The Ultimate Seasonality Guide for User Acquisition on the App Store #2

Holidays & festive periods allow app developers to create meaningful connections with their audiences. Updating an app’s product page and advertising is a guaranteed way of driving more traffic and downloads.

Each holiday or special event has a unique look and feel. App developers have plenty of creative freedom when designing engaging in-app events, planning seasonal updates, and adjusting imagery and messaging on their apps’ product pages. How should they use it for the best effect?

An overview of spring & summer holidays in the USA on the App Store

Holidays in the USA are as diverse as the country’s multicultural society. Many events originate from other parts of the world, like the Lunar New Year or St. Patrick’s Day, but their wide appeal and positive nature made them popular outside of their original cultures. Their underlying values – focusing on family, friendship, and celebration of culture – are reflected in bright and very distinctive imagery that’s easy to commercialize and adapt in the mobile space.

The timeline below shows the complete list of holidays in the USA discussed in this article (for Spring & Summer) and the previous one (for Autumn & Winter):

If you want to seize those opportunities, you need to think ahead. Promotional activities always begin before the event happens and sometimes last for some time after it ends. Any preparations, from design, A/B testing, keyword research, and optimization should be launched 1-2 months before the promotional activities. The infographic below shows timeframes when most apps run promotional activities for special events in the Summer period in the USA:

An in-depth look at design trends & patterns for spring and summer holidays in the USA on the App Store

In this chapter, we’d like to share practical tips for design & communication. Each of the holidays has key design elements associated with it, as well as its own unique, recommended color palette. These will be relevant to your product page, custom product page design, and planned in-app events. We break down each event by these criteria:

• Duration time: period when given holidays take place,
• Campaign duration: time when you’ll be running campaigns in Apple Search Ads,
• Most relevant categories: categories most likely to embrace a given holiday.

We are ready to examine key holidays and seasonal events from the US market on the App Store. Here’s a list of the most important ones, starting with this month, up until the end of summer.

St. Patrick’s Day

St. Patrick’s Day is widely celebrated in the United States, particularly in areas with large Irish-American populations such as Boston, New York City, Chicago, and Philadelphia. Cities nationwide hold parades, festivals, and events featuring Irish music, dance, food, and drink. Landmarks are often illuminated in green, and people commonly wear green clothing or accessories as a symbol of Irish pride and to join in the festivities. The fun and festive nature of the holiday as well as the big potential for commercialization make St. Patrick’s Day compelling to people of all backgrounds. It’s present in pop culture and logically – on the App Store, especially in the Games category.

• Key design elements: Incorporate iconic symbols of St. Patrick’s Day, such as shamrocks, leprechauns, pots of gold, or Irish flags, into your app’s design elements. Utilize them creatively in icons, screenshots, and promotional images to evoke the festive spirit and attract user attention.
• Recommended color palette: Opt for a vibrant and cheerful color palette that reflects the green, gold, and white hues associated with St. Patrick’s Day. Use these colors strategically in your app’s visuals to convey a sense of celebration and align with the holiday theme, enhancing its appeal to users browsing the App Store.

Easter

In the world of mobile apps, the Easter Bunny, with its basket full of colorful eggs, may be one step behind Santa Claus and Christmas, but it’s a very small distance. With plenty of elements easily incorporated into the gameplay and a generally optimistic, festive, and happy nature, it’s widely used to engage users through in-app events or product page redesigns. Remember that Easter is mobile, meaning that its exact date changes from year to year. For example, in 2024, Easter falls on March 31st, and in 2025, it will take place on April 20th.

• Key design elements: Integrate iconic Easter symbols such as Easter eggs, bunnies, chicks, and spring flowers into your app’s design elements. Incorporate these elements creatively in icons, screenshots, and promotional images to capture the festive spirit and resonate with users looking for Easter-themed content.
• Recommended color palette: Embrace pastel shades like soft pinks, blues, greens, and yellows to evoke the freshness and vibrancy of springtime. Use these colors strategically in your app’s visuals to convey a sense of joy, renewal, and Easter festivities, enhancing its appeal to users browsing the App Store during the holiday season.

