Many Canadian marketers underestimate the amount of gold that comes from St. Patrick’s Day enthusiasts in Canada. A large number of us have Irish roots and a lot of the rest are happy to join the celebrations.
If you’re promoting the right kind of business or products, you could see a nice bump in sales by using the marketing tips we’re sharing with you here. We’ve also included a fun infographic, illustrating Canadian St. Patrick’s Day statistics from Stats Canada.
Top Products for St. Patrick’s Day
Aside from general St. Patrick’s Day sales, there are many opportunities for creative marketers to “make some green” from the holiday.
St. Paddy’s Day themes can be applied to a broad range of businesses and their product lines, such as:
- Practically anything that’s green
- Gold
- Luck related
- Irish food
- Alcohol
- Party supplies
St. Patrick’s Day in Canada
“Two main waves of Irish immigrants moved to Canada between 1815 and 1850. The second wave arrived during the Great Potato Famine (1846-1851),” states Library and Archives Canada. “Irish immigrants settled all across Canada, but most chose Ontario.”
Now, their descendants are responsible for keeping Irish traditions alive in this country… and there’s a lot of them!
“Just over 4.6 million Canadians reported Irish as their ethnic origin in the 2016 Census, making it the fifth-largest ethnic group nationally, following French,” reports Statistics Canada. “Approximately 1 in 10 Canadians who reported Irish ancestry claimed it as their sole ethnic origin, while the remainder (4.2 million) reported multiple ethnic origins, perhaps giving credence to the expression that there is a little bit of Irish in everyone.
The largest concentration of Canadians claiming an Irish ethnic origin is found in Ontario (2.1 million). British Columbia (675,130), Alberta (596,750) and Quebec (446,215) also have a significant Irish presence.”
Irish Canadian Food
Food for St. Patrick’s Day celebrations will include anything green, but don’t miss the opportunity to target Canadian families who make traditional Irish food at home. It could be a single food (such as cabbage), a recipe (like Irish Soda Bread) or an entire meal like the traditional Irish Breakfast (served with bacon, sausage, blood sausage, white pudding, vegetables and bread).
“Food is especially important to the Irish,” says CanadianFamily.net. “Even now, many generations after suffering through times of starvation.”
Some traditional Irish dishes include:
- Corned Beef & Cabbage
- Irish Potato Soup
- Colcannon
- Boxty
- Irish Stew
- Dublin Coddle
For beverages, don’t forget the Irish Coffee, Irish Whiskey and of course, green beer. Then there is symbolic food, like Irish Moss Seaweed.
7 Lucky St. Patrick’s Day Marketing Tips
With just a little creativity, brands and their marketers can reach and engage Canadians who plan to celebrate the holiday.
[DISCLOSURE: We may receive compensation for links to products on this website.]
1. Use your blog to bring in shoppers with fun St. Patrick’s Day content, checklists, videos and infographics.
2. Use social media to share your blog content, alert shoppers to truly fantastic deals/coupons, promote contests, and provide customer support. Social media contests, with strategic sharing incentives designed to bring traffic to your website, can really take off. Have a St. Patrick’s Day contest or giveaway featuring your products, or try a “win your purchase” angle to help convince shoppers to buy from you. There are tools that make it super easy to have social contests and offer coupons via social media.
3. Discounts are king right now. Inflation is out of control and a recession is looming, which has left Canadian shoppers carefully protecting their pot of gold. However, Canadian small businesses are also struggling and may feel they can’t cut prices. Strategic discounting can make it profitable, such as loss leaders, discounting stale or slow-moving inventory, and so on. Offer free shipping on all purchases made on St. Patrick’s Day (or leading up to it). Learn how to slash Canadian shipping costs with these tips.
4. Create special St. Patrick’s Day landing pages and digital sales funnels. It’s easy if you use marketing automation tools that lead you through the process, step-by-step. Thrive Themes Funnels offers lots of funnel functionality for small businesses on a tight budget, and the Systeme suite of tools has a free level.
5. If your products would make a great gift, create a gift guide for party hosts.
6. Get your products into online marketplaces and don’t limit yourself to the ‘big two’.
7. Whether you sell online as an ecommerce merchant, blogger, or affiliate marketer, email is still the most effective digital marketing tool. Bring the best of the above marketing ideas into your email campaigns. Keep email subject lines direct, so subscribers instantly realize there is a St. Patrick’s Day deal or other content they need to see right away.
Are you marketing to Irish Canadians (and the people who love them) this St. Patrick’s Day? Please share your tips or questions in the comments below or join us in the Online Business Canada Facebook group.
Source: Statistics Canada By the Numbers – St. Patrick’s Day
For weekly inspiration, insights, tips, and resources, sign up for the Online Business Canada newsletter!
7 Recession Proof Online Businesses To Start From Home
Expert help to choose, start, and run a successful online business!
“Almost 200 pages of pure gold…”
GET IT ON AMAZON
Or Other Major Ebook Retailers
——————————————
© CanadiansInternet.com – Content on this website may not be used elsewhere without expressed permission. Thank you for respecting the effort that we have put into our original content.
DISCLOSURE: We may receive compensation for links to products on this website. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Our content is provided for informational purposes only and does not guarantee results.
Melody McKinnon is an internet entrepreneur with 25 years of experience in a wide range of online business models, backed by a formal business/marketing education and enhanced by training and mentorship. She has owned or managed both educational and ecommerce websites. Her book, 7 Recession Proof Online Businesses to Start From Home, is available from all major ebook retailers.
Melody has worked with many businesses in a multitude of capacities. She can often be found on CanadianDigitalMedia.com, CanadiansInternet.com, CanadianFamily.net, and AllNaturalPetCare.com, as well as other quality digital publications. Her content has earned reference links from highly-respected websites, magazines and university textbooks.
That’s what I love about Canada — we’re free to celebrate our differences and still be ALL IN CANADIAN!
I celebrate all holidays and non holidays with beer. It’s just green on St Paddys. 😉 Cheers! for the ideas!