The Complete Marketing Calendar Events Guide for 2024

Get out your holiday marketing calendar because you’re about to discover all the crucial event dates in 2024 you can’t afford to miss.

Or save yourself the time of finding a pen and make the most of the digital marketing events calendar that we made earlier, complete with every single one of the events you need to watch out for.

You’ll find all the most important events for digital marketers, whether you’re in content, SEO, design, or affiliate marketing. We’ve got it all, and as a bonus, we’ve sprinkled in major holidays and international awareness days that could impact your marketing.

Short on time? Download our marketing events calendar below, filled with the need-to-know dates, and update it with the events that matter to you.

Q1 Marketing events calendar (January – March)

Don’t let the (maybe slightly hungover) beginning of the year fool you. Your marketing events calendar might start off looking a little bare, but in no time, it’s jam-packed.

The start of Q1 marks a new chapter as you prepare for the year ahead, so any downtime you do have should be used wisely. Now the holiday hustle and bustle is behind us, plan ahead and solidify that 2024 marketing plan.

January

If you’re looking for events for you and your business to play into in January, you may want to go local or find occasions related to your business or industry. For example, sports events always have marketing potential, and so does a social media campaign around national, international, or awareness days.

And this month has its fair share of those, like Dry January, World Braille Day, National Hug Day, and Squirrel Appreciation Day. ️

Today’s consumer loyalty often depends on what people believe about a brand, meaning you need to consider which values your marketing represents. Genuinely supporting social causes strengthens your brand image, and makes you more relatable to your target audience.

Take Oumph! as an example. This award-winning Swedish plant-based brand made the most of Veganuary with their ‘Adopt a Carnivore’ campaign in 2023, where they encouraged plant-based fans and vegans to spread the good word (and good food).

Key marketing dates in January 2024:

• Dry January: the entire month
• Veganuary: the entire month
• New Year’s Day: Jan 1
• Festival of Sleep Day: Jan 3
• NRF 2024 – Retail’s Big Show (NYC): Jan 14-16
• Martin Luther King Jr. Day: Jan 15
• Australia Day: Jan 26
• Backward Day: Jan 31

February

Speaking of values, EDI (equality, diversion, and inclusion) is on everybody’s agenda. Since 1970, February has been honored as Black History Month in the US and Canada.

For most businesses, it’s not the kind of event to build a campaign around. EDI issues are sensitive and can easily backfire if perceived as lacking integrity if they’re overdone or seen as performative.

It’s something that should be considered all year round on an internal basis as well – match what you’re shouting about externally by pushing for things within the company as well, like hosting educational talks, raising money, and creating policies. Without the internal aspect, you can quickly be seen as disingenuous. Here are just a few ideas for Black History Month activities in your workplace that you can use to promote engagement.

What else does February hold? Well, if you own a flower shop, February might just be your favorite month. There’s one day that certainly makes up for any slow business during the cold season: Valentine’s day. And it’s a time for ecommerce and B2B to get creative with their Valentine’s Day campaigns, too.

Key marketing dates in February 2024:

• Black History Month: The entire month
• New York Fashion Week: Feb 9–11
• Super Bowl Sunday: Feb 11
• Valentine’s Day: Feb 14
• Random Act of Kindness Day: Feb 17
• Social Media Marketing World (San Diego, USA): Feb 18-20
• White Label Expo(London, UK): Feb 27-28
• Affiliate World Dubai: Feb 28-29

March

In March, all that preparation time comes to an end, and conferencing kicks OFF.

The month is jam-packed with conferences, summits, and expos, and – as you can imagine – there’s something for every type of digital marketing. For those in travel and tourism, plan a Berlin trip for ITB. And B2B marketers? Miami Beach is hosting this year’s B2B Marketing Expo.

With all these events, don’t forget the values. March is also Women’s History Month, with March 8 celebrating International Women’s Day. It’s another time where brands can show their respect and honor women.

In 2022, companies encouraged employees to take part in the #BreakTheBias campaign that swept social media marketing. In 2023, it was #EmbraceEquity. And in 2024, the IWD community has announced the campaign theme of #InspireInclusion.

Key marketing dates in March 2024:

• Women’s History Month: the entire month
• World Compliment Day: Mar 1
• Digiday Media Buying Summit (Nashville, USA): Mar 4-6
• ITB Berlin(Berlin, Germany): Mar 5-7
• B2B Marketing Expo (Miami Beach, USA): Mar 6-7
• International Women’s Day: Mar 8
• Ramadan begins: Mar 10
• d3con (Hamburg, Germany): Mar 12-13
• ad:tech New Delhi (India): Mar 13-14
• Digiday Publishing Summit (Nashville, USA): Mar 25-27
• Easter weekend: Mar 28-31

Q2 Key marketing dates (April – June)

Ding ding ding, quarter two.

There’s lots to shout about and celebrate in Q2, so make sure you come in prepared. With month-long occasions like Mental Health Awareness Month and Pride Month, on top of events, conferences, and national days, you might have a few campaigns running at the same time.

April

April offers the opportunity to have some marketing fun, too – with one day in particular.

