St. Patrick’s Day is not just a day to drink beer, wear green, and pinch people. It's a holiday with its roots tied heavily to the country of Ireland. Believe it or not, the holiday is less about partying and more about remembrance. St. Patrick’s Day celebrates the Roman Catholic feast day of the patron saint of Ireland, St. Patrick, who died on March 17th, 461.
History of St. Patrick's Day
Patrick was a Christian missionary in Ireland who confronted the Druids at Tara, and helped abolish pagan rights, making Christianity more widespread. As a result, he was made a bishop, and Ireland’s patron saint after his death. Factoring in the clover and its luck, we now have our modern Saint Patrick’s Day, substituting the feast, with beer.
As with any national holiday (or in this case multinational holiday), there is an opportunity to run marketing initiatives toward the people who celebrate the holiday, and Saint Patrick’s Day is no different. Unfortunately, just because you are an Irish company does not mean your marketing efforts around the holiday will be successful.
St. Patrick's Day Marketing
Two of the more usual suspects to partake in St. Patrick's Day marketing are beer and whiskey companies---specifically Guinness and Jameson Irish Whiskey. Jameson Irish Whiskey has, for over the last 5 years on Saint Patrick’s Day, unveiled a limited edition bottle to commemorate the celebration of the holiday. Another example of Jameson’s marketing efforts is their customized holiday webpage, where users can send customized party invite emails with a holiday party kit that includes drink recipes, a quiz game, Irish slang terms, and Jameson-themed streamers for decorating.
In the past, Guinness has even extended its St. Patrick’s festivities to Singapore. Those in attendance will see 20,000 complimentary pints of Guinness, which was achieved through partnership with the mobile wallet app Singtel. Once logged into the app, attendees can claim their free pints. Additionally, Guinness offers recipes on their site, as well as other activities you can do with their product. When you think Saint Patrick’s Day drinks, you think Guinness, and John Jameson Irish Whiskey.
Beer and alcohol companies are not the only ones capitalizing on St. Patrick's Day. Some major retailers have also jumped on the bandwagon offering discounts on items related to holiday, such as celtic jewelry, decorations, themed T-shirts, and all things green.
Although St. Patrick’s Day is old in tradition, there continues to be new ways for companies to use the holiday to market to their target audience. We look forward to what next year's festivities bring in the way of marketing.
For those who love statistics and Saint Patrick’s Day click here to see an infographic for all things about the holiday.
