International Women’s Day Marketing – 7 Inspiring Ideas
Every year International Women’s Day is a celebration of women and their achievements across social, cultural, economic, and political arenas.
March 8th is a celebration of female trailblazers, and trendsetters, who inspire young women, the future generations.
It is a day when people take a step back to talk about the discrimination that exists based on gender and the need for gender equality. A day with such a crucial cause is naturally something brands cannot ignore.
About 75% of consumers consider it important for their favorite brands to take a public stand for a cause. So, brands looking to start meaningful conversations with their consumers often leverage important dates like International Women’s Day.
Remember that we live in a world where people like to actively share on social media. We live in a world where performative activism is predominant. But consumers frown upon brands that practice it. You do not want your International Women’s Day marketing ideas to look like just another causewashing effort.
How do you do that? How do you show consumers that you genuinely care and that your brand intends to genuinely support women? We have put together 7 creative and meaningful campaign ideas that work.
The Significance of International Women’s Day
We would be remiss if we downplayed the significance of this day even by a little. A lot of women and young girls, around the world, undergo the impact of a lot of inequality and unfair biases.
With International Women’s Day, organizations contributing to changing this status quo come forward. And seeing this a ripple effect starts, inspiring conversations and commitments from individuals and organizations.
Moreover, it is also an opportunity for brands to show their customers that they care about the state of the world. A chance to take a stand for positive change. This is a big factor for Gen Z and Millennials in particular. Yes, Gen Z and Millennials expect brands to make real contributions, without it being mere lip-service.
So how you design your International Women’s Day marketing and messaging matters a lot as well.
Designing your International Women’s Day marketing
It is good to have a roadmap before you enter into potentially controversial waters. And International Women’s Day campaigns are definitely in this category. Equality is a sensitive subject, so you have to approach it the right way.
A unique perspective and an out-of-the-box approach help you stand out in the crowd. Your customers will value your campaigns more, which means an increased engagement and brand recall value.
Understand the theme
Running a generic Women’s Day marketing campaign is not going to get you anywhere. Everyone knows when they start seeing pink-colored creatives around the first week of March that IWD is around the corner. And they’ll start to see all these posts as one. But you don’t want your post to get lost in the crowd, do you?
To ensure this, show your customers that you care. Every year there is a theme set for International Women’s Day. Invest time in understanding this theme and the reason behind it. Know what the goals set by the UN are, and what initiatives matter to your audience. Modeling your campaigns around these will bring you better success. And they ensure that your campaigns are relevant to your consumers and your brand too.
The theme for International Women’s Day 2024 is Inspire Inclusion
The 2024 theme for IWD is about a holistic approach to diversity and empowerment. It encourages recognizing the unique contributions of all women, particularly those from underrepresented communities.
As always, you can take part in the celebration by sharing a photo striking the #InspireInclusion pose to show your support.
From selfie cards to pledge cards and meeting backgrounds, a whole lot of free resources are available on the International Women’s Day website here.
Or you could also tap into the theme chosen by the United Nations for International Women’s Day 2024: “Invest in women: Accelerate progress”.
Practice diversity and inclusion
The issue of lack of representation for women of color in feminist movements has been rising for some time now. Hence, the current consumer base is consciously checking every brand campaign to see if they are actually inclusive.
And even from a brand’s point of view, it is beneficial to take an inclusive approach. Every business has a diverse audience base where people from all communities, races, and genders interact with them. Why choose to represent and honor a few of them alone in a campaign?
If more people resonate with your campaign, you have a higher chance of forming an emotional bond with them.
Educate the audience
You may feel like women’s rights and the need for equality and inclusivity are all common knowledge by now. Everyone knows about it, right? How can they not?
Well, to the contrary, there are a lot of issues that people do not know about at all. Or only have a cursory knowledge of. So in your women’s day marketing, pick a topic that you resonate with and matches your brand as well. Or come up with a topic based on this year’s theme. Then, launch informative creatives and campaigns around these so that the customer can see the value in them clearly.
The ideal platform to launch these educational and informative campaigns is social media. Since Gen Z and Millennials are predominantly active on social media platforms, you can leverage these campaigns to connect with them and converse with them.
