Memorial Day Marketing: 10 Fresh Ideas and Examples (2025)

Memorial Day holiday is more than family gatherings, weekend getaways, and barbecues.

For many Americans, it’s also a great time to shop, more so as it’s also the onset of summer.

A good time for eComm stores - but only if they break through the noise - with smarter, fresher marketing.

In this article, let's look at:

• 10 Memorial Day Marketing Ideas and Examples
• 15 Memorial Day Subject Lines

10 Memorial Day Marketing Ideas and Examples

1. Make product bundles more compelling

2. Make your discounts “appear” more appealing

3. Heighten curiosity with mystery deals

4. Time for summer deals!  

5. Utilize the power of psychological pricing (with BOGO deals)

6. Create America-themed products

7. Capitalize on sensory marketing

8. Start the conversation with an essential checklist 

9. Leverage possession utility as a persuasive tactic 

10. Offer a freebie—with a catch

1. Make product bundles more compelling

Offer product bundles that address problems specific to summer. 

Suppose, you’re a pet food and care brand, you can offer product bundles that help remove ticks, prevent dehydration, and repellents that help protect dogs from Lyme Disease. 

Now, what you shouldn’t do—sell clothing bundles for pets that serve their purpose in winter. 

Hawthorne offers curated bundles as part of its Memorial Day sales at reasonable prices.

To make your bundles more compelling: 

• Mention the authority. For instance, the subject matter expert and the reason this bundle is useful 
• Roll out staff favorite product bundles - to persuade via employee advocacy 
• Display credentials of the subject matter expert to communicate a watertight statement (For example: Products requiring medical advice) 
• Offer DIY bundles where customers choose items conveying the choice to make independent decisions
• Put out the limited edition products for Memorial Day sale with a time-sensitive offer. This induces FOMO motivating customers to act fast

2. Make your discounts “appear” more appealing

High-consideration products require customers to do deep research and yet they might be apprehensive.

Reason?

They want the best offer. They often end up asking:

• Is this the best price that I can get?
• Is there an alternative that offers high quality at an affordable price?
• If there’s a convenient option, will I get to make returns? 

Tuft & Needle offers individual discounts on its best-selling mattresses as part of its Memorial Day campaign ideas. 

Discounts on best sellers encourage new product trials by pushing shoppers beyond their apprehensions.

To make your discounts more appealing: 

• Use price anchoring to make the price reduction more tangible 
• Use price badges to draw attention and enable customers to make quick decisions as it stimulates pre-attentive processing 
• Include a limited-time offer nudge to drive real urgency 
• Use multiples of 10 as discount percentages for memorability

3. Heighten curiosity with mystery deals  

In a study by the University of Passau, it was found customers who received the mystery deal exhibited greater happiness during the pre-purchase and post-purchase stages when they got a deal of their liking. 

Mystery deals increase dopamine driving the customers to click.

Including mystery deals in your Memorial Day email marketing can help in reducing cart abandonment rates substantially. 

310 Nutrition offers a mystery deal as part of its Memorial Day email campaign. 

Here are a few pointers to make your mystery deal more appealing:

• Use a question in your mystery deal copy as a rational trigger 
• Include ellipsis(...) in your Memorial Day sale copy to build suspense 
• Add a countdown timer to increase urgency by the minute 
• Insert images that act as an emotional trigger to drive CTR
• Use power verbs in your CTA for higher response

4. Time for summer deals!  

You can drive awareness among first-time customers and turn them into repeat customers for your summer sale.

Havaianas offers 30% off on its summer collection as part of Memorial Day marketing ideas.  

Offering promo codes can help increase oxytocin by 38% and 11% happier in contrast to those who didn’t.  

To make your summer sales more alluring:

• Offer summer guides with tips such as how to protect yourself from the blistering sun, clothes to wear, and foods to consume. Connect these needs to your products
• Run product bundling offers that provide respite from the summer. For example, summer multivitamins bundle 
• Educate customers about the problems that come with summer and outline the solution. Here’s how Pai Skincare does it 

5. Utilize the power of psychological pricing (with BOGO deals)

Buy One, Get One deals are the customers’ favorite - 93% of them say it.

