Summer is ending and winter is around the corner, and so is the national public holiday that brings Nigerians together – Independence Day. Last year, people all over the country spent estimate N1 billion in preparation for this day, and this number is expected to be even higher in 2021.
Even though this is one nation’s holiday, businesses around Africa are marking the 1st of October on their marketing calendars as something they can’t miss out on. You see, you can run an online store from anywhere in the world, but you still need to adapt to your target audience’s needs. In case you’re targeting Nigerians, you have to keep their national holidays in mind.
October 1st is a memorable day for the modern day Nigeria, where Nigerians celebrates its 60th independence in 2020. Independence day celebration, is something Nigerians hold esteem high despite the countries difficulties. We would consider how you can still market your products/services despises all the ups and down
Related Post: Local Advertising Ideas for Businesses
Before we do that let's take a brief history on Nigeria independence.
Nigerian Independence History
The Federation of Nigeria was granted full independence on 1 October 1960 under a constitution that provided for a parliamentary government and a substantial measure of self-government for the country's three regions. From 1959 to 1960, Jaja Wachuku was the First Nigerian Speaker of the Nigerian Parliament, also called the "House of Representatives." Jaja Wachuku replaced Sir Frederick Metcalfe of Britain during the British rule. Notably, as First Speaker of the House, Jaja Wachuku received Nigeria's Instrument of Independence, also known as Freedom Charter, on 1 October 1960, from Princess Alexandra of Kent, The Queen's representative at the Nigerian independence ceremonies.
The Federal government was given exclusive powers in defence, foreign relations, and commercial and fiscal policy. The monarch of Nigeria was still head of state but legislative power was vested in a bicameral parliament, executive power in a prime minister and cabinet, and judicial authority in a Federal Supreme Court. Political parties, however, tended to reflect the makeup of the three main ethnic groups.
The Nigerian People's Congress (NPC) represented conservative, Muslim, largely Hausa and Fulani interests that dominated the Northern Region. The northern region of the country, consisting of three-quarters of the land area and more than half the population of Nigeria.Thus the North dominated the federation government from the beginning of independence.
*End of the brief history on Nigerian independence.*
So back to our discussion on Nigerian Independence marketing campaign.
If you’re looking for inspiration on how to fuel your marketing efforts with a patriotic spirit that would help sell more to Nigerian audiences as Nigeria celebrates this October, you’re in the right place. This blog post will walk you through 10 marketing campaign ideas you can experiment with before the 1st of October comes around which are public holidays for celebrating independence.
10 Marketing Campaign Ideas for Nigerian Independence Day
1. Independence Day collection
Do you have something on your store that your Nigerian audience would love? Then make it part of your Independence Day collection. And don’t worry if you haven’t introduced Nigerian pride-inspired products to your store yet, you’ve still got time to do so.
By adding some Nigga to your store this Independence Day, you’re also getting ready for all the other upcoming Nigerian holidays, like Democracy Day or Id el Fitr Day.
2. Green, white, and green Marketing
You’d probably agree that nothing says “Nigeria” more than the color combination of green, white and green. So look around your store and put together products in these colors to see if you have enough of them to run a fun promotion.
A green, white and green sale is a great way to showcase different types of products that are available in your store to your customers. Besides, even if the products in these colors aren’t usually popular among your customers, they might receive more love on and around the Nigerian Independence Day.
3. Stripes Innovation
If you don’t have a lot of products in green, white and green on your store, perhaps you have something with stripes? These patterns don’t have to look Nigerian. At this point, it’s all about finding a way to promote existing products during this seasonal holiday.
Consider offering friendly discounts on all things stripes to encourage customers to shop for these Nigerian patterns. And this should begin before the Nigerian Independence day
4. Made in the Nigeria
Made in NIGERIA is usually not always big. But 50% of Nigerians would prefer buying a Nigerian-made product, and 20% say they would be willing to pay up to 10% more for it.
If there are made in NIGERIA products on your store, Independence Day couldn’t be a better time to remind your customers about it.
As your customers are supporting local businesses they are also contributing to more sustainable future for the entire country. What a great message, don’t you think?
5. Use Fireworks idea
Firework shows is becoming an inseparable part of the 1st of October celebration in some part of the country. It can also become the center of your marketing campaigns. Well, not literal fireworks, but products that can remind your customers of them.
If you want to run firework-inspired promotion campaigns, your eyes should be on all the products that have shiny or metallic finishes, glitter or sequins.
Like the idea but have nothing shiny to offer? Don’t worry. You can still find something that customers could associate with fireworks, just be creative. For instance, play with the idea of positioning your products as attention magnets or showstoppers, suggesting that they would receive more attention than a 1st of October firework show.
6. Use Flash sale
While we’re still on the topic of fireworks, a flash sale is yet another idea worth exploring. In case you’re not familiar with this term, a flash sale means offering products at greatly reduced prices for a short period of time.
Build your flash sale promotions around the sense of urgency because that will encourage faster conversions. This is a great opportunity not only to retain existing customers but also attract the attention of new ones, too.
7. Outing essentials
The 1st of October week is the ultimate party that brings together family and friends. One of the most popular ways to celebrate Nigerian's independence is to have an hangout with families or friends. In fact, last year people spent a lot of millions of naira on recreation and eateries outdoors during this patriotic holiday.
To help your customers prepare for the hangouts, go ahead and put together a hangout essentials kit. You can feature whatever you think might be needed to celebrate Nigerian's independence, be it Caps, accessories, decorations, or T-shirts.
8. Free delivery
You’re probably sick of hearing this, but yes, free shipping is the number one incentive to shop more. So it comes as no surprise that one of the things that can help you sell more on Independence Day is a free delivery option.
A common practice is offering free delivery for orders with a certain value. This also often results in higher average cart value, as customers are eager to spend more if they know their purchases will be delivered to them for free.
9. General sales
Summer sales usually start on the first week of July. So if you decide to introduce special Independence Day promotions to your audience after that month like September ending, know that you’ll be in tight competition with both stores that run spring/summer sales and stores that run 10th of September sales.
You don’t have to give out huge discounts to beat the competition. Instead, think strategically of what offer would incentivize different types of customers to shop more. For instance, what attracts the attention of a first-time shopper might not at all be interesting for a loyal customer.
10. Offer Bigger loyalty credit
Did you know that acquiring a new customer is 5 to 25 times more expensive than selling to an existing one? For the very same reason, most businesses walk an extra mile to keep their customers coming back. One of the ways to achieve that is by creating a customer loyalty program.
If you have a reward program up and running, encourage customers to shop more by offering a bigger loyalty credit that comes with purchases made around Independence Day. It could also be a great time to promote your recently launched customer loyalty program.
Get your store ready for 1st of October
Independence Day will always come around before you know it, so it’s better to start preparing your marketing campaigns while you still have time to experiment with different ideas.
It’s not necessary to add new products to your store if you want to boost your sales on Independence Day weekdays. You can showcase existing products as they are by adding a fun twist to your marketing copy.
Join in leveraging the benefit of marketing during the celebration of independence day Nigeria