This time last year we focused our blog all about National Bed Month and how to put sleep under the spotlight. The National Bed Federation (NBF) provides helpful tips and resources for bed and mattress retailers looking to take advantage of the month-long awareness campaign, which can in turn help boost bed sales too. More on this year’s theme a little later.
Before we jump into bed, it is worth a thought or two on the other key dates and events during March that your retail business can take full advantage of. The most obvious and relatable is World Sleep Day (15 March), which is all about promoting healthy sleep while offering advice for those sleep strugglers.
Other meaningful days include Red Nose Day (15 March), Saint Partick’s Day (17 March) and of course the Easter period. Perhaps there’s an opportunity to gift a percentage of sales to the Red Nose cause, or offer selected promotions over the two celebrations? Furthermore, March is also the month where you can complete ‘100 Miles For Mind’. Perhaps your business can promote the charity while digging out the runners – it’s not too late to get started. It’s worthy attention for your store too, which could drive increased footfall in support.
Or perhaps meat is more your thing? March is also home to National Butchers Week (ending 10 March). Could there be an opportunity to extend this out for the month and partner up with a local butcher to offer a combined promotion? Don’t forget Mother’s Day too – perhaps there could be a month-long special to support mums with a new bed or chair?
From the 18 March sees Debt Awareness Week begin. This could be an opportunity to provide important information on spreading the cost or more budget friendly options to meet all customers, while shining a light on debt. Why not partner with local support too? Skipping onto the next topic, yes, it’s National Skipping Day (26 March). I’m sure you can get creative here! Then there’s Purple Day on the same date too, why not push purple products in store? Who doesn’t love a purple sofa? Or there’s even World Tattoo Day (21 March) – another one to get creative with, although I’m not sure many will have some ink relating to furniture or beds – but you may be surprised!
From across the pond, there are perhaps some not-so-obvious days too, which include Ear Muff Day (13 March), Panda Day (16 March), Dogs in Yellow Day (20 March) and also Wear a Hat Day (28 March), with the latter actually tying in with the UK’s Brain Tumour Awareness Month. Why not encourage shoppers to wear outrageous hats for a discount instore? Would make for a great social feed and drive footfall, as well as support a good cause.
Meanwhile, Global Recycling Day (18 March) is a good opportunity to promote those products with a strong sustainable story, such as recycled bottles that make up a mattress, which brings us nicely back to National Bed Month. As mentioned, the NBF provides a toolkit to help promotions, with this year’s theme all about promoting the bed as a ‘miracle product’, because not only do we sleep better on a comfortable and supportive bed, we feel better, look better and function better. ‘Change your bed, change your life’ is the slogan, with the NBF also launching a parody-style video to support the campaign.
“By using humour and keeping the product reveal until the end of the video, we hope to convey the crucial message that a comfortable and supportive bed not only means we’re more likely to sleep better, but many aspects of our life can be positively impacted,” the NBF said.
The keyword there is humour. And as you can see from some of the suggestions made throughout, promoting serious issues through humour can be a great and powerful tool. What day(s) is your business looking to get involved with?