21 Brands With the Most Engaging Memorial Day Social Media Posts
Ranjani Raghupathi
August 8, 2014 • 5 min read
Updated on September 18, 2019
Note – Though this post was first published in 2013, it has been updated multiple times, most recently in April 2019.
See the latest Memorial Day posts
This Memorial Day, it wasn’t just the citizens of the United States who paid homage to the brave warriors; major brands too took some time out to pay their respects. Though patriotism was the theme of the day, some brands didn’t refrain from posting whacky, offbeat content.
Unmetric Discover helps you find such content. Read more here about Unmetric Discover and how it can help content creators find content inspiration and top performers around an event. Read on to see the top Memorial Day posts.
1. Jeep
Jeep published a powerful picture of a Wrangler with the American Flag in the background on Instagram, garnering over 76K interactions.
2. Forever21
Forever 21 joined in on the conversation by offering wardrobe suggestions for the day. Their red, white, and blue fashion choices received over 62K interactions.
3. Humana
Humana celebrated and honored veterans by sponsoring the advocacy group for prisoners of war and missing in action service members, Rolling Thunder’s annual Memorial Day motorcycle rally.
4. 5.11 Tactical
5.11 Tactical, a clothing brand that offers tactical gear for military and law enforcement published a video honoring soldiers who lost their lives serving the country. This video received over 29K Shares.
5. USAA
USAA gave a colorful and moving virtual reality tribute to fallen soldiers inspired by the war poem, In Flanders Fields. The brand also provided the option to donate to a fallen hero a poppy, the symbol of Memorial Day.
See the latest Memorial Day posts
6. U.S Navy
Memorial Day couldn’t be more important to any group as would be to one from the Armed Forces. This post scored extremely high engagement, surpassing all other brands that year. The man in the image is seen standing in a cemetery of the warriors paying his respects to them.
7. Do Something
‘Do something’, the not-for-profit organization which works with youngsters to bring about social change, wished fans a long and relaxing weekend. The picture of the 107-year-old veteran blessed with great health and youthfulness stunned fans. Comments poured in conveying wishes to him and all other such heroes.
8. Lockheed Martin
The greeting from this brand came a little earlier than the day itself. The decolorized image with just the flag in color is a beautiful portrayal of what the day stands for. The post was shared close to 1,500 times but was commented on by only 17 people – sometimes words are not enough.
9. Reese’s
Brands get that a large portion of their audience looks forward to the long weekend. Reese’s, for instance, shared a recipe for the perfect treat you can easily whip up to make your Memorial Day more sweet.
10. Skinny Girl Cocktails
Skinny Girl cocktails greeting took a similar route. They put together the top 10 ‘must haves’ for the long weekend as well as some must have cocktail recipes. It obviously struck a chord with Skinny Girl fans as it got more engagement than many other more somber Memorial Day posts.
See the latest Memorial Day posts
11. Marvel
Thank you to all the fallen heroes. #MemorialDay pic.twitter.com/BdQnE84z1B
— Marvel Entertainment (@Marvel) May 29, 2017
Marvel inserted themselves into the Memorial Day conversation in their signature style – with a simple GIF of Captain America. This is a great example of how to speak your brand even when you share a holiday greeting.
12. Petco
Think Memorial Day is only for humans? Think again. Man’s most loyal friend, canine heroes also deserve to be appreciated on this day. This is one of the very few animal based posts which didn’t bank on the cuteness factor. Petco’s paid homage to the canine heroes with a picture of Lucca, a German Shepherd, nominated for the Dog Hero awards.
13. U.S. Marine Corps
The Marines posted a video of the ceremonial funeral accorded to the fallen. The touching video prompted over 1,600 comments. Most of these were loved ones of fallen soldiers and marines sharing the experience of being given the flag.
14. Wounded Warrior
The Non-profit organization Wounded Warriors’ mission is to empower the soldiers who have been injured in action. The post shows pictures of soldiers who overcame challenges to get back on their feet and continue to have normal lives with their loved ones. Around 24,000 fans have liked this post and more than 6,000 fans have shared them.
15. Victoria’s Secret Pink
Memorial Day is a holiday that finds participation from brands in various industries, including a retail brand like Victoria’s Secret. They kept to their standard shots of attractive merchandise with a patriotic twist added in. This was one of the most engaging Memorial Day posts on Instagram.
See the latest Memorial Day posts
16. GoFundMe
This was the most shared Memorial Day post in 2017. In a short video, GoFundMe shared the story of a Florida man who cleans veterans’ headstones. The convincing narrative presented in the video and the clear call to action to visit the GoFundMe webpage make this a successful piece of content.
17. Chevrolet
The real American pride, the Chevrolet Camaro is seen in the post above painted on with all that is American. With a great American bald eagle painted on the front bumper, the Camaro sure looks like a magnificent machine. The post received over 7,000 shares.
18. Whataburger
On a less somber note, Whataburger announced that their collection of delicious ketchup and mustard is available at various shops. This post received the highest number of comments ‘Whatanepicfeat’. Just goes to show that Memorial Day for many is the chance to BBQ with friends!
19. Kay Jewelers
Red, White, and Blue. Kay Jewelers kept it simple and posted a picture of the American flag with the words ‘Celebrate those who serve’. This post brought in a lot of comments from the near and dear of those who served the country. The post was liked by over 6,500 Facebook fans.
20. Petcentric by Purina
Man’s best friend, both in battle and in the backyard. In the post, a German Shepard who probably works as a bomb sniffer is shown posing next to a soldier on the field after a hard day’s work. The post again reminds fans that the day is not just a time to appreciate the sacrifice of human soldiers but also a time to remember the brave animals.
See the latest Memorial Day posts
21. Prudential
Memorial Day is essentially about remembering the fallen. Prudential ushered in a spirit of community among their audience by inviting them to share memories of their loved ones who’d served the nation.
Honorable mentions:
A special mention for Clearblue which surprised all of us when we compiled this report. Clearblue received a massive amount of engagement for their Memorial Day post, more than you would think for a pregnancy test brand. Subway received the second highest number of Likes for its Memorial Day post, with over 53,000 people liking the post. It also placed third for most number of shares with 7,000 shares, yet it failed to make the top 16 list due to the high number of fans – they needed more shares and likes to push up the engagement score.
A good performance all round from a variety of brands. Most brands stuck with their brand personality and posted something you would expect of them. It would be a little bit unusual for a hard liquor brand which focuses on the fun to be saluting the fallen.
Data Analysis Methodology
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