39 Free & Creative July Marketing Ideas (with Examples!)

July: It’s the seventh month of the year (fifth in the Roman calendar), rhymes with reply, should rhyme with truly, has a whopping 31 days—all great marketing opps for your business! Just joshin. That’d be sad. But July is filled with many opportunities for creative marketing—it’s National Anti-Boredom Month, Independent Retailer Month, home to World Emoji Day, Pandemonium Day, and plenty more.

Celebrate World Emoji Day and National Ice Cream Day in one post.

Better yet, you don’t even have to do the brainstorming! In this post, I’ve taken care of all of that for you with:

• A list of July awareness causes, themes, national days, and holidays.
• Over 30 creative ideas for incorporating them into your articles, posts, events, and promotions.
• Real examples of these ideas in action.

Table of contents

In July we celebrate, America, parents, and cows. (Image source)

Diversity, equity, and inclusion marketing ideas in July

While it’s always a good idea to include diversity, equity, and inclusion marketing in your plans year-round, there are a few observances specifically in July that you won’t want to miss:

National Minority Mental Health Month

July was proclaimed Minority Mental Health Month in 2008 by the US House of Representatives. This helps ensure that not only do people of color have access to adequate mental healthcare, but also that health professionals are culturally aware, empathetic, non-judgmental, and able to properly diagnose each patient who walks into their office.

Spread awareness using resources like BIPOC’s MMHM toolkit, or come up with an event of your own to support this inclusivity-related cause.

Special Recreation for the Disabled Day (July 2)

Did you know over 15% of the world’s population lives with a disability? Historically, people with different abilities have had limited access to recreational activities. Special Recreation for the Disabled Day aims to change that by bringing awareness to the ways the world can be more inclusive for all.

To take part in this day, sponsor or volunteer at a local recreation center that’s accessible to folks with varying abilities. Alternatively, reminding your audience to help spread awareness and providing tips on how they can make a difference can be just as effective.

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Malala Day (July 12)

Malala Day celebrates the work of Malala Yousafzai, an international human rights activist and the world’s youngest Nobel prize winner. Malala is from Pakistan which is an area known to deprive women and young girls of education. Her stand on education for all ultimately lead to her being shot by the Taliban. Despite this event, Malala courageously continued with the cause she believed in.

Her perseverance has inspired a worldwide movement for more accessible education across all corners of the world. Inspire your audience with Malala quotes, like those included in her memoir: I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot. Another idea would be to celebrate the work of Malala and share how your business’s community is working towards better education accessibility for minorities.

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National Buffalo Soldiers Day (July 28)

It’s important to seize every opportunity you can to celebrate diversity in your marketing. Acknowledge National Buffalo Soldiers Day on July 28 to commemorate some of the earliest Black troops in the US Military who served on the Western frontier after the Civil War.

July is the designated month for celebrating independent retailers who, like all local businesses, help to build our economy, towns, and communities. Promote your own business if you are one, or show your support for independent retailers in your community.

National Anti-Boredom Month

After the July 4th festivities, the summer heat and structureless days can start to creep in with looming threats of boredom.

Here are some ideas to help your target audience avoid the dog days of summer:

• Host a gratifying month-long challenge around food, fitness, hydration, or something related to your business.
• Share your favorite summer spots and activities.
• Write a blog post compiling events going on in your area.
• Ask your followers for recommendations on books, places to go, DIY projects, etc.

Or, take a no-nonsense approach like this business did:

National Grilling Month

I tried to think of ways to put a creative twist on things to make it more widely applicable, but to no avail—unless you’re into grilling your customers for feedback…

But I did find some ideas on Facebook. This business ran a contest with a grilling-themed prize.

This electric company encouraged its followers to save electricity by grilling outside:

National UV Safety Month

The sun won’t run out of hydrogen for another 5 billion years, so consider it an evergreen topic. No matter what business you’re in, you can’t go wrong with posting UV safety tips.

Make your own image with a content marketing tool like Canva, like this business did:

Or borrow an infographic from the CDC:

Everybody Deserves a Massage Week (usually third week in July)

If you are in any way connected to massages, whether that be a traditional massage studio, a physical therapist, or a salon, you should definitely be taking advantage this week by running sales promotions.

If you’re not a spa or salon, partner up with a local provider to see if you can run a mutually-beneficial deal.

Or take it a step further like these guys:

According to my cursory research (aka Real Simple magazine), Christmas in July began in 1993 with a summer camp in Brevard, NC. And then somewhere along the line, businesses began using it as a marketing tool. Here are some ways you can follow suit.

Run deals and sales to get new customers coming in. BigCommerce tells us that repeat customers spend 25% more per transaction during the (real) holiday season, while a new customer spends only 17% more. So start building that repeat customer base now!

