Memorial Day is officially a day to remember fallen soldiers. Unofficially, it marks the beginning of summer.
Families and friends gather to enjoy each other’s company and throw parties—all opportunities for your brand to help people make the most of the weekend.
In 2025, consumers celebrated Memorial Day Weekend by shopping, going to the movies, and traveling, and they showed up in droves:
- AMC theaters saw their third-biggest revenue peak over a 5-day period in 10+ years.
- Furniture brands generated $28,000+ in daily revenue , according to trackwell.ai.
- Memorial Day weekend 2025 had the third busiest day ever at airports in the US, according to data from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
To help you figure out what kind of Memorial Day marketing might be a good fit for your brand, we’ve got 5 effective content strategy approaches for the holiday, plus 9 examples that showcase those strategies in action.
5 content strategy ideas for Memorial Day marketing campaigns
Consumers often celebrate Memorial Day by grilling, gathering, cooking, hosting, attending celebrations, and traveling. With that in mind, here are a few ways to engage your audience with Memorial Day messaging:
Reach out to travel lovers
If your target audience is interested in travel, Memorial Day weekend is a good time for your brand to act. According to the TSA data over 3 million US consumers traveled during Memorial Day in 2025.
Send out a quiz to ask people where they’re going this Memorial Day weekend—the zero-party data will help you personalize your emails once Memorial Day weekend rolls around.
Hype up the arrival of summer
Memorial Day is the start of summer for most Americans. Craft messages that emphasize everything people love about summer: warm weather, ice cream, sundresses, baseball games, etc. Show your audience how your products can help them get the most out of the summer season.
Design for patriotism
If patriotism is an important and authentic part of your brand, design emails that play with patriotic colors, symbols, and imagery.
Help people plan a party
Show people how your products can elevate their Memorial Day celebrations. Whether that means dressing for the occasion, having the best lawn party furniture, or putting together the fanciest hot dog, focus on the specifics of your brand qualities.
Focus on family and friends—and that extra day off
Encourage gifting by sending people emails like, “How about surprising your [mom/dad/sister] this Memorial Day?” with a link to your sale. Add a personal, funny family story to build a genuine connection to your customer base. Ask them to share theirs, too.
9 strategic Memorial Day marketing examples
Here are 9 examples of real-world Memorial Day marketing campaigns that put those principles into practice:
1. White Elm shares a getaway must-have for summer travel
In this Memorial Day marketing example, premium bag brand White Elm positions their all-weekend getaway bag as the must-have vacation bag, regardless of the destination. Their focus on one product eliminates choice overload, directing audience attention to a specific product and call to action (CTA).
The narrow product focus also frees up the body copy to drill down on all those memorable features and benefits that sell the bag. It’s a straightforward, simple approach that’s easy to measure after the weekend is over, too.
Memorial Day marketing idea: This hyper-focused product push is great for someone who’s ready to buy now, but what about folks who saw your message but aren’t traveling until later in the summer?
A self-serve customer hub lets shoppers favorite items that catch their eye, so they can come back to them later if they aren’t ready to purchase right away. Use the customer data you collect to remind people about those same products when other seasonal promotions come around or when those items have limited stock left.
2. Ultimate Direction knows their audience is excited to get outside
In this Memorial Day marketing example, Ultimate Direction , an outdoor apparel and accessories brand, proves they know their audience by speaking directly to them with beautiful images that evoke summer: sunny landscapes, athletes enjoying warm weather, and the gear that gets an outdoorsy person excited to bust out their compass and start their summer adventures.
If subscribers aren’t ready to get outside come Memorial Day, the email copy that encourages them to “kick off the summer with 20% off hydration packs, running belts, apparel, and more” may help put them in the mood.
Memorial Day marketing idea: Segment your audience into groups like “runners who purchased trail shoes in the last 6 months” or “customers whose predicted next order date happens before summer ends.”
Then, personalize your Memorial Day messaging accordingly. For example, you might send your trail runners a campaign highlighting waterproof gear and hydration packs for spring trail conditions, while customers expected to reorder soon get early access to summer stock with a "beat the rush" angle.
3. ALX Rods leans into audience-appropriate patriotism
While the other brands we’ve looked at so far have focused more on summertime themes and imagery in their Memorial Day marketing, fishing gear brand ALX Rods knows their audience will appreciate a more overtly patriotic approach.
With a meaningful note honoring fallen soldiers, the brand’s Memorial Day marketing campaign creates an emotional connection with their core audience. Then they go further with a sale on military-themed products, showing how they add value to the experience of the holiday.
Memorial Day marketing idea: Collect zero-party data about military or veteran status through sign-up forms and preference centers. This helps you build more complete customer profiles that enable year-round relevant messaging—not just during Memorial Day, but for Veterans Day , Fourth of July , and other military appreciation events throughout the year.
Store this info in your CRM alongside what customers have bought and how they’ve interacted with your messages, and you can create groups like “active military members” or “military families” to send tailored product recommendations, exclusive discounts, or content that speaks to their experiences.
4. Tommy Bahama offers a reward for loyal customers
In this Memorial Day marketing example, apparel brand Tommy Bahama announces a VIP offer for Memorial Day, making customers feel special. The text message also offers a deal on the unofficial BBQ uniform—polos and tees—right on cue for a BBQ-themed holiday.
Finally, for subscribers who aren’t interested in polos or tees, the text message offers a tempting 15% site-wide discount.
