Get more out of 2026 with our campaign calendar

It’s almost Easter. Easter eggs, Easter promotions and spring offers are popping up everywhere. Competitors are cleverly capitalising on the moment, and your social feed is slowly turning into one big Easter campaign. And you’re thinking: “Shouldn’t we have done something about this?”

But the real difference doesn’t lie in a marketing annual plan. The difference lies in what you do with it. How do you ensure that a date doesn’t become just another box to tick, but a strategic moment? You can read all about it in this blog!

What are the benefits of a campaign calendar for 2026?

The days of ‘we’ll just post something on the day itself’ are over. Algorithms are becoming increasingly discerning by the day. Competition is growing ever more creative, and consumers effortlessly see through superficial bandwagoning. Anyone who wants to remain visible must think ahead.

A good calendar of events helps you to:

Building campaigns in a timely manner
Allocate the budget wisely across peak periods
Planning SEO content around seasonal search behaviour
Social preparing campaigns

In short: less ad hoc, more strategy.

Key marketing moments in 2026

Below, we outline where opportunities lie for each period, based on the annual plan:

Q1 (January – March)

The first quarter is all about new resolutions, hope and emotion. Key moments include:

New Year’s Day
Blue Monday (19 January)
Valentine’s Day (14 February)
Winter Olympics (6–22 February)
Early spring (20 March)

Strong brands do not link their product to a date, but to a feeling. Consider how HEMA tapped into national pride during the Olympic Games with their ‘even resistant to tears of joy’ eyeliner, when Jutta Leerdam won Olympic gold.

Q2 (April – June)

In Q2, clear buying moments emerge. Key moments to capitalise on are:

Easter
King’s Day
Mother’s Day & Father’s Day
Holiday pay
Early summer

Receiving holiday pay, for example, is not a public holiday, but it is a conversion moment. People are willing to spend money. You can capitalise on this using Cialdini’s principles of scarcity and urgency: “now is the time”.

Q3 (July–September)

Many businesses slow down in the summer. That’s precisely why you can stand out. After all, less competition often means lower advertising costs and greater organic visibility. Opportunities to shine include:

Summer holidays
Construction sector
Prinsjesdag
Early autumn

A good example is Bol. Last year, they capitalised on the start of autumn with their raincoat campaign: relatable, slightly cynical and perfectly timed. Not a complicated concept, but spot on!

Q4 (October–December): the peak commercial season

This is often the key time of year to make a big impact with marketing. But this is also when things often go wrong. Many companies only start their Black Friday strategy in November, whilst successful campaigns are often prepared as early as September.

At Traffic Today , we therefore inform our clients of this important period well in advance. This gives us sufficient time to develop a strong campaign together and to set it up in good time.

Key moments to capitalise on include:

Halloween
Singles’ Day
Black Friday
Cyber Monday
Sinterklaas
Christmas

How do you turn an annual plan into a genuine strategy?

A list of public holidays is not a strategy. It is the starting point for a targeted campaign plan. A strategy begins with:

Objectives
Target audience insights
Seasonal trends
Competitor analysis
Budget allocation

Only once you have gained that insight can you decide:

When to use our services
Whichever channels you use (SEO, Social, Ads)
Where to focus on brand and where on conversion

This requires a well-thought-out approach – not just an Excel file that is saved somewhere in January and then forgotten.

Want to develop your marketing strategy for 2026?

Do you want campaigns that truly respond to behaviour, timing and conversion? Then now is the perfect time to look ahead.

At Traffic Today , we help businesses develop a strategy tailored to your target audience. From SEO and content to social advertising and conversion-focused campaigns. Ready to develop your strategy for the coming year? We’d love to help you plan it! Would you like to get started yourself? Then download our 2026 campaign calendar and discover which moments you can capitalise on in the coming year.

Curious to find out what we can do for you?

Download the 2026 campaign calendar

Get more out of 2026 with our campaign calendar

What are the benefits of a campaign calendar for 2026?