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On March 14th, across the world, math enthusiasts hold fun events, people eat pie, and retailers feature promotions that customers eagerly snap up. The day, National Pi Day, celebrates what NASA calls an icon of nerd culture: the number pi. So what’s the lore?
Pi is one of the most well-known mathematical constants and represents the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter. It’s approximately equal to 3.14159 and is also considered irrational, meaning if calculated, the number value can go on forever. And because the exact value of Pi can also never be calculated, the accurate circumference of a circle cannot be known. Whew! When you stack all that up, it’s no wonder why it gets its own national day.
So how did we get to eating pie?
The first Pi Day celebrated was thrown in 1988, at the Exploratorium which is an interactive science museum in San Francisco. The event was the brainchild of physicist Larry Shaw and included a circular parade and—you guessed it—eating pie. The day was selected because 3.14 are the first three digits of Pi and conveniently, the day is also Albert Einstein’s birthday. In 2009, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation to make it a national holiday.
Inevitably, Pi Day showcases the good, bad, and ugly attempts from marketers as they all try a variety of ways to tie themselves to a day about math—some are clever, but most fail miserably.
So what can we learn from today’s #PiDay campaigns? It’s okay—and often clever—to piggyback on special days to promote your business. It has and always will be a tool that marketers use to reach consumer audiences. But if you’re going to do it, don’t be lame about it. It will do more to hurt your brand than help it.
A recent study published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology found that consumers are more likely to make purchases during promotions tied to a special day, like Pi Day (March 14), than during regular holiday or non-distinctive day promotions—and their responsiveness is influenced by their perception of the brand’s creativity (both the originality and appropriateness).
Here are five tips for running campaigns on special days:
1. Understand The Occasion
With any viral internet celebration, it’s important to take a moment to understand what it’s about, what started it, and what themes do or do not connect to it. Otherwise, you might find yourself hashtagging #PieDay on #PiDay or coming up short on your copy game.
2. Put Thought Into It
We all want to ride the wave of a trending hashtag or big shopping day, but if your post doesn’t make any sense it’s not going to do your brand any justice. This is when a content calendar can really come in handy—if you know a holiday or day that garners a lot of attention is coming up, plan your post. Your audience will know if you just slapped something together.
3. Make Clever Content
In addition to thinking out your post, try to get a bit clever with the imagery, copy, and the promotion you’re offering. For example, “Anyone who can recite the first 6 digits of pi gets a slice of pie with their order” will win audiences (and end up in more sales) better than “Come have a slice of pie on Pi Day.”
4. Include Additional Content
If there’s something interesting about the holiday or day, use it. In addition to discounts and promotions, people love interesting facts—and featuring them will help you stand out from the “percentage off” crowd, appear more human to your audience, and help them remember you. It could also extend the time in which they interact with your content.
5. Grab More Hashtags
For days like Pi Day there will always be one main hashtag—such as #PiDay—but there will also be additional hashtags that accompany it (such as #PiDay2023, #AlbertEinstein, or #Math). While you may overlook these because they’re not trending in the millions, leveraging them can actually work to your advantage.