March is full of fun pet holidays to celebrate with your customers. They offer promotional and merchandising opportunities. Speaking of promotional now is a great time to peruse our Astro Offers for the month of March!

This guide contains info about the holiday along with a brief explanation of the assets added to our Astro Marketing Suite along with My Promotion Ideas, Social Media Fun, and Astro Offer Pairings!

Month-Long Observances

Adopt a Rescued Guinea Pig Month

This holiday is dedicated to the Guinea Pigs who have found themselves in Shelters and Rescues across our country. Many people do not realize that our shelter system takes in animals other than cats and dogs. And even though Guinea Pigs are often happily available for adoption at local pet shops (maybe even your pet shop), it’s good to make your customers aware of the other options for adoption out there. And guess what? If they adopt a Guinea Pig, or two, from a local shelter or rescue, your pet shop is going to be their best resource for finding food, supplies, treats, bedding, etc – for their newly adopted piggies!

Our Adopt a Rescued Guinea Pig Month article is full of info about guinea pig adoption, care, and info about local pet shops being a great resource for care materials in the years to come – including links to real Astro Offers and Sharing the Love programs available now!

Marketing Materials: Astro Holiday Template with Offers/Promo Elements and Sharing the Love, Social Media, and Holiday/Facebook/Instagram Media in Image Library (these same images are available as Canva Templates).
Canva Template Links: Facebook Adopt, Instagram Adopt, Facebook Happy Adoption Day
My Promotion Idea: $/% Off New Home Accessories (Cage, Toys, etc)
A Blog to Share: Adopt a Rescued Guinea Pig Month

One-Day Holidays with Astro Offer Pairings

March 17: St. Patrick’s Day

People love any excuse to dress their pets up in festive attire, and St. Patrick’s Day has one rule – wear green! Believe me, I’ve already started the hunt for sparkly bow ties for all of my pets!

In addition to the fun and games involved with dressing up, another underlying theme is finding or protecting a pot-o-gold. What better way to help your customers preserve their gold than offering them your Astro Offers!

No one can accuse these Offers of not wearing green for St. Patrick’s Day!

Marketing Materials: Holiday Template with Offer/Promo Elements, Holiday/Facebook/Instagram Media in Image Library (these same images available as Canva Templates)
Canva Templates: Facebook, Instagram, Instagram Yappy Hour (edit to add your store’s name before sharing), My Promotion (Pot-o-Gold Points with animated sparkles)
My Promotion Ideas: Are you already running a Points Program? Give your customers a way to earn a Pot-o-Gold worth of bonus points to add to their current totals! Hide a pot-o-gold somewhere in your store (make it a challenge, but not impossible! – it can be anything from a sticker, a printed picture, to a cute decoration from the Dollar Store) and tell your customers that if they stop by and find it they will earn Double Points when they make a purchase! (Reach out to support@astroloyalty.com if you need help setting up your Double Points Event!)
Social Media Fun: Give your customers a platform on which to show off their pet’s best green attire!

March 23: Cuddly Kitten Day

March 23 Happy Cuddly Kitten Day All kittens are cuddly! This holiday is a great tool to help you market both the cuddliest of products at your store, as well as the treats and foods that cater to the cuddliest of kittens. Do you have foods that are formulated specifically for kittens? What about creating a pop-up section that showcases New Kitten Starter Kits! You could even decorate that display with images of adoptable cuddly kittens.

Marketing Materials: Holiday Template with Offer/Promo Elements and info about Sharing the Love, Holiday/Facebook Media in Image Library.
Canva Templates: Facebook with video & Facebook
My Promotion Ideas: $/% Off your favorite cuddly toys for kittens

March 23: National Puppy Day

Yay puppies! This is a great holiday to help you promote your Sharing the Love programs as well as showcase your puppy products that will guide them into adulthood happily and healthily.

Marketing Materials: Holiday Template with Offer/Promo Elements and info on Sharing the Love. Holiday/Facebook/Instagram Media in Image Library (these same images are available as Canva Templates).
Canva Templates: Facebook with Adopt
My Promotion Ideas: $/% Off Puppy Products
Social Media Fun: Invite your customers to share their puppy pics, throwback style, or current!