When shoppers get free stuff, they are likely to break away from rational reasoning. Dan Ariely, a noted behavioral economist in his book Predictably Irrational states that customers change their behavior patterns as they see free stuff. It taps their innate desire to get something for free without paying for it. 

This is supported by the Zero Price Effect, where there’s an increase in demand for a product when the cost is zero, even if there is no need.  

The Home T offers a BOGO deal as a part of its Memorial Day promotions.  

To make your BOGO deals sell well: 

• Offer a complimentary product to enhance the value of the primary product. For example, a razor and a pack of blades 
• Provide free samples on the purchase of certain products to encourage new product adoption 
• Ensure you limit frequent BOGO deals. This results in fatigue and customers won’t be motivated to purchase 
• Make sure you do your inventory forecasting right to avoid stockouts 

6. Create America-themed products 

Creating products modeled after the American flag demonstrates the collective feeling of being American on Memorial Day. 

Tipsy Elves offers American flag-themed products as part of their offerings. 

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An initiative, like the above, lets customers commemorate the sacrifices of Civil War soldiers through clothes and apparel with absolute ease.

To help sell American-themed products: 

• Feature elegant models wearing your American-themed products as customers perceive beautiful things to be good, courtesy - The Halo Effect
• Name your products after American themes to invoke a strong sense of cultural attachment 
• Use low stock alerts to emphasize real-time urgency 
• Assure on-time delivery before Memorial Day to influence purchase decisions

7. Capitalize on sensory marketing 

Sensory Marketing is a way to appeal to any of the 5 senses (sight, taste, touch, sound, and smell) to draw attention and response from customers. 

Here’s how it is used in different segments:

a) Hardware: A hardware store selling electronic locks uses a video to convey safety, accessibility, ease of use, and efficiency showing the product in context. It outlines how one can monitor their safety far away with their phone, voice, finger, and key. The WiFi-enabled access enables safety, simplicity, and style. 

Do check out: 18 Ideas to Boost Online Hardware Stores Conversions

b) Jewelry: Features an image of a model wearing an earring to highlight its appeal and glow. It uses white background along with high-quality images to emphasize its craftsmanship and the vibe it possesses. It highlights the luxury and elegance of wearing the product. 

c) Accessories: A mobile accessory brand selling its products will use an image to demonstrate that its products are damage-resistant. 

Cure Hydration uses sensory marketing in its Memorial Day email.

Sensory marketing succeeds due to its underlying principle of embodied cognition—sensory interactions subconsciously determine the way customers perceive and interact with brands and products.

To make sensory marketing bring you sales:

• Supplement your copy with the images to set the right context
• Use fonts that make it interactive such as Playfair, Lato, Oswald, and Roboto 
• Use subtle cues like product names without making them obvious. For instance, in the above example, the woman is drinking from a Cure Hydration bottle
• Use epizeuxis—repetition of a word in quick succession to increase its power and memorability in the subconscious minds of customers

8. Start the conversation with an essential checklist 

Americans see Memorial Day weekend as an opportunity to travel. In 2022 alone, 39.2 billion people planned to travel outdoors and the numbers are more than likely to increase this year. 

A checklist serves as a guide and gives a sense of direction. It brings forth the principle of authority—customers follow the lead of legitimate and credible experts. 

To put your Memorial Day checklist in place: 

• Offer different categories so customers have the convenience of choice 
• Include high-quality product images so customers can scan them. 75% of customers base their decisions based on product images. 
• Write product descriptions that simplify the benefits of the products
• Include seasonal essentials in the checklist and nothing else to establish authority 

9. Leverage possession utility as a persuasive tactic 

Possession utility is the perceived value that a customer gets by owning a product.

SUUNTO uses possession utility as a persuasive tactic to sell its watches in the Memorial Day sale email. 

Here are a few tips to use possession utility in your Memorial Day campaigns: 

• Use cause and effect statements in your content to describe the relationship features and benefits 
• Offer a 7-day free trial to let customers use the product and to reduce buyer’s remorse 
• Use the inverted pyramid model to highlight the most important information at the beginning 

10. Offer a freebie—with a catch 

A free gift on a minimum purchase as part of your Memorial Day sale is a motivating incentive. 

