Planning
A seasonal ad calendar for NZ businesses
Plan ad creative for the dates your customers actually act on: public holidays, gift occasions, school breaks, retail events and the end of the financial year on 31 March. Prepare concepts four to six weeks ahead, treat commemorative days such as Anzac Day and Waitangi Day with care, and always check holiday dates, because Easter and Matariki move each year.
Month by month
| When | Occasion | Ad notes |
|---|---|---|
| January | Summer holidays, back-to-school planning | Holiday offers, fresh-start themes, school-term prep. |
| 6 February | Waitangi Day | A national day with deep significance. Prefer respectful, community-minded messaging over hard-sell promotions. |
| March | End of the financial year (31 March) | Many businesses buy and sell around the tax year end. Useful for B2B and equipment offers. |
| March or April | Easter | Dates move each year. Trading restrictions apply on Good Friday and Easter Sunday, so check opening-hour rules before advertising. |
| 25 April | Anzac Day | A day of remembrance. Avoid sales promotion on the day itself, and check the trading rules for the morning. |
| May | Mother's Day (second Sunday) | Gift and experience offers. Plan well ahead for printing and delivery. |
| June | King's Birthday long weekend (first Monday) | Short-break travel and local experiences. |
| June or July | Matariki | A public holiday that moves each year. Use correct te reo and tikanga, and consider working with Māori creatives rather than borrowing imagery. |
| September | Father's Day (first Sunday) | Gift and activity offers. |
| October | Labour Day (fourth Monday) | Long weekend, spring projects and garden season. |
| November | Black Friday and Cyber Monday | Heavy competition for attention. Decide early whether to take part. |
| December | Christmas, Boxing Day, summer | Last order dates, gift offers, then summer holiday trading hours. |
Check the current year's dates before you schedule anything. School term breaks occur four times a year and regional anniversary days differ by region.
How far ahead to plan
- 4 to 6 weeks before: agree the offer, brief the creative, and check stock and capacity.
- 2 to 3 weeks before: launch teaser or awareness concepts to people who already know you.
- Final week: run the offer concepts with the dates and last-order times stated clearly.
- Afterwards: switch ads off on the day the offer ends, and record what worked.
Respect and accuracy
- Spell te reo Māori words and place names correctly, including macrons.
- Do not use commemorative days as a sales hook.
- Do not invent urgency. State real deadlines, and make sure every claim in the ad is true.
Plan your own year
Add your own dates too: local events, your busy and quiet periods, product launches and supplier deadlines. Then decide how many concepts each period needs. Our creative subscription builds a monthly roadmap around dates like these.