March 28: Respect Your Cat Day

Finally, the holiday that celebrates what our cats have been demanding on a daily basis – RESPECT! (Now all I can think of is a room full of cats meow-singing R-E.S-P-E-C-T by Aretha Franklin – not mad about it, kinda loving it.)

This holiday gives you one final push to get your cat-themed Offers out there into the public eye. Create a fun display that showcases items that can be presented to cats as tokens of respect. I guarantee cat guardians will get a kick out of it!

Marketing Materials: Holiday Template with Offer/Promo Elements, Holiday/Facebook/Instagram Media in Image Library (these same images are available as Canva Templates).
Canva Templates: Facebook
My Promotion Ideas: $/% Off Toys and Treats that can be offered as tokens of Respect to a cat
Social Media Fun: Invite your customers to share pics and stories about the ways in which they either respect their cat or how their cat demands their respect.

Additional One-Day Holidays Just for Fun!

March 3: If Pets Had Thumbs Day

This is a goofy holiday that you can use to introduce your FREE Customer Mobile App to your customers. This customizable App is available to all Astro Retailers, regardless of whether you have the Marketing Suite enabled.

Without the Marketing Suite, your customers can access the App to keep track of their Frequent Buyer Card progress, their Loyalty Points (if applicable), view the Astro Offers that your store is enrolled in, and update their contact info and pet bios.
With the Marketing Suite enabled, you will also be able to use Campaigns to send App Notifications to your customers who have downloaded your App.

What are some of the other things pets would do if they had thumbs? It’s your question to ask. Have fun with it!

Marketing Materials: Holiday Template with Offer/Promo Elements and info about downloading your Mobile App., Holiday/Facebook/Instagram Media in Image Library (these same images are available as Canva Templates).
Canva Templates: Facebook, Instagram
Social Media Fun: Ask the question, “What would your pets do if they had thumbs?”

March 13: K9 Veterans Day

National K9 Veterans Day is a day set aside to commemorate the service and sacrifices of the American military and working dogs throughout history.

Today’s military dogs are valued as important members of their military units and even have their own retirement ceremonies, awards and medals, and memorial services. When these dogs retire from service they are often adopted by human veterans or active service military professionals.

Marketing Materials: Holiday Template with Offer/Promo Elements and some facts about the holiday, Holiday/My Promotion/Facebook Media in Image Library (these same images are available as Canva Templates).
Canva Templates: Facebook, My Promotion
My Promotion Ideas: If you do not normally offer a military or veterans discount to your customers now is a good time to offer one. Or if you do, you could include a bonus discount or promotion for K9 Veterans specifically.
Astro Offer Pairings: Any Offer that caters to a dog’s health and happiness!

March 15: National Napping Day

If there is one thing that our pets do exceptionally well, it is nap and cuddle!

This is a great holiday to promote items such as beds, blankets, cat trees with perches, cuddly plushies, calming supplements and treats, and pet jammies!

I love having my pets up on the furniture with me, but they shed a lot! It wasn’t until I invested in some pet blankets (waterproof – just in case!) that I was finally able to invite them up for a cuddle without any worrisome thoughts about them soiling the upholstery. (The pet hair on my clothes is another matter entirely, but one I am more willing to overlook )

Marketing Materials: Holiday Template with Offer/Promo Elements. Holiday/Facebook/My Promotion Media in Image Library (these same images are available as Canva Templates).
Canva Templates: Facebook, My Promotion
My Promotion Ideas: $/% Off Nap-cessories!
Social Media Fun: Invite your customers to share pics of their pets enjoying a cozy nap!

March 30: Take a Walk in a Park Day

Spring is coming and the weather is becoming more and more beautiful! It’s the best time of the year to get out there and enjoy a nice walk in the park. Now is the time to think about the supplies a pet parent would need in order to make their walk in the park as enjoyable as possible! Leashes, harnesses, treats and pouches, poop-bags, water bottles, etc.

This is also a great time to start offering promotions relating to any training classes you may offer for walking on a leash.

Marketing Materials: Holiday Template with Offer/Promo Elements, Holiday/Facebook/Instagram Media in Image Library (these same images are available as Canva Templates).
Canva Templates: Facebook
My Promotion Ideas: $/% Leash Training or Walking Accessories
Social Media Fun: Invite your customers to share pics of themselves and their pets enjoying a walk in the park

Pet Holiday Guide | March 2022

Pet Holiday Guide | March 2022