A content marketing calendar with an India focus. This presentation contains some ideas for your brands to #EngageUnfoolishly with their consumers this March.
2. Discover. Distribute. DelightDiscover. Distribute. Delight
We know you think it’s all about women this month.
With International Women’s Day around the corner, what else
could possibly engage your consumers?
Well, there are a lot of things.
From regional festivals to conservation days to alcoholic
celebrations, there are a whole host of things your users are
talking about – over and above the celebration of womankind.
To give you a smooth transition into the month, we’ve done for
you some discovering, distributing and delighting.
Here’s some essential data and insights about the major content
pegs every brand must aspire to create their strategy around
this March.
Find what’s right for you and run with it!
3. Discover. Distribute. DelightDiscover. Distribute. Delight
Maha Shivratri- 4th March
Maha Shivratri is a festival celebrated
annually in reverence of the god Shiva. It is
the day Shiva was married to the goddess
Parvati. On this day Shiva devotees observe
fast and offer fruits, flowers and bel leaves on
Shiva Linga.
The day is also considered auspicious for
women; married women pray for a blissful
married life and single women pray for a
husband like Shiva.
Searches would surround celebration ideas,
greetings and blessings.
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International Women’s Day- 8th March
International Women’s Day will be celebrated around the
world on 8th March, 2016.
This day provides a great opportunity for brands to
reach out to their customers, clients and employees,
offering an incentive to visit their websites, make a
purchase or create some goodwill.
The theme for 2016 is Pledge for Parity. Despite the
social, cultural, academic and economic achievements of
women, the fight for gender equality is facing more
friction than ever before.
Topics such as “16 women leading the global fight for
women’s equality“, “5 ways to make a difference this
International Women’s Day”, “15 women who’ve mastered
the art of dealing with sexists” & “18 tweets about
womanhood every woman can relate to” will do well.
5. Discover. Distribute. Delight
World Kidney Day- 10th March
With Kidney Disease being the 12th leading cause
of death in the world, and a Kidney Transplant
costing on an average Rs. 4,00,000, it’s never been
more important to raise awareness about this
deadly disease. This year’s theme is ‘Kidney
Disease and Children: Act Early to Prevent it!’
The aim would thus be to impart and facilitate
education, encourage early detection and promote
a healthy lifestyle among children and young
adults.
Marketers across time zones, countries, industries,
etc., can find a way to make a mark, with a heavy
use of graphics, quotes, statistics and of course,
emotion.
6. Discover. Distribute. Delight
Earth Hour- 19th March
Earth Hour will be celebrated around the world at 8:30-
9:30 PM Local Time on 19th March 2016.
It was famously started as a lights-off event in Sydney,
Australia in 2007. Since then, every year, multitudes of
countries, cities, corporations, and individuals, dedicate
1 hour to lessening their carbon footprint.
In 2015, Twitter Reach in the week leading up to
Earth Hour was 378 Million+ and the Facebook Reach
was 5.9 Million+
Your goal can be either to Spread Awareness, Invite
Action or Celebrate the Earth. Relevant content buckets
include Impact of Climate Change, Going Green,
Wildlife Conservation & Earth’s Wonders.
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Holi- 24th March
Holi is a spring festival, also known as the festival of
colours or the festival of sharing love.
It is celebrated with most gusto in Bihar, but is enjoyed
heartily around India and other Asian countries with
colours, water balloons, food and drinks. This festival is
all about celebrating with family and friends.
Searches revolve around ideas for celebration, gifting
and recipes. This would be followed by queries about
how to protect the skin and hair from the effect of
colours and how to dress right.
Holi is celebrated wherever Indian diaspora have found
residence. For instance, it’s celebrated as ‘Phagwa’ in
Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and Fiji.
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Calendar Days- Festivals
Good Friday on 25th March, is a Christian
religious holiday commemorating the crucifixion
of Jesus Christ.
Easter on 27th March, commemorates the
resurrection of Jesus Christ 3 days later.
For both these events, searches revolve around
recipes, celebration and gifting ideas, fashion
advice, and trivia about the history of the day
itself. Additionally, since Good Friday is a
national holiday and leads to a long weekend,
users can also be targeted with travelling
suggestions of weekend getaways.
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Ramakrishna Jayanti on 10th March, 2016 marks
the 180th Birth Anniversary of Ramakrishna
Paramahamsa. Swami Vivekananda was one of his
famous disciples.
