10 Father's Day Marketing Campaigns and Promotions to Use

Father’s Day is a holiday dedicated to showing appreciation for the father figures in one’s life. Families and friends gather to celebrate, whether that be through gift-giving or sharing a meal. A fair share of families dine at their favorite local restaurants for Father’s Day—in fact, around 37% of Father’s Day transactions occur over brunch.  

As a restaurant or convenience store owner, you have an opportunity to build customer relationships and drive sales over Father’s Day, creating a memorable experience for fathers and their loved ones. 

This article provides actionable tips to market Father’s Day to your guests, ideas for exclusive offers that draw in customers, and how to measure your ROI. 

5 Father's Day Marketing Ideas for Restaurants 

Need some inspiration? Use these five marketing ideas to boost sales on Father’s Day: 

1. Special Menus and Dining Experiences

Get creative with your Father’s Day menu. Attract guests by offering menu items, deals, or Father’s Day-themed dishes that aren’t ordinarily on the menu. For example, plan a brunch menu full of sharable platters. This dining layout invites families to be close while sharing a meal. Plus, they get to sample multiple items off your menu.  

2. Gift Card Promotions and Bundles

Father’s Day is a perfect holiday to offer gift card marketing promotions, like deals and bundles. These promotions allow you to connect with families who prefer to give their father a gift card for the holiday. You may offer bonus incentives like buy-one-get-one-free (BOGO), or bundle deals for gift card purchases. 

3. In-Restaurant Events and Activities

Engage your guests while they dine at your restaurant by planning a special event. Live music, trivia, or other family-friendly activities are good ideas. Your business can create a celebratory environment, establishing an opportunity for guests to form an emotional connection with your brand. Make sure you advertise any events at your restaurant one to two weeks in advance. 

4. Social Media Campaigns and Contests

You’re not limited to the brick-and-mortar business when engaging with guests around Father’s Day. Targeted social media campaigns invite guest interaction and boost brand awareness. Use eye-catching graphics and compelling copy to draw your guest’s attention on social media and promote how your restaurant plans to celebrate Father’s Day. Consider organizing contests or giveaways to encourage guest engagement. Prizes for these events can include coupons, gift cards, swag, or other gifts that will entice guests to visit your restaurant in person.  

5. Partnerships and Cross-Promotions

Collaborations and cross-promotions with other local businesses are two of the best ways to reach a new audience. Whether it's another restaurant, sporting goods store, or brewery, offer bundle packages that combine offerings from both companies. Market each other on your respective social media accounts or take it a step further by hosting shared events.  

5 Father's Day Marketing Ideas for Convenience Stores 

As a convenience store, celebrate Father’s Day by making your everyday services a little extra special. Here are five ideas to get started:

1. Gift Bundles and Packages

Leverage customer purchasing data to identify which items are most popular. Now, build pre-made gift bundles or packages that feature these items. You can combine popular snacks and beverages. Or you may create a package around a Father’s Day-related theme, like grilling or golfing. 

2. Special Promotions and Discounts

Time-sensitive deals build a sense of urgency. Guests may be more likely to pay an additional visit to your business to take advantage of the rewards. For example, you may discount items like beer, snacks, grilling supplies, or car care products.  

Pro Tip: Father’s Day promotions can be most effective when partnered with existing rewards programs. If you’re just getting started with guest loyalty initiatives, check out our guide on How to Choose a Loyalty Program for Your Convenience Store. 

3. In-Store Displays and Signage

Place displays and signs that advertise your Father’s Day deals throughout the store. Customers will notice these promotions while making their regular purchases. As Father’s Day approaches, they’re aware of your offers and have your business in mind when brainstorming gifts. Make sure to post the signage several days before the holiday, so customers have plenty of time to see it. 

4. Fuel Discounts or Bundles

For a limited time, you may offer discounts on fuel when customers purchase certain items or spend over a determined amount. If you already offer fuel rewards, you could make it extra special. You may offer 1.5x the points a customer receives on a fuel purchase or bundle a full tank fill-up with a free snack or fountain drink. 

5. Social Media Promotions and Local Partnerships

Take advantage of customers who interact with your brand online by creating Father’s Day-related social media marketing campaigns. Offer special deals as prizes for social media contests or giveaways. Use each platform to get customers engaged with your brand without needing to step foot in the physical store. 

Additionally, team up with local businesses for joint marketing ventures and cross-promotional campaigns. This is an effective strategy to reach a new audience.  

3 Cross-Industry Marketing Strategies 

Whether you’re marketing a restaurant or convenience store, these three marketing strategies are proven to have the greatest impact on guest satisfaction and sales. Learn all about them below: 

1. Email Marketing Campaigns

Based on your guest engagement data, segment individuals into different categories. Each group of guests is most likely to engage with a particular style of marketing or offer based on their preferences and intent. This data allows you to cater your Father’s Day email marketing campaign to these customers. 