Break stereotypes
Last but not the least, do you remember how we spoke of pink creatives doing the rounds during the first week of March? Will you not be tired of seeing the same cliched phrases, imagery, and colors wherever you go? It goes without saying that your customers will feel the same way.
Not to mention that using stereotypical images, designs, and phrases can be really irksome for consumers that are increasingly more informed about equality. So, break the shackles of stereotypes and reimagine your Women’s Day marketing designs.
You can start by choosing gender-neutral colors that celebrate women such as red, and ombre/pastel shades of orange, yellow, and so on. Or you can even use the purple from the International Women’s Day 2024 theme to keep things even more relevant. This way, you can show that your brand makes its own way rather than falling prey to stereotypes.
7 Inspiring International Women’s Day Marketing Ideas
You know the main themes and guidelines you need this Women’s Day, but what are the top campaign ideas to look out for? How can YOU inspire and engage your audience?
Well, once you are done with this section of the blog, you will have the answers you need. So let’s dive right in.
1. Empower women
One of the best ways to celebrate International Women’s Day is to create value for women. This could be in the form of content, resources, or experiences that empower women.
Take the below campaign from the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association. This year, their focus on International Women’s Day is to help enhance transformational leadership through their 7-hour free programming for members.
Campaigns like this one demonstrate a brand’s commitment to supporting women. And therefore they make wonderful International Women’s Day marketing ideas.
Additionally, such live events and workshops can foster a strong community and build positive brand association.
To build on this idea, identify the needs of your target audience and connect that with your area of expertise. Use this information to create resourceful content, educational workshops, or mentorship programs for women.
2. Foster a strong sense of community
Events can be your best bet for International Women’s Day marketing. Because with events that align with the theme, you are showing instead of telling what your brand truly stands for. Moreover, they can be valuable resources in fostering a sense of community in your audience.
For example, Amazon is hosting a networking event this year for International Women’s Day, for women in tech. The event not only celebrates women’s achievements but also helps women connect, share experiences, and build relationships. By creating a platform for trailblazing women to meet and greet and learn from others like them, the brand is fostering a sense of belonging and welcoming diverse perspectives.
Given the rise in popularity of virtual events, you could also host one where the speakers are women in leadership roles or inspirational women in your niche. This idea also makes for a great influencer partnership opportunity for small businesses looking to establish their name in an industry.
KIMP Tip: Building memorability through events involves a lot of planning. For offline events, you can add a swag bag or branded merchandise. For virtual events, you can create a social media page or group for event-specific updates. In the end, it is about consistent experiences that lead up to the event.
And what’s an easy way to streamline all your event promotion graphics? A KIMP Graphics subscription.
3. Encourage user-generated content
One of the best ways to build your International Women’s Day marketing campaign is to involve the women in your audience. Large-scale collaborations in the form of contests or even social media challenges can make a big difference. And they help improve brand engagement as well!
Take Typism for example. This online creative community is hosting a lettering challenge this year in celebration of International Women’s Day 2024. This challenge is a great opportunity for women in the creative industry to showcase their skills and also connect with other creatives from around the world.
The challenge encourages active participation from their community, generating user-created content that can be shared and celebrated. This fosters engagement and potentially expands their reach organically.
KIMP Tip: For online contests and challenges to work, you need a strong brand for the contest and also build a clear and relevant hashtag strategy. This helps track social media mentions and streamline the engagement the contest receives as well.
4. Themed product development
Launching exclusive products can be a great way to drive engagement and boost sales during occasions like International Women’s Day. But the success of this idea depends on how well the chosen theme aligns with the occasion and how well it ties back to your brand. Because even the slightest hint of promotional content that overshadows the spirit of the occasion can send your customers away!
Keeping this in mind, Disney is celebrating not just International Women’s Day but Women’s History Month through their food and beverage offerings. As a part of this campaign, the refreshed menu at select Disney parks features items inspired by popular female Disney characters like Tiana, Moana, and Minnie Mouse. And there are some inspired by female food and beverage cast members as well.
The campaign is innovative and uniquely relevant to both the occasion and the brand itself. Secondly, there is also a strong story that defines the purpose of the campaign and therefore it is easier for customers to resonate with the idea.
On the whole, this campaign exemplifies the effectiveness of theme-based product development for International Women’s Day marketing.
