Your May Marketing Calendar

Spring has sprung, and with longer and warmer days ahead, we’re looking forward to key May dates to plan our content. 

May has two Bank Holidays, so make sure you account for that when making content. It’s a great chance to change your promotional offers to suit those long weekends and the summer days ahead too! 

In this article, we delve into a list of May marketing dates and matching content ideas.

2nd May – May Bank Holiday

The first May bank holiday is a great time to officially open your pub/restaurant garden for the summer.

Make the most of the long weekend with special offers on food and drinks, and encourage visitors to sit outside in the sun. Use a specific hashtag to spread the word online that you have outdoor seating ready for customers.

4th May – Star Wars Day 

May the fourth be with you! A favourite amongst Star Wars fans, this day is a great opportunity to capitalise on that. In other words, think Star Wars themed food and drinks, a special Star Wars dish or a fancy dress competition. 

10th-14th May – Eurovision

This year’s Eurovision will be held in Turin, Italy. The flamboyant and party-like atmosphere of Eurovision is the perfect chance to have fun! For example, you could invite your customers down to watch the contest in your venue, with special Italian food and decor to entice them in.

You could even hold a competition for best dressed customer!

As the results come in live, this is a good opportunity for your brand to be reactive. Use memes and a sense of humour to react quickly on Twitter and Instagram as the results come in. 

13th May – World Cocktail Day

This is a great one for all you restaurant and bar owners! Any special promotions on your cocktails today? How about a cocktail-making masterclass to celebrate the day? 

14th May – FA Cup Final

Nothing gets people outside the house like an FA Cup Final! Make the most of your extra guests by offering a match-day special alongside screening the game at your venue. However, there’s no need to go too fancy, they’re here for the game after all. But whilst they’re here, hook them in with a special offer and a fun experience to get them coming back once the football’s over. 

16th-22nd May – National Vegetarian Week

This is a great opportunity to highlight to your customers your vegetarian dishes on offer. If you’re looking for TikTok inspiration, show your audience how you can swap out meat from a popular dish with a veggie alternative. Have fun by highlighting how easy veggie dishes are to make!

17th May – World Baking Day

It’s been a while since the Great British Bake Off has been on our screens. How about recreating your own ‘bake off’ in your venue? If you’re not keen on getting customers involved, do an out of hours baking competition with your staff, post the process on social media and get your customers to vote for their favourite bake! As a result, you’ll boost engagement and get your audience excited about your business. 

If you’re thinking of something a bit smaller but with a big impact, have a bake sale or donate a portion of your baked goods to charity. Gestures like this are a great way to raise awareness for a charity whilst also showing how your business supports the wider community. 

21st May – International Tea Day

Everyone likes tea, right? The opportunities here are endless. From ranking your favourite teas on social media (and getting your audience involved) to a big cream tea event at your venue, there’s a chance to diversify your offerings for the day. 

22nd-28th May – British Sandwich Week

We’ve had cocktails, we’ve had tea, now for another British classic: the sarnie. What beats a good old bacon sarnie with a cuppa? Maybe your audience prefers a cheese sandwich to a BLT. Why not find out? Get your audience involved online and invite them to your venue for a week of special sarnies on the menu. 

Not a food brand? Record a TikTok asking everyone at the office what their favourite sandwich is – you’ll be sure to get some interesting choices! The stranger the better, and this format lends itself well to engagement on Tiktok. Users can duet your video and add on to the conversation. 

24th-28th May – Chelsea Flower Show

If you prefer a more sophisticated style, the Chelsea Flower Show is the place to be. For those that can’t get there in person, welcome them to your venue instead. You could host a flower arranging class in your venue, with a discount on food and drinks after. 

Share your flower-arrangements across socials and let your audience choose their favourite!

You could also keep a close eye on the Show itself. Match top flowers and features to your dishes on offer. Share them on social media side by side to show the uncanny resemblance and get your audience in on the fun!