Earth Day

Earth Day is an annual event celebrated worldwide on April 22nd to demonstrate support for environmental protection. It raises awareness about issues like pollution, climate change, and conservation. Activities include tree planting, clean-up campaigns, and educational events, promoting sustainable practices for a healthier planet.

Earth Day may appeal to all those seeking self-improvement and a positive impact on their environment. Consequently, highlighting the importance of sustainability and eco-friendliness may be especially compelling to users of apps from the Travel and Lifestyle categories.

• Key design elements: Integrate nature-inspired elements such as trees, leaves, globes, and recycling symbols into your app’s design. Use these elements creatively in icons, screenshots, and promotional images to convey environmental consciousness and align with the theme of Earth Day, resonating with users passionate about sustainability.
• Recommended color palette: Opt for earthy tones such as greens, blues, browns, and muted yellows to reflect the colors of nature and the planet. Incorporate these colors thoughtfully in your app’s visuals to evoke a sense of environmental awareness and convey your commitment to preserving the Earth, attracting users interested in eco-friendly initiatives.

Cinco de Mayo

Parades, parties, music, dance performances, and Mexican cuisine contribute to Cinco de Mayo’s recognition in the USA, with festivals held in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston (among many others). This holiday has all the right components to be a fantastic opportunity for mobile apps to reach new audiences or engage existing ones.

• Key design elements: Incorporate iconic symbols of Cinco de Mayo such as sombreros, maracas, pinatas, and Mexican flags into your app’s design elements. Utilize these elements creatively in icons, screenshots, and promotional images to capture the festive spirit and attract users interested in Mexican culture and celebrations.
• Recommended color palette: Embrace vibrant and bold colors inspired by Mexican culture, such as bright reds, oranges, greens, yellows, and traditional hues like turquoise and terracotta. Use these colors strategically in your app’s visuals to convey the vibrancy and energy of Cinco de Mayo, appealing to users seeking festive experiences during the holiday season.

Pride month

Pride Month is an annual celebration that takes place in June. It is dedicated to promoting and celebrating the LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, and other gender and sexual minority) community and their contributions to society. Pride Month serves as a platform for raising awareness of the ongoing struggles for LGBTQ+ rights, as well as a time to celebrate the achievements and progress made.

• Key design elements: rainbows and LGBTQ+ flags are the most recognizable visual elements attached to Pride Month.
• Recommended color palette: bright and colorful like a rainbow to correspond to the happy tone of the event.

Remember that Pride commemorates the struggles of the LGBTQ+ community, a fact that calls for sensitivity and a more holistic approach to participating in it. Whether your app should celebrate Pride should be tied to evaluating its general alignment with the values important for this event. Does your app utilize inclusive language in regular communication? Is it friendly and accessible to members of the LGBTQ+ community all year round? Are your business values aligned with those key to the community and your general user base? If the answer to these questions is yes, celebrating this event may benefit you. Sincerity is important in marketing communication. 

Independence Day (US), 4th of July

Americans celebrate Independence Day, the Fourth of July, with various patriotic and festive activities. With fireworks displays, many parades, and sporting events, it’s certainly a day filled with joy, pride, and a strong sense of patriotism.

• Key design elements: Incorporate patriotic symbols such as American flags, fireworks, or the Statue of Liberty to capture the essence of Independence Day. Design a unique app icon for Independence Day, integrating American flag elements or other patriotic symbols to commemorate the occasion.
• Recommended color palette: Utilize a color palette that incorporates red, white, and blue to instill a strong sense of patriotism in your marketing materials.