April Fools Day.

In recent years, more and more companies have jumped on the bandwagon of pranks and jobs to celebrate this day. After all, it’s a well-known fact that having a good laugh at work is great for productivity.

This month also hosts some of the most important religious holidays around the world, including Passover and the celebrations of the end of Ramadan.

In terms of marketing events, a lot of SEO professionals attend BrightonSEO, helping them ramp up their knowledge, demonstrate their expertise, or just network with other marketing professionals. There’s also PI Live Miami where performance marketers can get together.

Key marketing dates in April 2024:

• April Fool’s Day: Apr 1
• 404 Day: Apr 4 (Yes, that’s a day for SEOs and the infamous 404 page)
• Eid al-Fitr: Apr 9-10
• PI Live Miami (USA): Apr 16-18
• Passover: Apr 22-30
• Earth Day: Apr 22
• brightonSEO (Brighton, UK): Apr 25-26

May

The month – and the annoying joke we can’t help but say – you’ve all been waiting for… May (*cough*… the fourth be with you *cough cough*).

May 4th aside, this month has been declared Mental Health Awareness Month, which is something that is important – but not necessarily easy – for marketers to consider. Here’s another matter where internal comms and education through workshops, discussions, or even reading lists makes the difference.

May is also the month where Gartner holds its annual Marketing Symposium in the US; a high-level event for marketing executives worldwide. Advertisers from all over the world will also mark May 16-18th in their annual marketing calendars, and head to Advertising Week Europe in London. All these events have the same aim: to help marketers like you improve your knowledge, gain inspiration, and make new contacts across the globe. Win, win, win.

Key marketing dates in May 2024:

• Mental Health Awareness Month: the entire month
• Eat What You Want Day: May 11 (great to know)
• Mother’s Day (US): May 12
• Advertising Week Europe, London (UK) May 14-16
• FLA: Future of Branding Week (London, UK): May 14-16
• Gartner Marketing Symposium (London, UK): May 13-14
• National Wine Day: May 25
• Memorial Day (US): May 27

June

June is a really busy one for all you digital marketers out there. For one, it’s LGBT+ Pride Month for the US. So, those in the US or market to a US audience should take notice of related events and campaigns leading up to it, but also during.

Then you’ve got the US holiday which is Juneteenth. The newly recognized national holiday is held to commemorate the end of slavery in Texas, which wasn’t until two years after Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.

There are a bunch of noteworthy events in June for digital and growth marketers that happen in Europe. Here are just a few excuses to visit the region at a nice time of year, anyway (and gain invaluable knowledge for your marketing growth, obviously…).

Key marketing dates in June 2024:

• LGBTQ+ Pride Month: the entire month
• National Candy Month: the entire month
• MozCon (Seattle, USA): Jun 3-4
• NBA Finals (US): Jun 6-23
• National Doughnut Day: Jun 7
• Father’s Day (US): Jun 16
• Eid al-Adha: Jun 16-19
• Growth Marketing Summit (Frankfurt, Germany): Jun 19
• Juneteenth: Jun 19
• Digital Marketing World Forum (London, UK): Jun 25-26
• Tour de France: Jun 29 – Jul 21
• Social Media Day: Jun 30

Q3 Significant dates for your marketing calendar (July – September)

T’is the season… to book a holiday. And after all those marketing calendar events, it’s fair to say we’re all ready for it.

With that, summer can mean a slowdown in sales and comms so use this time wisely. Start thinking about your end-of-year campaigns, perhaps?

But there are still a few events and occasions to watch out for while the sun is out or when it seems like the whole office is on annual leave…

July

The holiday month of July starts with important celebrations for Americans. But marketing for Fourth of July travels beyond America; everyone doing business with US companies or consumers should give a shout-out or two, as well.

Oh, and here’s one that is definitely being circled in our calendar: World Emoji Day on July 17. Yep, that’s right – a day dedicated to emojis. Some emoji-related facts for you? You’ve got it:

• The most popular emoji:
• The busiest day for emoji senders: New Year’s Eve
• The number of emojis out there: 3,000+

We’re big advocates of emojis, and they can really boost your marketing – they’re humanizing, they can increase your open rate and engagement in emails and on social media, and they (almost always) mean the same thing to customers across the world – goodbye language barriers.

Key marketing dates in July 2024:

• Canada Day: Jul 1
• Independence Day (US): Jul 4
• Workaholics Day: Jul 5
• Wimbledon Championships (London, UK): Jul 1-14
• World Emoji Day: Jul 17
• Affiliate Summit East (New York, USA): Jul 29-30

August

Right, so we’ve hit the halfway point for 2024 now – but, some of the biggest events for marketers are still to come.

But August isn’t too popular for conferences and events. The weather is good – whether you’re on home turf or gone abroad for a sunshine–filled holiday. This may well be why August 5th is International Beer Day. We see you (Inter)National Day wizards.

But it’s not all ice-cold beverages and sun tans, with lots of annual conferences happening in the month, including Marketing AI Institute hosting MAICON.

