When you know this, your job as a marketer working on a 4th of July marketing campaign becomes so much easier. Just like you would for Christmas, Halloween, or St. Patrick’s day, emotion has to be a central theme in your campaign ideas. If you treat it like a generic holiday, you will lose out on a huge opportunity. 

The 4th of July sales can also be utilitarian in nature – you can push products that you feel commemorate the celebrations communities usually plan. But even then, the emotion of patriotism and community has to be at the forefront. 

And because this is a holiday that the entire USA comes together for, the marketing momentum will be extremely high. Which also means competition from your peers. 

So how do you design a 4th of July marketing campaign that is emotional, purposeful, and unique enough to get your customers interested?

All that and more awaits you in this blog by Kimp.

Let’s get right to it. 

Significance of 4th of July in America: Symbols and Values to adopt 

If you live in the USA or work with a US-based clientele, there is no escaping the fervor and excitement of the 4th of July celebrations. People book spaces in advance, plan their calendars around it, and invest quite a bit of money into it. Understanding the pulse of the audience will help you understand search intents and position your campaigns accordingly. 

For a novice marketer dealing with 4th of July marketing campaigns or the USA clientele for the first time, here is all you need to know about the Independence day celebrations. 

The 4th of July significance dates back to July 1776 when the Declaration of Independence was signed as a mark of showing independence from Great Britain. 13 colonies came together to show the fact that they want to overthrow tyranny and create a new government through collective action, as well-put by Tom Cutterham, a US History lecturer. 

This document contains the values and ethos by which leaders and activists post the 1776 period have worked on to build America. Every statement including but not limited to “all men are created equal” gives immense pride to everyone who calls America home. 

Ever since 1938 when Congress decided to make the 4th of July a paid national holiday, families, friends, and colleagues have come together to celebrate this today together. It is usually accompanied by a larger-than-life fireworks display, a barbecue cookout, carnivals, baseball games, concerns, team picnics, parties, and so on. 

If you are designing a campaign for the 4th of July, these values and symbols have to be a part of your roster to connect with your customers. 

What to include in your 4th of July marketing designs

Speaking of designing, the 4th of July celebrations evoke some pretty visual memories for your customers. The onset of summer allows them to bring out the fireworks, hoist their flags, organize picnics, and crank up the backyard grill.

Shouldn’t your customers be able to picture these when they see your 4th of July sales campaigns? They should, right? So follow this checklist on colors, imagery, and your 4th of July campaign will get you the best results. 

1. Colors 

This one is self-explanatory but let’s check it off to be safe. Your 4th of July campaign has to ensure that people can connect it to the country’s imagery instantly. And what does that mean? It means that the campaigns must feature red, blue, and white all the way. Irrespective of the industry you work in or the platform you choose to work on for the campaign, pick these colors through and through. 

2. Imagery 

Remember when we painted a pretty picture at the beginning of this section? That should give you a clue about the imagery your customers expect from you. While there are no strict guidelines for it, pick visuals that remind people of the 4th of July celebrations, their significance, and the values behind them. Aim to be inclusive in your selection of stock images too. Avoid using people from just one gender or ethnicity. This is 2022 and customers expect inclusive marketing from brands. 

3. Tone 

Did you know design has a tone too? Yes, we consider bright colors to be loud, pastels to be dreamy, and some fonts to be festive or celebratory. So choose visuals that go with the tone of this holiday. And what is that? Well, for best results, stick to a family-oriented, earnest, and patriotic tone across your campaigns. Best to not come off as too pushy when it comes to 4th of July sales but still persuasive enough. 

4. Emotions 

You may be wondering why emotions are a part of a section on design features. In our blog on design psychology, we speak of how different design elements evoke varying reactions from customers. So pick designs that will appeal to your target audience – young millennials, Gen Z, corporate bees, and so on. This includes shapes, overall setup, colors, fonts, and everything that you use in your designs. 

5 ideas to use in your next 4th of July marketing campaign 

Now that we know what 4th of July stands for and what design elements can make or break the design of your 4th of July marketing campaigns, let’s get to planning the campaign. Holiday marketing has become a challenge for small businesses and marketers since there are too many platforms to focus on. 

At Kimp, we always recommend working on an omnichannel approach and repurposing your content so that it reaches a wide target audience. Here are a few ideas that we have curated for you to launch your 4th of July marketing campaign with fanfare. 

Let’s dive right in. 

1. Start the drip campaign soon 

Let’s be honest here. For a lot of businesses, this Independence day is mostly about connecting with their audience to gain traction for the 4th of July sales you have in place. And the customers expect that too. But one of the biggest mistakes that most brands make is that they begin too late. 

Everyone knows this is coming and since it involves a lot of community-oriented celebrations, personal and professional events are announced quite early. Which means you must start your marketing campaigns too within the same timeline. 

As with discount-oriented sales, email marketing works wonders but the key is to get the drip campaign going on early in the phase. Based on what you know from your analysis of the buyers’ journey, schedule the email marketing campaign to address the customers’ queries while also intimating them about the sale. 

A typical email drip campaign (pre-determined and automated) for the 4th of July may look like this: 

• Sale announcement driving traffic to the website 
• Following up with a curation of popular products for each category to understand intent 
• Based on clicks and response, you can follow up by promoting a specific product or product line to the customer
• Ramp it up with announcement of early bird offers, discount schemes, and exclusive coupon codes for abandoned carts 

Convert, rinse, and repeat. 