This practice elicits nudge marketing—a long-term marketing strategy that encourages visitors to make fast purchasing decisions through subtle or direct prompts. 

310 Nutrition offers a free Memorial Day Shaker Cup to influence customers to buy. 

To make your nudges more compelling: 

• Use contractions to make it conversational and exclamation to emphasize the power of the nudge
• Highlight the nudge in red to drive urgency 
• Use capital letters to demonstrate your brand as competent 
• Include a limited-time offer messaging to drive impulse action

15 Inspiring Memorial Day Subject Lines

1. 40% Off Memorial Day Sale Extended!

2. Ready to bear your bump this Memorial Day?

3. The Memorial Day sale ENDS TONIGHT!

4. Memorial Day Sale: SAVE up to $45!

5. Memorial Day Sale Is Almost Over! 😲

6. Memorial Day weekend sales! Up to 50% off 200+ styles

7. Last Call: The Memorial Day Sale Ends Soon

8. Fresh picks for Memorial Day!

9. STARTS NOW 🚨 UP TO 60% OFF MEMORIAL DAY SALE

10. 🎈Memorial Day Mystery Box Special. Too fun to pass up🙌

11. Our Craziest Deal Is Back For Memorial Day

12. 🚨10% off sitewide alert!🚨

13. Our biggest Summer Sale is here

14. Salute-Worthy Snacks For Your Memorial Day BBQ

15. ❤ 💙 Everything you need for Memorial Day​

In the end….

Memorial Day campaigns must be driven by the right context, ideal experiences, and narratives. While Memorial Day is more of a fun holiday for the general public, it's originally observed to pay our respects to martyrs. If your audience caters to veterans, then having an exclusive offer should also be your goal. 

Memorial Day Marketing 101

1. What is a good Memorial Day post? 

A good Memorial Day must not start with ‘Happy Memorial Day’. Here are a few things you can do: 

a) Get straight to the offer 

State the offer and the last date. Whether it is a sitewide sale, tiered discount, limited-time offer, or flash sale, focus on the copy. 

b) Show your appreciation for the martyrs 

A simple line expressing gratitude for those who laid their lives is appreciated. As a token of appreciation, provide discounts for former and current military personnel. This applies if your brand ethos is in line with the idea.

c) Encourage customers to share their opinions

When you ask customers to share their opinions on Memorial Day, it humanizes your brand on social media. This increases brand awareness and visibility. 

2. How do you write a Memorial Day email?

Check out the best practices for writing a Memorial Day email:

a) Compelling subject line 

Use emotions such as gratitude, urgency, and excitement in your subject lines. Use emojis, power words such as Last call!, We can’t hold it any longer to improve open rates.

b) Copy that reinforces the offer 

In your Memorial Day email, use the Problem, Agitation, and Solution framework to nudge customers to purchase. A summer sale is a good idea to get started. 

c) CTA 

It’s recommended to keep a single CTA so that there’s no interference moving to the CTA. Enlarge the CTA button is large and ensure that the email uses a single column layout to make it mobile responsive. 

3. What do you say on social media for Memorial Day? 

Here are some ideas for a Memorial Day social media campaign: 

a) Offer ideas for the Memorial Weekend

Memorial Weekend is a long holiday with Americans traveling and spending time outdoors. Offer wardrobe essentials, summer skincare routine, and summertime beverages if you are a protein supplement brand. 

b) Share relatable content 

A social media campaign doesn’t have to be aimed to sell. You can create reels that will help customers resonate with the current context. For instance, Samsonite featured a person looking to get their quarantine body during Covid.

c) Introduce new products 

Introducing new products on Memorial Day can help you receive the response you always wanted. With a patriotic theme, the timing couldn’t be more right. 

Kurgo introduces a waterproof collar for dogs that makes a dog owner’s life easier. 

4. How can I avoid looking like I’m cashing in on an important holiday? 

Be true to your brand values. Don’t roll out offers that are too good to be true. Also, show proof to enable transparency. For example, if you plan a donation drive to an organization supporting former military personnel, then publish a statement with the seal of the beneficiary organization. 

If you’re having a clearance sale, mention the conditions such as returns, exchange or refunds.