As summer winds down, give some consideration to these multi-channel campaign ideas playing off of some lesser-known August holidays.

Theme: Friendship Day (Aug. 4)
Goal: Lead generation
Industries: Insurance, financial services, direct sales

• Send direct mail flyers to current clients with messaging playing off the Friendship Day theme.

• Have a QR code on the flyer that takes the recipient to an online form. This will allow them to sign people up directly from their phone.

• Offer a tiered rewards program for their help. For example, they’ll receive a gift card for $10 for each qualified lead they provide, $20 if the lead re-engages with you, and $30 if the lead becomes a client. You can even extend this to referrals of referrals, so the initial referee has even more incentive to give good names.

• Email (if possible) or mail the rewards to the referrer after you’ve verified the lead. Give them the opportunity to share the email on their social media as well, with a message along the lines of “I just received X dollars by referring friends to [person/company name].”

Theme: Bad Poetry Day (Aug. 18)
Goal: Social media engagement, lead generation
Industries: Bars, restaurants, retail, business-to-consumer, e-commerce

• Announce on one (keep it to either Facebook and/or Twitter) of your social media channels a bad poetry contest that your followers can take part in. Be sure to announce it on email to your current clients and prospects that may not be following you on social media and link the message back to your social media, if your system facilitates that.

• The premise of the contest will be to have participants submit a bad poem about your business or industry or something related to either. (Keep an eye on these to make sure they stay clean and appropriate.)

• Tell contestants they will receive a gift card for the total number of “likes” or retweets their poem receives to your business or a business of their choosing. (Give them some options to limit the hassle on your part.)

• Incentivizing the likes and retweets will draw in their friends to your social media pages and boost followers, ideally setting the stage for them to become leads down the road.

Theme: Senior Citizens Day (Aug. 21)
Goal: Acquire new business, generate leads, lead nurturing
Industries: Health insurance

• Send direct mail flyers to people who will become eligible for Medicare within the next year. Build messaging around Senior Citizens Day and your commitment to helping them as they join the ranks.

• Direct mail pieces should point them in the direction of your website for more information. Also include a QR code that will allow them to sign up for your e-newsletter. While not as comfortable as younger generations with technology, they will most likely still be familiar with the concept.

• Set up series of regular emails focusing on different Medicare plans and options they have available. This should be as much as an educational campaign as it should a sales/marketing campaign.

If you’ve provided them with enough content to build your own credibility, you’ll stand a better chance at being their agent of choice when it comes time to make the switch to Medicare.