Image: Matalan

How to make your products attractive to the media in October    

Our October PR toolkit and content calculator is here to help PRs and marketers forward-plan campaigns and pitches armed with some timely and topical angles, plus it’s a checklist for potential campaign hooks.

We’re into autumn, and the nights are starting to draw in, and the heating is probably on.  The media are looking for images that reflect the changes, so anything that looks cosy and warm is suitable; roaring fires, big jumpers, coats, hats, knitwear, scarves, and wellies in a leaf-strewn outdoors – all the clichés – are what the media are looking for.

If you can do some night shots with sparklers, then you’re also ticking the boxes for Bonfire Night next month. We also have Halloween at the end of the month, so if you can get a pumpkin in your images, then you’re hitting two birds with one stone.   

You should be adding Christmas images, and for those magazines with very long lead times, then start to look for the images of people working off the Christmas excesses for the January issues. 

Don’t forget to add keywords like Gifts, Christmas, Xmas, Autumn, Winter, Halloween, Fireworks night and Bonfire night, as they will be looked for from now. Also, PRShots has a worldwide audience, so add those American holiday versions e.g. The Holidays, Fall, Pumpkin Day, Thanksgiving, etc and words like hygge that are starting to enter the language and are associated with the autumn.  

Media will also be searching for party outfits for Halloween, Guy Fawkes, and the office party season - which will soon be with us some businesses have their Christmas parties in November. 

The media are also starting to look for and create Christmas gift guides, so try and be creative, do ones for every eventuality e.g. gifts guides for him/her/mum/dad/kids/teenagers/pets etc also gifts under £150/100/£50 and guides for secret Santa’s gifts under £20.

Please put prices on everything!!! Otherwise, you stand no chance of getting into any of the features that include “Presents under £50”, “Party dresses for £150”, etc.   

If you’re a PRShots brand user and you need more ideas, then take a look at the keywords that media are searching for on PRShots and try and add those in.

If you’re looking for more hooks to help promote your brand and products, then see the list of days, weeks and fortnights below.

October Diary - Weeks/Months

October is also known as ‘Stoptober’, which started as a campaign around giving up cigarettes, but is now joined by MacMillans Go Sober for October, so if you have anything non-alcoholic, then get it on PRShots and make sure you add Stoptober and non-alcoholic as keywords.

It’s also Black History Month, Wool Month, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Menopause Month, Vegetarian Awareness Month, Apple Month, Cookie Month, Spinach Lovers' Month, Pork Month, and National Pasta, Chilli, and Pizza Month.

Fashion and Beauty Weeks and events include – Shetland Wool Week (28^th Sep – 4^th Oct),  Paris Fashion Week (29^th Sept - 7^th Oct), Ascot Fashion Weekend (3^rd-5^th), National Wedding Show Birmingham (4^th -5^th), National Wedding Show London (18^th -19^th), British Beauty Week (20^th-26^th), Gran Canaria Swim Week (22^nd- 25^th ), The Baby Show (24^th-26^th), National Wedding Show Manchester (25^th -26^th).

British Food Fortnight (26^th Sep - 12^th Oct)

National Vegetarian Week (1^st – 7^th)

Work Life Week (6^th- 10^th)

National Curry Week (6^th-12^th )

National Chocolate Week (12^th-18^th)

National School Lunch week US (13 ^th-17^th)

National Baking Week (14^th-20^th)

October - Days

1^st-2^nd  – Yom Kippur

1^st – World Vegetarian Day

1^st – International Coffee Day

2^nd - Gandhi Jayanthi – The birthday of Mahatma Gandhi - Holiday India

2^nd – Navaratri Ends 

2^nd – Vijayadashami/Dussehra Hindu festival 

2^nd – National Poetry Day

3^rd – Mean Girl’s Day (apparently, it’s a thing right!!)

4^th – National Vodka Day (US)

4^th – World Animal Day

5^th – Harvest Festival 

5^th – UN World Teachers’ Day

6^th – World Smile Day

6^th – First Day of Sukkot – Jewish Holiday 

6^th - National Plus Size Appreciation Day

7^th – National LED Light Day

10^th – UN World Mental Health Day

10^th – National Cake Decorating Day

11^th – National Coming Out Day (UK/US)

11^th – UN International Day of the Girl

12^th-13^th – Hoshana Rabbah 

13^th – Last Day of Sukkot – Jewish Holiday 

13^th – National Yorkshire Pudding Day (US)

13^th – National No Bra Day

13^th-15^th – Shemini Atzeret 

14^th-15^th - Simchat Torah 

16^th – UN World Food Day

16^th – Department store day

18^th – National Chocolate Cup Cake Day (US)

18^th – World Menopause Day

19^th – International Gin & Tonic Day

20^th – Diwali 

20^th – National Office Chocolate Day (US)

25^th – World Pasta Day

25^th – 2 months until Christmas Day

26^th – National Pumpkin Day

26^th – Clocks go back tonight 

27^th – National American Beer Day

27^th – Global Champagne Day

28^th – National Chocolate Day (US)

29^th – National Cat Day (US)

31^st – Halloween

NB - All dates have been checked, but some events may change due to unforeseen circumstances or have not been fully confirmed for 2025 by the authorities controlling the event(s).