It’s no secret that one of the most important parts of any PR campaign is relevance. Why is it so crucial?

Journalists can receive hundreds of pitches a day, so having a relevant hook can ensure you stand out from the crowd.
If you create a campaign based on something irrelevant to your brand (e.g. you are a gardening business creating a campaign for National Divorce Day), it won’t reach the right audience or build brand awareness.
If your campaigns aren’t targeting relevant publications, you won’t secure high-quality backlinks.

The question is, how can you create relevant campaigns that gain the attention of high-quality publications? One way you can do this is by using specific events as a hook. In doing so, you can execute timely campaigns that cut through the noise of competitors and generate coverage.

With so many events, awareness days and national holidays to celebrate, this list is by no means exhaustive but let’s take a look at some of the key dates you can add to your proactive or reactive Digital PR strategy in 2024.

January

Happy New Year! January marks the start of an exciting new year, with many people in the UK making resolutions and setting goals for 2024. Don’t forget to keep an eye out for reactive opportunities in January, particularly around cold weather, snow and dark nights!

Some of the key dates in January include:

Months

Days

New Year’s Day (1st Jan)
National Divorce Day (2nd Jan)
National Hug Day (21st Jan)
Burns Night (25th Jan)

February

Pancakes, pets and romance… February might be our favourite month of the year. 2024 is a leap year which means we get a whole extra day in February to create cracking campaigns that secure high-quality backlinks, how exciting!

Days

World Cancer Day (4th Feb)
National Sickie Day (5th Feb)
Safer Internet Day (6th Feb)
Shrove Tuesday (13th Feb)
Valentine’s Day (14th Feb)
National Love Your Pet Day (20th Feb)

March

March marks the start of Spring, lighter evenings and *hopefully* warmer weather. There are plenty of fantastic reactive and proactive opportunities for March, from World Book Day to Mother’s Day. With a couple of bank holidays in March, ensure you prepare your campaign in advance to avoid being short on time.

Months

Weeks

National Careers Week (4th-9th March)
Compost Week (11th-17th March)
Crufts (7th March-10th March)

Days

World Hearing Day (3rd March)
World Book Day (7th March)
International Women’s Day (8th March)
Mother’s Day (10th March)
Spring Equinox (20th March)
The Great British Spring Clean (22nd-23rd March)
Easter (Good Friday is 29th March)

April

April is a gardener’s delight, with Community Garden Week and National Gardening Week taking place this month. Also, school half-term holidays across the UK run between the end of March and mid-April which could provide some fantastic reactive opportunities for your brand or client.

Months

Weeks

Community Garden Week (1st-7th April)
National Feet Week (15th-21st April)
National Gardening Week (29th-5th May)

Days

London Marathon (28th April)

May

Films, TV shows and music can be a brilliant source for reactive and proactive PR, just look at 2023’s Barbie! Keep an eye out for highly anticipated releases throughout the year such as Bridgerton season 3, and take note of any trends that appear off the back of them.

Months

Weeks

Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week 2024 (1st-7th May)
Sun Awareness Week 2024 (6th-12th May)
Mental Health Awareness Week 2024 (20th-26th May)
National BBQ Week (27th-2nd June)

Days

Bridgerton Season 3 (16th May)

June

It’s officially Summer! June marks the start of an incredible Summer of sport, with the Euros - do you think it’s coming home? As we head into the Summer, keep an eye out for reactive opportunities relating to heatwaves (or unseasonal rain which we hope won’t happen).

Months

Weeks

Volunteers Week (1st-7th June)
Garden Wildlife Week 2024 (3rd-9th June)
Child Safety Week 2024 (3rd-9th June)

Days

National Fish & Chip Day 2024 (7th June)
National Beer Day (15th June)
Father’s Day (16th June)
National Clean Air Day 2024 (20th June)
National Writing Day (26th June)
Summer Solstice (20th June)

July

July is the perfect month for securing high-quality PR coverage if you’re a fitness or leisure brand as the Euros and Olympics are set to take over. With schools also breaking up for the Summer, travel and lifestyle brands will also find plenty of opportunities for reactive PR!

Months

Weeks

National Marine Week (27th-11th August)

Days

Thank You Day (7th July)
World Dog Day (21st July)
Schools break up for Summer (usually the last week of July)

August

Much like July, August is one of the best months for securing coverage if you’re a travel or lifestyle brand, or work in the education sector. Our top tip? Get ahead of competitors by executing Results Day/Back to School campaigns in mid-August rather than waiting.

Months

Weeks

Afternoon Tea Week (12th-18th August)

Days

A-Level results day (15th Aug)
GCSE results day (22nd Aug)
International Cat Day (8th Aug)

September

Pumpkin Spiced Latte season! With September marking the official start of Autumn, there are reactive and proactive PR opportunities around every corner, particularly around lifestyle (e.g. homes and gardens). If you’re planning big Christmas PR campaigns, now is the time to get prepared as you’ll be facing tough competition come December.

Months

Weeks

UK Savings Week 2024 (24th-30th Sept)

Days

World Heart Day (29th Sept)
National Fitness Day (21st Sept)
Autumn Equinox (22nd Sept)

October

Crunchy Autumn leaves, cosy evenings and cooler weather, October is a beautiful month. It’s also a key time for securing coverage with Halloween at the end of it. Leverage these dates for a spooktacular October filled with high-quality backlinks!

Weeks

National Work Life Week 2024 (7th-13th Oct)
Chocolate Week (14th-20th Oct)
National Adoption Week (21st-27th Oct)

Days

World Architecture Day (3rd Oct)
World Animal Day (4th Oct)
World Mental Health Day (10th Oct)
Halloween (31st Oct)

November

November is a fantastic time of year for securing coverage if you’re an eCommerce brand, as many national publications cover Black Friday and start putting out gift ideas for Christmas. You’ll also find some Christmas ads start being released in November, which may provide opportunities for reactive comments.

Weeks

Anti-bullying week (11th-17th Nov)
I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here begins (usually starts around 19th Nov)

Days

Bonfire Night (5th Nov)
Black Friday (29th Nov)
Thanksgiving (28th Nov)

December

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! ‘Tis the season for securing high-quality coverage, with plenty of opportunities to provide expert comments, gift idea round-ups, festive campaigns and more. Remember, a lot of journalists will take time off around Christmas so don’t leave it too late to secure your Christmas coverage.

Months

Days

Christmas Jumper Day 2024 (13th Dec)
General Election (date TBC but the previous GE was held on 12th Dec)
Winter Solstice (21st Dec)

Key Takeaways

2024 is shaping up to be a fantastic year! When executing your Digital PR strategy, keep the following in mind:

Using key dates as hook or angle for a PR campaign will highlight to journalists how relevant and timely your campaign is.
While national holidays, awareness days and annual events are great, keep an eye out for irregular or one-off events, such as film releases, elections and sporting events.
Prepare your PR campaigns well in advance. If you’re creating a campaign around Halloween, don’t wait until October to plan it.

Do you want to unleash the power of outreach and link-building in 2024? Our Digital PR experts are here to support your business with leveraging backlinks to improve organic rankings and brand awareness, as part of your wider SEO strategy. Get in touch with us today to find out more about how we can help your website level up its Digital PR game!

MEET THE
AUTHOR.

MORGAN RODWAY-WING

Wordsmith Morgan joined the Reflect Digital team fresh out of University and is learning about the world of digital marketing while supporting the SEO team with highly engaging content. With a background in website administration and social media, she also brings a broader perspective to her clients.

More about Morgan