Ecommerce Marketing Calendar 2018: prepare your strategy for the year’s key dates

The year 2018 is starting and… you’re still stuck with the annual commercial strategy for your online shop? You don’t even know where to start? Don’t panic! Rajapack has come to your aid with an essential guide for all types of companies in this new year: the Marketing & Ecommerce Calendar 2018. We offer you a compendium of the key dates of 2018 so that you can

• Take advantage of the seasonality of sales in your business.
• Plan advertising actions with sufficient time, properly selecting target audiences.
• Adapt the packaging to current events at any time of the year.

además, te proporcionamos una serie de consejos útiles para dar a conocer tu marca, prestar un mejor servicio a tus clientes y, por supuesto, presentar tus productos con el packaging más apropiado. En 2018, ¡Rajapack será tu mejor asistente de marketing!

1. Enero: no te dejes sepultar por las rebajas

Los comienzos de año suelen ser muy ajetreados en casi todos los almacenes, especialmente los de las compañías B2C, por la confluencia en estas fechas de la festividad de los Reyes Magos y el arranque de las populares rebajas de invierno. A estas alturas ya tendrás más que preparados todos los materiales necesarios para que este periodo de descuentos sea un éxito para tu empresa, pero, como siempre hay algún detalle que se escapa, te recomendamos que eches un vistazo a estos 5 consejos para una tienda en rebajas.

Y, sobre todo, que la vorágine de las rebajas no te absorba. Mantén la cabeza fría para ir pensando en las acciones de febrero, que viene cargado de citas destacadas en este Calen

• Saturday 6 January: Three Wise Men
• Between 2 and 7 January: the sales period begins (it lasts two months, until the beginning of March).

2. February in solidarity, carnival… and ‘in love

‘In 2018, the first full moon of spring comes early and, as a consequence, festivities such as Carnival occur early in the calendar. You should take this into account to give a more festive touch to your communications, especially if you work in geographical areas where Carnival is a tradition. On the other hand, if you do not know what to wear, you can always take advantage of the packaging material to dress up for Carnival. The end of the antruejo coincides in 2018 with one of the dates adored by ecommerce Valentine’s Daymark it in red in your diary and prepare gift wrap, ribbons, bows and envelopes in attractive colours to make your customers fall in love

• Sunday, 4 February: World Cancer Day
• 11 to 13 February: Carnival
• Wednesday 14 February: Valentine’s Day
• Friday 16 February: Chinese New Year (Year of the Dog)

3. March: celebrations to strengthen ties with your audience

March brings with it several important days in this Marketing & Ecommerce Calendar 2018 that you can use to strengthen the relationship with your customers and cultivate loyalty tactics. Now that the January sales are over, we must not forget to create specific messages to commemorate International Women’s Day – at Rajapack we always do it: we keep in mind that we are a company created by women – or for an event as grateful as the International Day of Happiness. Do not lose sight of 19 March, Father’s Day, a celebration that enjoys great popularity in Spain, and prepare special offers for users looking to entertain their parents. The month concludes with Easter, after which users begin to activate their spring mode. So take advantage of March to adapt your catalogue and your communications

• Thursday 8 March: International Women’s Day
• Saturday 17 March: Patrick’s Day
• Monday 19 March: Father’s Day
• Tuesday 20 March:
  • International Day of Happiness
  • Start of Spring
• Saturday 24 March: Earth Hour celebration
• Sunday 25 March: Palm Sunday
• 29 and 30 March: Maundy Thursday and Good Friday

4. April, the ‘August’ of books

April is an essential month for the sale of products whose consumption increases with the arrival of the good weather. Reinforce your advertising if this is your case; and also if you are in the publishing business, as Book Day means that purchases multiply around 23 April. By the way, do you know what book packaging should look like?

• Sunday 1 April:
  • Easter Sunday
  • April Fools’ Day
• Monday 2 April: Easter Monday
• Saturday 7 April: World Health Day
• Friday 13th April: International Kissing Day
• Sunday 15 April: Feria de Abril begins in Seville
• Thursday 19 April: World Bicycle Day
• Monday 23 April: Book Day

5. May, a tribute to mothers

Mother ‘s Day, which is celebrated every first Sunday of this month, is the big commercial event in May. Orienting your ecommerce towards this festivity is practically a must for B2C shops. In the middle of the month, especially if online sales are your forte, we suggest you give a nod to your followers with content related to Internet Day: let them remember that your shop is open 24 hours a day on the other side of the screen!

