Jack of all Days

Here’s another holiday brought to us by the floral industry, specifically Heidi Richards, who was looking for a unique marketing method to sell more flowers. “I figure if Hallmark can create holidays to sell greeting cards, I could create a holiday to sell flowers,” she said.

It all started when a customer walked into her flower shop and said, “Help, I’m in the doghouse.” Richards then said, “You’re in the right place-we specialize in doghouse repairs.” And the slogan was born.

After she created the holiday, her immediate goal was to create a buzz without spending a lot on advertising. The first two years of “National Get Out of the Doghouse Day,” she hosted contests to promote the holiday asking customers to send them their best dog tale followed by a customer survey. Since then, she’s gotten some ink in the national media.

So while this holiday originated from the desire to sell more flowers, I think it’s also a sterling example of creative marketing. Is there a holiday called “Creative Marketing Day?” Hmmm….. the possibilities.