Of all the dates in January, it's probably Blue Monday that has most captivated the imaginations of PR execs this century.

In recent years, the charity Samaritans launched a more socially positive movement around the same day, but coined it Brew Monday. The idea is to connect and have a brew with someone who would benefit from some company, a chat or simply connection with another person.

Both Blue Monday and Brew Monday present fabulous brand communication opportunities, whether you’re aiming for press coverage of how your product helps people overcome the blues or improves social connection, or if you’re seeking content ideas for social media, email or your blog.

So what are you doing about it this year?

What is Blue Monday?

Falling on the third Monday of January, Blue Monday is a PR construct and primarily a British awareness day. Based on a calculation originally created by Cliff Arnell, it looks at factors including time since Christmas, debt, the status of New Year’s resolutions, weather, and motivation levels.

The simplified-for-marketing version calculated that the third Monday in January was likely to be the unhappiest day of the year while also retaining sufficient energy to counter the gloom and improve things.

And so a 21st century concept was born and each January since about 2005, we’ve seen brands promote events and initiatives to counter the effects of Blue Monday and, let’s be honest, achieve increased brand awareness through media and social media coverage of their own Blue Monday campaigns.

Best Blue Monday campaigns?

These vary depending on your perspective… Should Blue Monday initiatives stick to the essence of the campaign origins and be a bit of fun to pique consumer interest amidst the gloom of grey days and January’s payday? Or could Blue Monday marketing also be a force for good? Or even better… both….

PR campaigns for social good

Let’s start with a Blue Monday marketing campaign that’s one of my favourites. It ticks feel-good and commercial boxes, and so is a win-win. Brew Monday is the brainchild of the Samaritans, who know more than a little about gloom and helping people out of it.

Every Monday throughout January and February they encourage people to come together for a cuppa and a chat in aid of everyone’s mental health and the charity’s coffers (assuming you pop a donation in the box while waiting for that perfect brew.

What we love about this campaign:

• it takes an existing idea and elevates it, making it a standalone campaign without losing ties to its origins

• it combines bottom line strategy with brand awareness and core values - the sweet spot (in my opinion)

• it’s in for the longterm - this is no one-off publicity stunt

Here you have a campaign that in marketing terms can generate press coverage and consumer awareness over a longer period of time without hustling for Blue Monday column inches alone. And people will keep talking about it, and emulating it, for years to come.

Brand feel-good factor campaigns

You’ll typically find more of these campaigns launching from FMCG brands where product giveaways and multi-site operations can create physical and face to face positivity.

BrewDog and Gourmet Burger Kitchen are two great examples of Blue Monday initiatives that play to the tune of countering gloom while attempting to increase brand awareness and footfall. You’d have to be pretty quick to grab a limited number of free burgers, and you’d have to buy lunch to get a free beer. But if the increase in Monday business and attraction of new customers outweighs the sting of giveaways, that’s a win-win.

Yes, there’s an element of social good in there, but ultimately it’s about brand reputation, headlines and generating consumer love (measurable ultimately in the form of sales, but also via sentiment on marketing channels as social media reaction, website traffic and press clippings).

What are your Blue Monday marketing ideas?

Whichever route to good you’re aiming for, or if you’re hoping to achieve the sweet spot of both, what’s your plan?

The quickest and easiest way to get involved is by joining an existing campaign, like Brew Monday. This is perfect for independent cafes and restaurants. Why not go all out and use it to announce that your charity of choice for the year is the Samaritans…

Perhaps you have a product that you can produce in sufficient volume that makes a product giveaway feasible for your Blue Monday campaign. Perhaps a free bun or pastry with every coffee bought, or perhaps for every coffee bought you’ll donate one to a homeless person.

Whatever you decide, or whatever you have planned, enjoy spreading the feel-good joy. And if anyone fancies a Blue Monday chat, our coffee machine is always on!