Key marketing dates in August 2024:

• International Beer Day: Aug 2
• Book Lovers Day: Aug 9
• End of 2024 Paris Olympics: Aug 11
• National Nonprofit Day (US): Aug 17
• DigiMarCon UK (London, UK): Aug 29-30

September

Back to School and back to work. In most parts of the world, business goes back to normal after the summer break.

If we’re making it a competition, we’ll say September wins second prize for the busiest months for conferences – especially if you’re in content marketing.

Early in the month, content marketers may want to head to Boston for the Inbound conference. SEOs get the chance to attend the second BrightonSEO conference of the year, and right after that, the digital marketing convention DMEXCO opens its gates in Cologne, Germany.

And that’s not the end of it. Content Marketing World is also planned for the end of September 2024.

Key marketing dates in September 2024:

• Labor Day (US): Sep 2
• Marketing AI Conference(MAICON) (Cleveland, US): Sep 10-12
• Inbound (Boston, USA): Sep 18-20
• International Literacy Day: Sep 8
• DMEXCO (Cologne, Germany): Sep 18-19
• International Day of Peace: Sep 21
• World Tourism Day: Sep 27th

Q4 Holiday marketing calendar (October – December)

What’s there to say about the fourth and final quarter? It might start off slow, but the next thing you know, the commercial frenzy towards the end of the year has arrived. You know the one.

So, just a forewarning (or two): it’s going to get busy, and there are several dates in the calendar you don’t want to miss.

October

The first big event in this quarter that every business should have imprinted into their marketing events calendar is Halloween on October 31st. The spooky holiday has gained a whole lot of popularity in recent years, even in geographic locations that don’t have a trick-or-treat history.

How did we celebrate it? With a pun-filled and insightful blog post on Halloween trends in keyword research for the year, and it looks like we’re more interested in the fancy dress aspect than getting lollies from your next-door neighbor.

Other noteworthy occasions – depending on your location, your clients’ locations, and target industries – are the Canadian Thanksgiving and Indigenous Peoples Day.

Performance marketers can also get a knowledge boost at PI Live London just before they jump into the holiday action.

Key marketing dates in October 2024:

• World Coffee Day: Oct 1
• Rosh Hashanah: Oct 2-4
• Indigenous Peoples’ Day: Oct 14
• Canadian Thanksgiving: Oct 14
• Content Marketing World (San Diego, USA): Oct 21-23
• Halloween: Oct 31
• Diwali: Oct 31

November

While March and September might be the busiest for marketing events, November is a clear winner for sales.

First, you’ve got Thanksgiving, then you’ve got a week full of shopping holidays – Black Friday and Cyber Weekend being the biggest.

We’d suggest marking each of these days in red. You’ll need to be on-hand to help and support your sales team where needed, with campaigns and content to cover this period of time. These couple of weeks need their own digital marketing strategy, trust us.

Key marketing dates in November 2024:

• Native American Heritage Month: the entire month
• Thanksgiving: Nov 28
• Black Friday: Nov 29
• Small Business Saturday: Nov 30

December

In many parts of the world, December is the most festive of months. But for marketers, it’s not a time to sit back, relax, and write your Christmas lists.

But when it’s a time when almost everyone out there is promoting something, how do you stand out? The simple solution is to target, and target hard. Think about your ideal customer profile or profiles; how do you customize your campaigns to grab their attention above others?

Key marketing dates in December 2024:

• ​Cyber Monday: Dec 2
• Christmas Eve: Dec 24
• Christmas Day: Dec 25
• Hanukkah: Dec 25 – Jan 2
• Boxing Day (UK + Australia): Dec 26
• Kwanzaa: Dec 26-1
• New Year’s Eve: Dec 31

Want more digital marketing events?

If you’re feeling like your marketing events calendar could be even full, head to DigiMarCon Events for a full range of digital marketing conferences across the globe in 2023. (Or save on Air Miles and filter down to what else of interest is happening in your region).

Plan in advance to make 2024 profitable

What to do next? Download the marketing events calendar and add your own significant dates. Mapping out what’s ahead helps you stay focused and manage your time. This marketing annual calendar can be the basis for your yearly content calendar.

Hot tip: Print a page per month and pin it next to your computer in all its glory.

Oh, and bookmark this page because we’ll update it throughout 2024 when we see some additional events or occasions we know you’ll love.

For now, Similarweb wishes you a successful and profitable marketing year 2024; one that is full of events and emojis.

FAQs

What should go on a marketing events calendar?

A good marketing events calendar should be your marketing plan for the whole year. It should include your planned campaigns alongside key seasonal events, holidays and significant dates. An added extra is an internal marketing calendar where you can plan which events and conferences you and your team will attend.

What is an annual marketing calendar?

An annual marketing calendar is exactly what it sounds like: a month by month plan of marketing activities for the whole year. The calendar should be created before the year begins, but can and should be updated regularly. It should contain campaigns as well as key dates, events and seasons.

What is a retail marketing calendar?

A retail marketing calendar is centered around promotions and seasons and key dates. Retail companies should plan campaigns and promotions around holiday dates (such as Valentine’s Day and Halloween), and stock around seasonality and key events/dates.