Memorial Day marketing idea: Use AI-powered channel affinity to analyze which channels customers are most likely to engage on across text messaging, email, mobile push, or WhatsApp. Then, send last-minute or time-sensitive sale reminders on their preferred channel.
5. Freebird creates an emotional connection with gift ideas
This Memorial Day marketing example from shaving brand Freebird , previously known as Freedom Grooming, honors veterans by creating a gift guide for them. They position their products as tokens of gratitude, all discounted in honor of the holiday.
Memorial Day marketing idea: Many gift guides show everyone the exact same products. That’s fine, but it means half of your subscribers are scrolling past, thinking, “This isn’t for me.”
AI-powered product recommendations show each person suggestions based on what they’ve actually browsed or bought before. Include these recommendations in dynamic product blocks in your emails so each subscriber sees something they’ll like.
6. CityLocs looks ahead to Father’s Day
In this Memorial Day marketing example, headwear brand CityLocs combines two occasions in one, using Memorial Day to drive revenue for another celebration that’s likely more lucrative for the brand: Father’s Day .
Thinking a few weeks ahead, CityLocs creates a sense of urgency by reminding people that now is the perfect time to purchase Father’s Day gifts so they’re customized and delivered on time.
Memorial Day marketing idea: CityLocs got it right by planning ahead, but you don’t need to manually create content for every holiday in the calendar. Use an AI marketing agent to auto-generate content for email, text messages, WhatsApp, and mobile push notifications that pulls in up-to-date industry and holiday trends to nurture your customers all year long.
An autonomous marketing agent can also suggest target audiences so you’re reaching segments of your customer base who are the most receptive to promotions.
7. Corkcicle starts the countdown and celebrates summer
In this Memorial Day marketing example, dishware brand Corkcicle puts a live countdown timer front and center in their Memorial Day email, showing the time remaining on their 20% off sitewide sale. Instead of a vague "sale ends soon" message, customers see time literally ticking away, which taps into their fear of missing out and pushes them to act sooner rather than later.
The beach imagery and summer lifestyle shots also make the products look like must-haves for the season ahead, not just discounted items. By connecting the sale to how customers will actually use the drinkware (beach days, BBQs, outdoor gatherings), Corkcicle makes the discount feel timely and relevant rather than random.
Memorial Day marketing idea: Meeting customers where they’re active increases the number of people who see your deadline and have a chance to act on it. An omnichannel campaign can help spread the word about urgent, time-sensitive promotions.
Here’s what it might look like:
- Give customers a heads up via email when the sale is coming up.
- Share the countdown on Instagram Stories and Facebook so scrollers see it throughout the day.
- Send reminder messages via SMS, WhatsApp , and mobile push as you get closer to the deadline (e.g., "Only 3 hours left! Grab your Memorial Day favorites before the sale ends 🕐") with a direct link to shop.
8. Beekman 1802 uses a fun GIF and shows off their top products
Skincare brand Beekman 1802 opens their Memorial Day marketing campaign with an animated GIF of boxes stacking up—a cute visual metaphor for their “stock up” sale that offers up to 80% off summer skincare and bodycare.
The movement immediately catches the eye in a crowded inbox and reinforces the idea that customers should be buying in bulk. It's more memorable than just saying "big sale" in text, and the stacking animation subtly encourages larger cart sizes.
Below the GIF, Beekman highlights a grid of their bestselling products, making it easy for shoppers to see exactly what's on sale without having to click through to the website first. This reduces friction in the buying journey—customers can decide what they want before they even leave their inbox.
Memorial Day marketing idea: At the end of their email, Beekman 1802 offers free skincare consultations so customers can make sure they’re buying the most skin-friendly products for them.
If your brand doesn’t have a dedicated team member to offer 1:1 consultations, you can use an AI customer agent to field customer questions in real time. Autonomous service agents have access to your catalog, customer reviews, and product documentation so they’re able to answer a good amount of questions, then pass any more complex questions along to a human agent.
9. Happy Wax offers a last-chance stock-up sale and a free gift with large orders
Home fragrance brand Happy Wax stacks two incentives in their Memorial Day email: a 15% sitewide discount plus a free gift with orders over $90. The free gift introduces customers to a new product, the outlet wax warmer, which can help increase order sizes and encourage future purchases to get refills.
The email also keeps the Memorial Day connection subtle with a picnic basket backdrop, nodding to the holiday without being heavy-handed. It's a smart middle ground for brands that want to acknowledge the occasion without going full patriotic theme.
Memorial Day marketing idea: If you want to lean into the Memorial Day theme, you don’t need to reshoot your product photography for the seasonal promotion. An AI photo editor can help you change the background colors to be red, white, and blue, or add in seasonal props like an American flag.
Personalize customer relationships on a 1:1 level with Klaviyo
Memorial Day kicks off the busy summer shopping season, and the momentum doesn't stop there. You'll be well into the second half of the year before you know it.
Klaviyo B2C CRM helps brands deliver high-touch experiences at every step of the shopping journey using customer data. Personalize interactions using Klaviyo, with:
- Cross-channel flows: Send a series of automated emails, text messages, and mobile push notifications using pre-built, customizable templates.
- K:AI Marketing Agent : Quickly build on-brand, ready-to-launch campaigns, get new recommendations every week, and optimize your content over time.
- Marketing analytics: Map every click, purchase, and moment across the customer journey so you can spot what’s working and do more of it.
Connect with customers all year long with Klaviyo. Sign up
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