When Every Day is a Holiday: Brands Are Confusing Observances with a Strategy
TLDR: 3 Takeaways from this Post:
Observances aren’t strategy. If the thing you’re celebrating isn’t meaningful to your company, posting about it won’t make a difference.
Authenticity beats activity. Relevance without connection is just noise. The best brands earn the right to participate in cultural moments because they already live those values.
Mark time your own way. Build rhythm through your own milestones, customer stories, and rituals, not borrowed holidays.
Make it stand out
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
So, which one will it be? National Taco Day on October 4, National Crunchy Taco Day on March 21, or National Fish Taco Day on January 25?
Brands are hooked on holidays and observances. But observances only have meaning if the thing being observed is meaningful to you in the first place. Otherwise, relying on them is a sign that your story has lost its plot.
That’s the problem with observances. When every day is a celebration, nothing actually stands out, and your brand drifts into oblivion. There are literally thousands of “awareness holidays” that range from National Coming Out Day to National Chocolate Day. (Somewhere, a social media manager is crying softly into a content calendar.)
Some observances make perfect sense. Taco Bell should absolutely celebrate Taco Tuesday. REI closing on Black Friday is perfectly aligned with their “Opt Outside” ethos. A sustainability consultancy celebrating Earth Day is a bullseye.
The difference is authenticity. These brands earned the right to participate because the observance connects to what they already stand for. They’re not borrowing meaning for a day; they’re reinforcing it.
When Connection Turns into Cringe
Case in point: I got an email today from Global Credit Union, which I’m not a member of, wishing me a happy birthday.
“We’re celebrating with you!” it said.
Are you, though? Really?
It’s the same logic behind most observance posts: a misplaced attempt at connection that ends up feeling hollow.
So, why do so many marketers fall into this trap? It’s because observances feel like easy wins. They offer plug-and-play relevance, a way to join the conversation without having to create an actual conversation. They fill the content calendar and give the illusion of connection.
But relevance without authenticity is just noise disguised as marketing.
Better Ways to Fill the Calendar
People connect with brands through patterns, consistency, and story. Those three ingredients together build brand salience - the likelihood that someone thinks of your brand when a relevant situation arises.
Observances try to hack that system, chasing attention spikes instead of building memory. But meaning doesn’t just come from frequency; it comes from familiarity with purpose.
So, the impulse behind observances isn’t wrong. They give rhythm and structure to our work. The problem is when those markers belong to someone else’s story.
There are better ways to engage, ways that are actually yours:
Company milestones. Celebrate anniversaries, launches, or customer wins.
Seasonal rhythms. Reflect on what’s happening in your business cycle: planning, renewal, event, or growth seasons.
Customer moments. Highlight transformation, progress, or success stories.
Team rituals. Show how your culture lives in action. What you celebrate internally says a lot externally.
Industry context. Comment on what’s happening to your industry instead of what’s trending on the national calendar.
You don’t need National Spreadsheet Day to celebrate your finance team. You could just… thank them.
A Quick Gut-Check for Your Content Calendar
Before you add another holiday or awareness day to your calendar, ask yourself:
Do we actually care about this?
Does it connect to what we sell, believe, or do?
Are we adding genuine perspective or value?
Would our audience miss it if we didn’t post?
If the answer to most of these is “no,” skip it. Spend your precious time creating content that strengthens your narrative instead of hijacking someone else’s.
Observances chase awareness; meaning builds memory.
Be You.