Summer Holidays

Summer is the best season. It’s warm and sunny. There’s no school, and even if we have as many as two weeks at our disposal, we want to take advantage of them. On the one hand – we may put down our smartphones for a while and head out for three scoops of ice cream instead of hunting for three diamonds in a mobile game. On the other hand, we want to know where to find said ice cream.

Summertime can be a very robust time for many app developers, depending on their category. The App Store often features promotions and events related to summertime. Developers may release special summer-themed updates or offer discounts on their apps and games during this season. The App Store may also curate collections of apps and games tailored for summer activities, such as outdoor games, travel apps, fitness apps, and more.

• Key design elements: Infuse your app’s design with elements evoking the essence of summer holidays such as sun, beach, palm trees, flip-flops, and tropical fruits. Incorporate these elements creatively in icons, screenshots, and promotional images to capture the carefree and vibrant spirit of the season, enticing users seeking summer-themed experiences.
• Recommended color palette: Opt for bright and cheerful colors reminiscent of summertime, including vibrant shades of blue for the sky and ocean, warm yellows and oranges for sunshine, and refreshing greens for lush vegetation. Use these colors strategically in your app’s visuals to evoke warmth, joy, and relaxation, appealing to users searching for summer fun.

Sensitive messaging is advised, especially for Health & Fitness apps. Many people would like to become fitter before they go to the beach, but they can be incentivized to exercise through inclusive and positive language. Alternatively, you can connect with more objective-oriented audiences with custom product pages that match carefully selected seasonal keywords.

Back to School, September

While not a holiday and perhaps only a festive period for parents, the beginning of school is a big event that resonates with users on the App Store. During this time, the App Store may showcase apps and tools that are helpful for students returning to school, such as educational apps, productivity tools, study aids, and organizational apps. Additionally, developers may offer special promotions or discounts on apps geared towards students or educational purposes. The App Store may also curate collections of apps designed to assist students with various aspects of their academic life, making it easier for users to find relevant apps for the upcoming school year.

• Key design elements: incorporate educational symbols such as numbers, letters, shapes, books, pencils, backpacks, chalkboards, and apples. Use images of young people, students, pupils, parents, and teachers.
• Recommended color palette: opt for a bright and playful color scheme that includes vibrant and youthful colors. Consider primary colors while aligning with your brand’s color identity.

Summarization: a full-year overview of holidays in the USA celebrated on the App Store

We’re ready to conclude our ultimate seasonality guide for the USA, with sixteen events to include our App Store growth strategy. The Ultimate Seasonality Guide for User Acquisition on the App Store contained holidays for autumn & winter, while this guide showcased those in spring & summer. To plan for the entire year, let’s have a clear look at the entire workflow chart:

Sixteen holidays and festive days are more than enough for any app, even if not all of them are relevant. The seasonal refreshing of product pages on the App Store has created a loop: many apps do it, and users come to the App Store expecting fresh and exciting updates. We selected the most important ones you wouldn’t miss out on.

Additional tips, insights, and best practices

We highly encourage you to read or return to our previous article, as it contains a wealth of ASO, Apple Search Ads, and app marketing tips for those wishing to take full advantage of seasonality and special events on the App Store.

The Ultimate Seasonality Guide for User Acquisition on the App Store

• Detailed design guidelines for key holidays on the App Store in the USA for autumn & winter
• A wealth of ASO & Apple Search Ads tips & insights, easy to implement
• Comprehensive guide to an efficient action plan and time management

Benefits of adjusting to seasonal events

To finalize, let’s take a look at all the benefits an app can gain by including seasonal updates in its growth strategy:

• Increased engagement: Holiday-themed updates can capture users’ attention and encourage increased engagement with your app. If the app features festive imagery and content related to the holiday, users may be more likely to explore and interact with it.
• User retention: Holiday updates can help maintain user interest and retention by providing fresh, seasonal content that keeps users returning to the app. Regular updates with relevant imagery can prevent app stagnation and encourage continued usage.
• Enhanced brand perception: By celebrating holidays you show that your app or game is alive and kicking. Users may perceive your app as more relatable, fun, or engaging. This is vital to many games that function as live services, and it needs to show that a stream of expected updates can be safely expected from them. This may lead to the improvement of user ratings over time too.