You can easily replicate this idea for your own International Women’s Day campaign by coming up with a limited-edition product that tells the story of inspirational women or the role played by women in your business.
5. Let your packaging do the talking
In the retail world, packaging design is one of the biggest customer touchpoints and also a major part of branding identity. So, if you cannot introduce a whole new product as a part of your International Women’s Day marketing efforts, you could customize the packaging design on your best-selling products.
The below image shows Clinique’s updated packaging on two of their iconic products in celebration of International Women’s Day. The illustrations featured on the packaging were created by Elen Winata, an award-winning art director and illustrator.
As you can see, Clinique did not resort to pinkwashing their packs. Instead, they used meaningful visuals to do the job. Remember this when you set out to update your packaging for your International Women’s Day marketing campaigns.
A few ways to do this will be:
- Illustrated package designs to showcase an important woman figure that aligns with your brand, product, and target audience, as Hershey’s India did.
- Come up with a theme based on a cause for women, a cause that’s close to your brand, and then personalize your packaging design around this theme.
And when you do make such changes to your packaging, don’t forget to create supporting ads and social media posts. You want to keep your customers informed about the changes so that they recognize the refreshed packaging at the stores.
Need help in customizing your packaging design for International Women’s Day? Get a KIMP Graphics subscription!
6. Showcase the women in your team
Your customers love to hear about and get introduced to the people behind your brand. Stories of these people help humanize your brand. And when it’s Women’s Day, focus on the women in your team.
Instead of roping in an influencer or celebrity to work on your Women’s Day marketing, show the women behind your brand.
Some ideas to execute this campaign are:
- Showcase the achievements of women on your team and highlight the contribution they have made to your products and/or services.
- Conduct interviews with them as you would with an influencer. Let them share their views on technical issues, societal issues, and other segments. This way, the world can see how talented they are.
- Ask them to recount their journey within the organization and their future goals.
- Vlog your company’s International Women’s Day celebration for your social media channels.
Representation is very powerful. By showing that you value your women employees and that women can do anything they want, you can inspire many. And you might just open a few minds too!
In addition to all these factors, you should also remember that customers are closely watching your brand. Nearly 61% of consumers are more likely to shop with brands that treat their employees well. They engage better with brands that honor and acknowledge their employees.
KIMP Tip: There are many ways to tell the story of how you value your employees. But we recommend using videos as they are the most impactful storytelling aids. They have the ability to deliver the message in the most memorable way.
If you want to give those professional finishing touches to the raw footage you have, the KIMP team is here to help.
7. Take the storytelling approach
A great way to celebrate International Women’s Day is to educate the audience on the important issues surrounding women’s rights. But that is easier said than done. Not everyone voluntarily wants to hear inputs on important issues and that too from a brand.
So, what’s an effective way to break the ice and get your message across? Storytelling, of course! It is the secret sauce that adds a touch of magic to most marketing strategies.
Yes, the conversation becomes much more interesting when you lead the audience to the message instead of dumping facts on them.
Videos are the best storytelling aids. The brilliance of the below video campaign from Mercedes-Benz and the way the story takes shape slowly but steadily proves this point.
But yes, you can use other visuals too – like images, illustrations, infographics, and more.
But remember that our brain reacts to color, fonts, and images much more strongly than it would to text alone. Not to mention that we remember images longer than text.
So, if you cannot come up with videos, then some mediums to adopt for effective storytelling will be:
- Comic strip illustrations
- Illustrated posts with captions
- Podcasts with narrated stories
Looking for a team to make your stories come to life? Check out the Kimp Graphics + Video subscriptions!
Ace Women’s Day marketing designs with Kimp
As you can see from the above ideas, a little bit of creativity and the heart to stay authentic are all it takes to create a successful International Women’s Day marketing campaign. When you choose to genuinely stand for a cause, your customers automatically support your brand. Lasting customer relationships are built on such connections.
So, what are you waiting for? Create the most meaningful and engaging International Women’s Day campaigns and wow your audience. With the idea part taken care of, then comes the step of executing these ideas through visuals. That’s where the KIMP team comes in. One subscription, a flat monthly fee is all it takes to stay ready for all these last-minute campaigns across various channels.
Sign up for our free trial and start designing today!