For best results:

• Ensure consistency in design between the email and the product page in terms of colors and themes 
• Use lifestyle images instead of plain product images as they tend to drive higher clicks 
• Incorporate 4th of July themed designed illustrations such as the USA flag, fireworks, picnics, and so on to captivate your audience. 

And if you are worried about the cost of designing so many emails, check out Kimp’s unlimited graphic design subscription.

2. Leverage video for SEO 

This is what the trends graph for “4th of July sales” looks like for the last five years. The interest peaks a week or ten days before the actual event and slowly comes down too. Now, this is extremely interesting for marketers because this means that if you can get your content out and optimize it, you can reach your audience. 

If you are thinking blogs and paid advertisements, we recommend trying out videos too. For those who do not know, Google has been prioritizing video content over long-form textual content for search queries. And because the competition is lesser than what you have in the blog space, you hold a higher chance of being ranked for a competitive keyword. 

So what are the ways to leverage video for SEO? 

• Create a video announcement and advertisement for your 4th of July sales. 
• Launch a series of video infomercials (informative commercials) surrounding the holiday, the products up for sales, and tutorials too if applicable under the same keyword. 
• Upload reviews and testimonials for your brand so that customers can be assured from the social proof that you deliver on your promises. 

Are you worried that shooting a video commercial is outside of your budget? Have you considered animated videos or mobile videos that can be spruced up with a little bit of editing? 

Yes, these are legitimate options that help you leverage video for SEO and social media without breaking the bank.

And for an affordable and talented video design that delivers multiple videos at a flat monthly fee, try Kimp Video! 

3. Be present on Social media 

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Launching email campaigns and SEO are valid avenues but do not negate the power of social media, especially for 4th July sales and marketing campaigns. This is where the buzz comes alive and being “present” on social media ensures consistent traffic, frequent mentions, and heightened brand awareness. 

But what exactly does being “present” on social media mean? It means going beyond posting that one announcement of a 4th of July sale and finding ways to reach your audience organically even if the algorithm makes it hard. 

There are one billion users on Instagram and as of 2021, there were over 200 million business accounts. Just posting once is not going to cut it. Work on a social media content calendar that allows you to engage with your audience and keep the momentum going for the 4th of July sales weekend. 

Some content ideas for this include: 

• Launching an Instagram stories series interacting with your customers on their 4th of July plans 
• Add a gift guide from the best buys of your store 
• Post recipes for backyard barbecue subtly plugging in any product that may enhance the experience for your customers 
• Announce sales countdowns as a reminder 
• Post swipe-up stories to build your email list 

Kimp Tip: Ensure that the design language of your social media designs, newsletters, and other marketing materials is consistent for the best impact. Reinforce 4th of July inspired design elements throughout all of these and the customers won’t forget the campaign anytime soon. 

4. Invest in quality print campaigns 

4th of July sales are a huge opportunity for brands to generate some mid-year momentum and boost revenue in an otherwise slow season due to a lack of holidays. So why limit yourself to just the digital platforms? Plan to reach your customers at every possible touchpoint so that when they think of the 4th of July, they think of you. 

A tried and tested approach to expand your horizons beyond the mobile and desktop screens is to invest in “quality” print campaigns. And quality is a very important factor in the success of these campaigns. Ensure that they have a purpose, the right placement, and the perfect design to attract the audience. 

Some 4th of July print campaign ideas are: 

• Billboards (digital and print) strategically installed near your store, known picnic spots, offices, and major highways. 
• A flyer campaign that can reach millions of households announcing your 4th of July sales to people not on Facebook too. 
• Deck out your store for the 4th of July celebrations with in-store displays including but not limited to flags, fireworks, and other significant designs. 

As always, consistency between print and digital campaigns is extremely vital. 

Kimp Tip: Why keep the offline and online world separate when you can double the results by bridging both? Yes, combine your online and offline campaigns by driving traffic from one channel to the other. There are many ways to do this such as including QR codes on billboards, updating store locations online, and so on. 

For a more detailed view on combining online and offline campaigns, read our blog here. 

5. Launch limited edition products

This one is exclusively for retail brands. If you have a physical product that fits the theme of the holiday, great – your job is half done. But if it is not an exact fit? Does that mean you sit this one out? Not necessarily, as the holiday season makes everyone want to shop and you can always leverage the sentiment in the air. But how? 

Well, if you can, it is the time to launch a limited edition 4th of July themed product line. It can be close to what your business is but something special just for this occasion. And by releasing a limited inventory, you can drive FOMO amongst your customers and ensure sales happen. With this, your brand is in their home. 

This especially works for brands that work in apparel, merchandising, sports goods, home goods, and so on. 

But what if you can’t do this? Well, how about using a unique 4th of July themed packaging for your regular orders during this season? 

Work with a designer that can create unique packaging that reflects the sentiment of this holiday while also incorporating your branding identity. Something so simple can help you retain a spot in your customers’ minds. 

Boost your 4th of July Marketing with Kimp 

Are you excited to try out these ideas in your 4th of July campaigns? This is usually a huge month for retail brands as they capitalize on how much consumers are spending. But that also means that the competition is high and you must do everything in your power to stand out in the crowd. 

Take the first step towards that goal by hiring a dedicated team of professional designers with unbelievable perks. Yes, Kimp offers unlimited design packages for graphic design and video design at a flat monthly fee. 

Design as much as you can within the one month with no limit on the number of designs, revisions, user profiles, and brand buckets with each subscription. 

Head to the live chat on our website to know more or sign up for the free trial to start designing right away!