For example, each level of your loyalty program could offer an additional Father’s Day bonus to guests who reach it. As the reward program tier rises, so do the perks. In this case, your segments align with the tiers of your loyalty program.  

2. Local Advertising and Community Outreach

Get connected with local radio stations, newspapers, and community events to help promote your Father’s Day sales. Partnerships with other local businesses is one of the best ways to boost restaurant sales without reaching into your advertising budget. These sources allow you to focus your marketing efforts on your surrounding geographic area. You’ll let existing customers know about exciting upcoming deals as well as give potential new customers a reason to visit your establishment. Both of these are effective ways to grow customer lifetime value (CLV) and customer future value (CFV).

Leverage local SEO as part of your digital marketing strategy. With local SEO, you optimize your business website, Google My Business, Yelp, or anywhere else that advertises your store, so it populates as a result in the customer’s online search.  

3. Mobile Marketing and SMS Promotions

For individuals who signed up to receive text messages from your business, send information about exclusive offers or reminders about Father’s Day deals. Text marketing for restaurants and SMS promotions are straightforward strategies to reach customers. Just be sure that you don’t overwhelm your customers with text messages—one or two should be enough to get their attention.  

2 Strategies for Measuring Your Father's Day Marketing ROI 

Once you’ve wrapped up your Father’s Day marketing campaign, it’s time to review the data. Use the results to decide how you’ll market future events and holidays. Here are two ways to do so: 

1. Tracking Key Metrics

You’ll want to track a handful of standard metrics to measure your Father’s Day marketing campaign performance. Here are five numbers to monitor throughout the initiative:

1. Sales and Revenue: The amount of money earned over the course of your Father’s Day deals, specials, or promotions.  
2. In-Person Customer Traffic: How many guests visited your physical location to take advantage of Father’s Day deals.  
3. Social Media Engagement: The frequency and duration of guest engagement on your social media accounts.  
4. Website Traffic: The number of visitors to your website over the course of your Father’s Day special promotions.  
5. Redemption Rates for Promotions: Track how many guests redeemed promotions for Father’s Day.  

Determine the revenue earned from the campaign by calculating the return on investment (ROI). To do so, subtract your initial investment in promoting, planning, and ordering for the campaign from the total sum earned. The resulting number is your ROI.  

2. Analyzing Campaign Performance

With each marketing campaign--whether it's email marketing, mobile app marketing, Instagram marketing, or loyalty marketing--you come away with a set of valuable and insightful data. This information is a behind-the-scenes look into guest behavior and preferences. Use it to understand which parts of your campaign were most effective and which components fell short. 

These customer insights will help you make data-driven choices for future marketing campaigns. Ensure you collect and organize data from all your campaigns. Advancements in technology, industry changes, and shifts in guest preferences mean your marketing techniques must remain agile. This way, you always meet guest needs and outperform competitors.  

Frequently Asked Questions About Father’s Day Marketing Campaigns 

Father’s Day marketing campaigns don’t have to be complex. However, that doesn’t change the fact that there is still much to learn. Review the selection of frequently asked questions and answers below for more details.  

When should I start marketing for Father’s Day? 

It’s often a good idea to start marketing for Father’s Day around a month before the holiday. Stagger when you advertise deals, promotions, or events, so your guests don’t become overwhelmed.  

How do I advertise for Father’s Day? 

Use your customer data to determine the most effective strategies to advertise for Father’s Day. For example, if a customer segment is particularly engaged in social media competitions, focus more of your advertising efforts there.    

What should you include in a Father’s Day social media post? 

A Father’s Day social media post should be composed of clear and concise language that expresses what you're celebrating, what you’re offering to guests, and how they can take advantage of the exclusive deals. A balance of all these elements is key. 

What’s a catchy caption for Father’s Day? 

Your Father’s Day caption should align with your brand. If the tone is sentimental and adoring, express gratitude for fathers and invite guests to celebrate with your business. On the other hand, if your brand tone is light-hearted and humorous, you may use a classic dad joke as a caption.  

Launching Your Father’s Day Campaign 

As you build your Father’s Day marketing strategy, keep your unique audience in mind. There is no one-size-fits-all approach. The specific rewards you offer and how you promote those rewards depend entirely on your customer’s preferences. You’re striving to create a positive and memorable experience as customers engage with your brand around Father’s Day. 

Ready to launch your Father’s Day marketing campaign? Schedule a demo with Paytronix to learn how our solutions can help you maximize the results of your initiative.