25th May – National Wine Day

Wine lovers everywhere will love this one. If you have a special house wine, don’t be afraid to centre it in your social media campaign. Highlight why it’s your house special, what it tastes like and why you love it. 

Not a restaurant/food brand? Host a giveaway on your social media channels to win a bottle of wine. As a result, you’ll get the conversation talking about wine whilst also driving your engagement upwards. 

28th May – International Hamburger Day

Ever wondered who invented the hamburger? This is your chance to find out. Host a special day at your restaurant celebrating your hamburger dishes. Give kids a fun, interactive worksheet to keep them occupied during the meal.

28th May – World Hunger Day

End the month with a charitable donation and a day spent raising awareness. This day raises awareness of hunger and food poverty across the world, and the importance of access to education and technology to end that hunger. The Hunger Project has some food-related challenges to raise awareness of food poverty, such as giving up sugar for a week. 

We hope you found these May marketing dates useful and can take inspiration from our ideas. Be sure to share your results with us if you do!

Get in touch with Posh Cockney for a tailored marketing plan and content calendar to support your business goals. 

What can’t you do that a marketing agency can? This is the question on every business owner’s lips. You’re doing the marketing leg work alongside running your business and everything’s fine, right? Well, what if things were going great instead? That’s where a marketing agency comes in. They can sweep you off your feet, set you in your chair and give you a moment to breathe.

A marketing agency does the easy stuff, the hard stuff and all the stuff in between. But don’t take our word for it! In this blog, we discuss five reasons why you should hire a marketing agency to deliver results for your business. 

Expert opinions and insight

A marketing agency will consist of people who live and breathe marketing. That means trained, qualified professionals with skills to match your needs will be overseeing your marketing strategy. That’s priceless right? Instead of figuring it out on your own, you can lean on the support and expert advice of your marketing agency as they navigate business growth. 

Bold, creative ideas

Another crucial thing to consider when hiring a marketing agency, is how fresh and creative their ideas are. A marketing agency that can match your ideas and develop them into creative strategies as well as come up with their own unique ideas is unmatched. Most marketing agencies will have specialists in digital marketing and design. This means the team is made up of creatives, which is especially good if you have a niche business that may be struggling with how to present itself in the media. 

More time for you to do what’s important

As a business owner, you’ll know full well that time is money. Leaving the marketing stuff to the marketing experts allows you more time and energy to develop other aspects of the business. You’ll have more time to build customer relationships, improve operations and expand your services. Now doesn’t that sound like a good deal!

Access to more tools and data

Are you spending money left, right and centre on the newest digital marketing tools? Are you paying for design tools, email tools and analytics tools but not really knowing where to start? Switching to a marketing agency will solve these problems and save you money in the long run. Agencies have all the access to the latest marketing tools to keep them competitive. This means you’ll benefit from the variety of tools they have and the data they produce so you can make more informed decisions about your strategies without breaking the bank. 

Immediate start

Hiring a marketing executive onto your permanent staff will involve a probationary period, training and building trust. When you hire a marketing agency, there’s none of that. The agency can start straight away with optimising your marketing strategies and implementing their tools. That means if you’re looking to boost your sales now, you can get that support as soon as possible, rather than hiring someone and waiting for them to learn the ropes. The benefit of this is that it’s both time and money saved, which is great for your business in the long run. 

We hope this blog helps you understand the benefits of hiring a marketing agency to help your business grow. Whilst business owners wear many hats, a marketing hat isn’t one they have to wear! The best part of a marketing agency is the knowledge and experience they bring with them, ensuring that your business is in the best possible hands. 

Is Posh Cockney the right marketing agency for you?

At Posh Cockney, we specialise in marketing and PR for the hospitality and event industries. Whether you’re a new restaurant, hotel or catering company, our services will help you hit the ground running. 

From dynamic marketing campaigns to strong PR links, we can sort every aspect of your marketing strategy for you. That includes media outreach, social media management and website development. 

If you’re interested in hiring a marketing agency and would like to know more, get in touch with Posh Cockney today.

Not in the hospitality or event industries but interested in our services? Contact us to see if we can help.