This photographer promoted family photo shoots, framed as a way to get your Christmas card photo taken care of early (and when you’ve got that summer look going). Depending on the weather, winter clothes may or may not be a good idea!

Or simply run a generous flash sale that’ll feel like, well, Christmas in July.

National Compliment Your Mirror Day (July 3)

National Compliment Your Mirror Day, observed on July 3, encourages people to feel positive about themselves—inside and out. If it fits with the tone of your brand and your audience, acknowledge it on social media.

You could even Instagram campaign where customers can receive a percentage off products or services in exchange for posting a selfie and custom hashtag.

International Chocolate Day (July 7)

Anyone can get behind this holiday. Whether it’s with a candy counting contest, giving out Hershey’s Kisses to customers, or just posting a funny meme. Or, you could get some chocolatey USB drives made up with your logo on ’em!

Gruntled Workers Day (July 13)

So yes, gruntled is a word. It means pleased, satisfied, or content.

• Gather feedback from your employees to see if you can make any improvements to their experience. Happy employees make for happy customers (who write reviews).
• Write a thought leadership post on company culture building and highlight yours in the process.
• Remind your audience of your commitment to customer experience.

Give Something Away Day (July 15)

Rather than running an Instagram giveaway, consider hosting a charity fundraiser for Give Something Away Day. Consumers like doing business with people that share their values. Doing something for your community or a greater cause will engage your followers and make a positive impact.

National Ice Cream Day (third Sunday in July)

I’m going to spare you the “I scream you scream” and share a little history with you. Back in the day (1984), former President Ronald Reagan decided July was to be National Ice Cream Month and that the third Sunday in July would be National Ice Cream Day. Ice cream shops, you know this one well. For the non-frozen dairy-delighted, try out these ideas:

• Run an ice cream social: Use that frozen sugary goodness to lure customers into your store! In addition to offering free ice cream, provide special discounts on items or coupons with a purchase.

• Have an internal ice cream sundae party at your business and share on social media: the delicious masterpieces, the mess, the people indulging. Even better, purchase the ice cream from a local store and tag them in your posts.
• Offer free ice cream after a class or session: Get more signups for a workout or yoga class with the promise of a free ice cream afterward. (Organic ice cream for the yoga folks).
• Try getting creative with your content: We don’t always use ice cream cones to explain marketing concepts, but when we do…

Get to Know Your Customers Day (third Thursday)

You should already know your customers like the back of your hand, but you should also always be learning—especially with the shape-shifters we consumers have become due to the pandemic.

Get to Know Your Customers Day happens on the third Thursday of every quarter—a good reminder to stay on your toes and a good opportunity to strengthen your client relationships.

Share a survey via email or social media—something brief but meaningful enough to demonstrate that you value your customers, and to be informative to you.

You could also take a lighter approach on social media. Ask more playful questions, like “would you rather,” “yea or nay,” “when was the last time you…” but keep the topics relevant so you can glean something from the answers.

National Parents’ Day (fourth Sunday in July)

With Mother’s and Father’s Day taking up all the wholesome limelight, Parent’s Day often gets neglected. Parents work tirelessly for their children, so honor the parents in your audience!

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Consider taking a more emotional approach with your brand on this day. Acknowledge the hard-working parents out there, but stay sensitive to the fact that not everyone has living parents, that not all parents are one item, and that there are many caretakers who are like a parent.

But of course! It’s the biggest holiday of the summer. Here are some ways to incorporate 4th of July marketing slogans, promotions, and more into your monthly strategy:

• Holiday promotions: Offer a 17.76% discount, reduce an item price to $17.76, or use promo codes like FIREWORKS or FREEDOM. Create buy-one-get-one deals for appropriately-themed products. Or just run a sale simply because it’s a holiday—ain’t nothin’ wrong with that.
• Run a giveaway: Offer up a red, white, and blue-themed prize, barbeque supplies, a gift card, or even a survival kit like a lawn chair, bug spray, hand sanitizer, glowsticks, etc.
• Write a blog post on topics related to your business, through the lens of themes like freedom, independence, stars, stripes, and more. Or, if applicable to your business, write more practical posts like firecracker safety tips, tips for keeping your dog calm during fireworks, or travel tips.
• Get creative: Ditch the stock photography and get creative with your 4th of July social media posts. Or ditch the cliches and try out some of these authentic 4th of July Instagram captions.
• Send a greeting to your customers: Whether it’s through a card, email, social post, or text, send a little 4th of July message to your customers wishing them a safe and happy holiday.

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Got any July marketing ideas? Share em!

Not all of the July awareness causes and observances were covered in this post. There are far too many. But if you have any ideas of your own, feel free to add your own unique twist to help your business stand out this month!

PS here’s our full series of monthly marketing ideas:

And for a year’s worth of marketing ideas, check out this marketing calendar template from our friends at LocaliQ.

As promised, here is a more complete list of July observances that may or may not apply to your business: