Today is Global Tiger Day. An increasing number of charities and not-for-profit organisations are launching or participating in awareness days to improve awareness about the causes that they work to promote. They are becoming increasingly prominent through effective social media campaigns and can deliver a huge amount of publicity for the campaigns they support.

Businesses are increasingly supporting action awareness day campaigns relevant to them, often sponsoring events or encouraging employees to raise money through sponsored activities such as marathons and physical challenges. A relevant awareness day is a great way for small business and large corporations alike to run corporate social responsibility programmes that help local communities and support local projects such as hospices, research projects, regeneration projects or social improvement projects for example.

Awareness Day Campaigns

Awareness days are a great way to deliver education, promote specific campaigns and support causes that need both public support and charitable donations. They also provide public relations support and media interest to help promote the work being done by charities and not-for-profit agencies.

Awareness days are usually health related, for example tackling breast cancer or concern a specific campaign, such as protection of endangered species such as today’s Global Tiger Day (also known as International Tiger Day). They might be used to challenge stigma, social challenges or understanding of a learning disability, disease or condition. You might recognise this Cancer Research UK television advert promoting Bowel Cancer Awareness:

How Holocaust Memorial Day receives local support in Bristol

Holocaust Memorial Day takes place on January 27^th and is a global awareness day that helps protect the memory of the Holocaust. Every year, there is a different theme to the day, earlier this year it was ‘Keeping the memory alive’, in 2016 it will be ‘Don’t stand by’. This allows the awareness day to highlight different aspects of it’s programme each year, keeping it’s marketing activity fresh and providing an opportunity for different organisations to get involved and support their work.

Thousands of events take place around the world to commemorate the lives of victims that lost their lives, but it creates awareness not just of the horrors that occurred in NAZI Germany, but genocide around the world. It serves as a hugely important education platform to promote social integration, fights against racism and promote tolerance and peace.

In the UK, there is a programme of events run by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, supported by the UK Government Department for Communities and Local Government. This in turn provides the opportunity for local Holocaust Memorial Day trusts to work with schools, religious groups and community projects to hold events and engage whole communities. Bristol Holocaust Memorial Day events are run by volunteers and gain interest from local television and media.

An Awareness Day local to Bristol

An awareness day can be global, national or local to a specific city or region. Councils and local authorities are starting to use awareness days to promote local business or local treasures. Bristol City Council supports Bristol Open Doors Day (September 12^th) – helping to promote local attractions and engage the population of Bristol in supporting local business and increasing pride in the area.

Bristol Doors Open Day is a once-a-year chance to look behind closed doors and discover the city’s hidden treasures. You can explore fascinating buildings, join guided tours and enjoy a range of events and activities – all free for the day. Join us for a fantastic celebration of Bristol’s history, architecture and culture.

How to support an awareness day

If there is an awareness day that you are passionate about or that you think your business should support, the best thing you can do is get involved. You don’t have to make it a business objective, but if you treat it as a marketing activity, you can raise more money and generate more awareness, bringing you into contact with more of the local community. Ideally, you’ll be able to raise money for the organisation driving the cause.

1. Sponsorship

There are often sponsorship packages available for an awareness day. Large corporations might sponsor a national or global awareness day, but there are often local events that small businesses or a local business can sponsor. That might be through a financial donation, providing a venue for an event or offering design or printing services to help the event succeed. You can also support team members or their family members in fundraising initiatives.

2. Social Media

You can support an awareness day through your online marketing and social media content, creating images, videos and posts that draw attention to the awareness day, letting your customers and followers know what you’re doing and what events are taking place. You can use hashtags to promote the day.

3. Online Marketing

You can add a page to your website about the action awareness day and how you’re supporting it. Mention what you and your team are going to be doing, why it’s important to you and what results and benefits the awareness day aims to achieve. You can link to this through your social media activity as well.

4. Posters and in-store activity

When you support an awareness day, you can place posters in your business premises, whether it’s a shop, office, restaurant or community space. This helps people find out about an upcoming action awareness day when they visit your business and creates a great talking point on which to build your customer relationships.

For more information about how to support an awareness day, support your local business and create a social responsibility plan for your business, contact Bristol Marketing and we’d be happy to help you develop ideas and marketing strategies.