• Tuesday 1 May: International Labour Day
• Sunday 6 May: Mother’s Day
• Wednesday 9 May: Europe Day
• Wednesday 16 May: Ramadan begins
• Thursday 17 May: Internet Day

6. June: football will flood everything

2018 is the year of the World Cup, and this time it will be held in Russia. Spain participates in the competition and, as usual, the news related to this event will fill our daily lives. Will the same thing happen to you that happened to us here at Rajapack in 2016, when the Euro Cup came to our stores? Using this football event as a backdrop, it is a very good promotional idea to organise an online competition, offer a small gift to your most loyal customers and even personalise part of your packaging with motifs alluding to the World Cup. Also rely on email marketing: it will be your best ally to surprise your users with the most football-related offers

• Tuesday 5 June: International Environment Day
• Thursday 14 June
  • Russia 2018 World Cup kicks off
  • End of Ramadan
• Thursday 21 June: Start of summer
• Saturday 23 June: Midsummer’s Eve
• Thursday 28 June: LGTBI Pride Day

7. July: make the most of the second sales season of the year

On 1 July, the second big sales period of the year kicks off: the summer promotions. In your communications you can mix the dissemination of offers with themes specific to this month, such as the San Fermin fiestas, included in this Marketing & Ecommerce Calendar 2018. Check out our blog for all the possibilities to dress your business packaging in tune with the San Fermín festivities

• Sunday 1 July: Start of the summer sales
• Saturday 7 July: San Fermín
• Tuesday 10 July: Amazon Prime Day
• Sunday 15 July: Russia 2018 Football World Cup Final
• Tuesday 17 July: World Emoji Day
• Thursday 26 July: Grandparents’ Day

8. August, the best month to plan your new strategy

Although it seems that in August the country comes to a standstill, in this month you should not stand still! Take advantage of the tranquillity of this period to calmly design your next strategic steps in the Marketing & Ecommerce area. In the second fortnight the summer sales will be in their last throes: prepare a campaign to clear out the stock and empty the warehouses for the new season

• Sunday 12 August: International Youth Day
• Monday 13 August: International Lefties Day
• Friday 31 August:
  • International Day of Solidarity
  • Summer sales end

9. September: 15th anniversary of Rajapack Spain

In September we invite you to celebrate with us the anniversary of Rajapack Spain: our online shop is 15 years old and we plan to celebrate it as it deserves. Stay tuned to our website! On the other hand, for your business, the back to school campaign will most likely have started a busy period. If you used August to define your advertising tactics correctly, now you will reap the rewards

• Saturday 1 September: Back to School campaign begins
• Tuesday 18 September: Rajapack Spain celebrates its 15th anniversary
• Friday 21 September: International Day of Peace
• Sunday 23 September: start of autumn
• Thursday 27 September: World Tourism Day

10. October: succumb to the Halloween craze

For the past few years, it is undeniable that Halloween has become increasingly popular in October. It is impossible to escape the atmosphere of skulls, the living dead and scares… so let your shop be infected by it and fight your customers’ fears with good packaging. At the same time, if you want to do something different, we suggest that you support the fight against breast cancer, which is honoured worldwide every 19 October, with messages on your social networks

• Thursday 4 October: World Animal Day
• Friday 12 October: Columbus Day
• Friday, 19 October: World Breast Cancer Day
• Wednesday 31 October: Halloween

11. November, synonymous with Black Friday

Every year, online commerce enjoys its stellar moment on Black Friday, a commercial event of Anglo-Saxon origin that has already taken root in Spain. It takes place on the last Friday in November and normally extends throughout the following weekend until it merges, at the beginning of the following week, with Cyber Monday. The number of users who bring forward their Christmas shopping to Black Friday grows with each edition. Therefore, and as you will see in this Marketing & Ecommerce Calendar 2018, you cannot stay on the sidelines. Prepare powerful actions and juicy discounts for these dates, and strengthen your packaging systems so that afterwards, on Throwback Thursday or returns day, the experience of your customers is unbeatable

• Thursday, 1 November: All Saints’ Day
• Sunday 11 November: Chinese Singles Day
• Tuesday 20 November: World Children’s Day
• Friday 23 November: Black Friday
• Monday 26 November: Cyber Monday
• Thursday, 29 November: Throwback Thursday

12. December: finish off your business year with Christmas sales

The hangover from Black Friday will not let us rest. As soon as this great ecommerce holiday is behind us, Christmas purchases will come to claim their ground. Be proactive and order your gift boxes, wrapping paper and accessories as soon as possible to give your packages a Christmas look . At the end of the month, make a nice gesture to your followers. Have you ever prepared an April Fools’ joke? If you need inspiration, check out Rajapack’s latest prank about warehouse robots and delivery drones

• Thursday 6 December: Spanish Constitution Day
• Friday 8 December: Immaculate Conception Day
• Saturday 22nd December: Christmas Lottery Draw
• Monday 24 December: Christmas Eve
• Tuesday 25 December: Christmas Day
• Wednesday 26 December: Boxing Day
• Friday 28 December : April Fool’s Day
• Monday 31 December: New Year’s Eve