• Opportunity for user acquisition: Holiday-themed updates provide opportunities for promotional activities and marketing campaigns. You can leverage the holiday season to run special promotions, discounts, or giveaways to attract new users and incentivize downloads.
• Increased visibility: Apps that update with holiday-themed content may receive increased visibility on the App Store during relevant periods. The App Store may feature holiday-themed apps or promotions, giving your app additional exposure to potential users.
• Social media engagement: Social media campaigns are a key component of user acquisition and rely heavily on vibrant, colorful imagery. Leveraging holiday-themed hashtags and encouraging user-generated content can amplify your app’s visibility and reach on social media platforms.

Overall, updating an app for holidays with relevant imagery and content can increase user engagement, retention, brand perception, and visibility, ultimately enhancing app marketing efforts and driving positive outcomes for your app.

Which holidays to participate in?

One important question remains: which holiday is the right one to celebrate for my particular app? When considering whether your app should celebrate a holiday on the App Store, here are some factors to evaluate:

1. Relevance: Determine if the holiday aligns with your app’s theme or content. For example, if your app is related to fitness or health, it might be a good idea to celebrate the summer holidays.
2. The possibility of audience engagement: Consider your app users’ demographics and preferences to gauge their potential interest in holiday-related content or promotions.
3. Brand image: Assess whether celebrating the holiday aligns with your brand image and values. Ensure that any holiday-related content or promotions resonate with your brand identity and do not conflict with your brand message.

By carefully evaluating these factors, you can determine whether celebrating a holiday on the App Store aligns with your app’s goals, audience, and brand strategy.

In the description of each holiday, we highlighted app categories most likely to benefit from it, but remember that your analysis should be much more granular. You’re seeking relevance on the level of your app, with its unique aesthetics & messaging.

Best practices for seasonal promotions

The first article – The Ultimate Seasonality Guide for User Acquisition on the App Store, had plenty of more technical & practical tips, so here we’ll focus on more universal best practices to completely summarize our series. These are significant principles to remember when planning a full-year strategy:

1. The connection between your app and a special event must be organic: Can your app offer a new summer exercise plan or a set of fresh recipes using seasonal produce? Perhaps a player could find a pot of gold inside your game on St. Patrick’s Day? The key idea is to seek a real connection between a holiday and your app. Your relevance analysis should always be granular because even within a sub-category of apps, projects are so strikingly different that Easter may boost one app while drowning the other with negative reviews.
2. Always make the update meaningful: Don’t set up false expectations. What’s shown on an app’s product page should be reflected inside it. Holidays are crucial for engagement. Updating an app’s product page is only half of the job.
3. Remember the trends and try to do things differently each year: Easter bunnies or eggs? Santa’s or Snowmen? Leprechauns or pots of gold? It changes from one year to another. Never do the same thing twice.
4. Always research your competition: Research how other apps in your category or niche are celebrating the holiday on the App Store. Analyze their strategies, promotions, and user engagement to identify potential opportunities or challenges for your app.
5. Always test your ideas before you implement them. Testing is the only reliable way to determine whether your app will benefit from seasonal campaigns. Acquiring actual data on user preferences will help you discover current design nuances and whether a given holiday is genuinely relevant to your app.

Final words

What more can be said to finally wrap up our ultimate seasonality design guide to the holidays and festive periods in the USA? Show some love for the market you’re growing into; it will help you build a genuine connection with all the great people there who look forward to your future updates!

With eighteen holidays, lots of nuance and analysis are required. Creating a strategy utilizing holidays may seem overwhelming. Sometimes, it’s best to rely on the experience of others, and we’re always happy to share it!