While this festival does not have a nationwide reach,
it presents an opportunity to reach out to local
audiences.
Calendar Days- Regional Events
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Calendar Events- Sports
The ICC Twenty 20 World Cup will be hosted by India and
played from 8th March 2016 to 3rd April 2016.
The ICC Twenty 20 Women’s World Cup is also being hosted
by India and will be played from 15th March to 3rd April 2016.
Searches around players, past matches and broadcast
schedules surge, creating a lot of online buzz. There’s also an
increase in searches around fashion and lifestyle since users
are interested to know about celebrity sightings at matches,
their fashion and fitness choices, etc. Feature content like
“Will these players make a comeback?” or “Why England’s tour
of South Africa is such a big deal” as well as live updates and
post-match analyses will be greatly appreciated by the
millions of Indian Sports Fans.
11. Discover. Distribute. DelightDiscover. Distribute. Delight
World Spelling Day on 5th March or the Day
of User Generated Content as it should be
called, is when content marketers have the
chance to really implant themselves in the
memories of their consumers by being playful
and creative. With contests, quizzes, fill in the
blanks and giveaways, marketers can etch
themselves deep into users’ minds.
Absinthe Day on 5th March is the ideal day to
raise digital glasses to one of the world’s
alcoholic beverages. It’s a field day for all food
and drink brands as well as any others who
want to give their consumers a reason and a
way to celebrate the weekend.
Calendar Events- Fun Days
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Employee Appreciation Day is on 5th March a
non-official day and there's no real authority on
what needs to be done, but if you're a boss
and want to show your team just how much
you appreciate them, this is the time. Oh and
don’t forget to share pictures of your love and
affection on all your social media platforms.
Clients’ Day is on 19th March, and though it
may be hard to believe in the merit of this day,
the bottom line is, it may be good for your
bottom line. You can hand out discounts, gift
cards, or just wishes and greetings that may
give you some brownie points or make a bad
situation good.
Calendar Events- Workplace
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Major Film Releases
Bollywood
• Jai Gangaajal, 4th March, starring: Priyanka Chopra, Rahul Bhatt
• Zubaan, 4th March, starring: Vicky Kaushal, Sarah Jane Dias
• Terra Suroor, 11th March, starring: Himesh Reshammiya, Farah Karimi, Naseeruddin Shah
• Kapoor & Sona, 18th March, starring: Sidharth Malhotra, Alia Bhatt, Fawad Khan
Hollywood:
• Zootopia, 4th March, starring: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Shakira, Idris Elba
• Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, 25th March, starring: Amy Adams, Henry Cavill, Diane Lane
• The Divergent Series: Allegiant, 18th March, starring: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Octavia Spencer
• Get a Job, 25th March, starring: Miles Teller, Anna Kendrick
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Major Celebrity Birthdays
• Justin Bieber, 1st March- Multiple Grammy winning American Pop Singer of Baby, Baby, Baby fame
• Dr Seuss, 2nd March- American writer and illustrator best known for authoring popular children's books under the pen name Dr. Seuss
• Daniel Craig, 2nd March- Hollywood Actor of James Bond fame
• Albert Einstein, 14th March- German-born theoretical physicist who developed the general theory of relativity
• Aamir Khan, 14th March- Bollywood Actor known for movies like Lagaan, Taare Zameen Par and PK
• Alia Bhatt, 15th March- Bollywood Actress known for movies like Student of the Year, 2 states and Highway
• Kalpana Chawla, 17th March- was an Indian-American astronaut and the first Indian woman in space
• Adam Levine, 18th March- Multiple Grammy winning American musician who is the lead singer of pop rock band Maroon 5
• Bruce Willis, 19th March- American actor, producer, and singer known for movies like Die Hard and The Sixth Sense amongst others
• Kangana Ranaut, 20th March- Bollywood Actress known for movies like Queen and Tanu Weds Manu
• Jim Parsons, 24th March- Hollywood Actor famous for playing Sheldon Cooper in The Big Bang Theory
• Kiera Knightley, 26th March- Hollywood Actress known for films like Bend it like Beckham, The Imitation Game , Pirates of the Caribbean
• Lady Gaga, 28th March- Multiple Grammy winning American musician known for her crazy fashion sense and her album Born This Way