of sixty police officers as well as an unknown number of civilians killed or wounded. Later on, hundreds of labor leaders and sympathizers were arrested and four were hanged, after a trial that was seen as an act of injustice.
According to labor studies Professor William J. Adelman:” No single event has influenced the history of labor in Illinois, the United States, and even the world, more than the Chicago Haymarket Affair.” The Haymarket affair paved the way to countless processions organized by the labor class, earned respect to the labor class, and became a symbol for May Day.
In the International Socialist Labor-Congress of Brussels, 1891, May 1st was formally recognized as May Day. More than 100 years have passed since the Haymarket affair but the sacrifices of so many people are still remembered by true laborers around the world.
The legend of Rosie the Riveter During the peak of World War 2, a cultural icon emerged which brought millions of women out of their homes & into the workforce. The song “Rosie the Riveter” filled the radio waves of America & a series of posters made their way to the streets to promote war efforts. Many posters which featured women with their hair wrapped up in scarfs, rolled up sleeves & flexed biceps caught extra attention.
The “Rosie” image exemplified the American can-do spirit & success stories about real-life “Rosies” started appearing in newspapers across the country. The movement got so popular that even the government took advantage of the popularity & started a recruiting campaign of the same name. To this day, the legend of “Rosie the Riveter” is still remembered & is still considered as one of the most successful government advertising campaigns in history.
It can be said that “Rosie the Riveter” doesn’t have any direct influence on May Day but it is one among the many American cultural symbols that celebrates the efforts of laborers and the image still influences working women around the world.
May Day today Besides these events which happened in America, there were several others that happened around the world which make May Day one of the most important holidays in countries such as India, Argentina, France, Canada, China, Algeria, and others around the world.
The Catholic Church dedicated May 1 to “Saint Joseph the Worker”, the patron saint of workers & craftsmen. The sacrifices of all those people cannot be forgotten as we shouldn’t end up fighting for those same winnings again.
May Day Marketing Image as per the pop-up So, let’s fast forward to our today’s corporate world where May Day is a chance to rake in sales, celebrate with employees & customers and engage in lots of social media activity with followers surrounding the festivities.
This is one of the best times to motivate customers through exclusive sales to add to the celebration especially if you are selling services around the world. This content is for both B2B & B2C marketers.
For marketers who are confused on whether to market their services on May Day, have a glance at our content on COOL THINGS B2B MARKETERS CAN LEARN FROM B2C TO WIN THE MARKET.
Take advantage of the buzz if you haven’t already started promoting, here are some tips to boost up your creativity & get into action.
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Theme it! People have different perceptions. What means to one in a very noble way might be felt in a different viewpoint by someone else. In respect to May Day, for many it’ll be a day for just chilling at home with family while for some others it’ll be a day were they can show respect to the ones who sacrificed for fair play towards laborers and for some an opportunity to buy or sell stuff at a decent price than usual. Here your job will be customizing the importance of the May Day with respect to whom you target. Incorporate creative marketing strategies in your campaigns to stimulate the theme & include elements of storytelling or humor to generate a positive brand association.
Personalize the content! It’s damn sure that this May Day your prospects will be showered with emails, retargeting ads, push notifications from most of their corporate connections. So, it’s necessary for you to craft your messages in a way that it stands out of the clutter. Analyze the data that you have accumulated all these years & leverage the information. Use the actionable insights to know their product affinities. Know what they are looking to buy & sell it.
Email still works! Yea, emails might not be as glitzy as social media posts or stories but they can be an integral part of your marketing strategy. But make sure that you don’t render ineffective your own May Day campaign by sending numerous promotions & offers which annoy your audience. Get creative with your email content & ensure to increase your open rate during this May Day.
Being social! Yea, we personally believe that Print marketing & word of mouth works well but to make the most of your sales today, do social media marketing. Announce your special May Day offer via Social media channels or highlight cross selling products or services to a fresh audience without leaning too heavily on being too salesy. You can also use social media to boost the morale of your own team by introducing or reintroducing your noble employees who stick with you. You can include short bio which notes each team member’s successes. Also, use hashtags to generate buzz about your latest promotions, offers, giveaways.
Striking the hammer There is no question that technology has aided in creating a safer workplace for laborers along with the fact that they will also be changing the laborer. In the coming years, we will be seeing lots of automation of labor & skills will become less of a commodity. The current labor rights will have to be redefined and the struggles between workers & the management will continue in a different manner. May Day may be an unsung hero of work holidays but if you capture its momentum wisely, it’ll become easy to incorporate it into your B2B marketing mix.
Also read: 20 LAST MINUTE MINDBLOWING HALLOWEEN COSTUME IDEAS FOR TECH GEEKS & MARKETERS
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