Hong Kong festival MMS templates — 12 ready-to-adapt layouts and copy for Lunar New Year, Valentine's, Mother's Day, Mid-Autumn and Christmas

Key takeaways

• Every festival MMS is four things: send timing, image subject, copy skeleton and call-to-action type; the unsubscribe line and sender details in the copy are a legal requirement, not an option.
• Festival MMS goes out before the day, not on it: pre-order campaigns (mooncakes, hampers) two to three weeks ahead, in-store campaigns three to five days ahead.
• The image carries one subject and one headline; dates and promo codes appear once in the image and once in the text field.
• Twelve templates cover the twelve windows of the year; change the store name, dates and offer and they are ready to send.
• All templates assume recipients have consented to promotional messages and the list has been screened against the Do-Not-Call registers.

Template edited and want to send a test? Start a free trial: trial credit on signup, upload the image in the dashboard and send to your own phone, no credit card required. The full-year calendar is on MMS marketing.

Retail and F&B clients usually remember the festival MMS a week before the festival, then start the copy from a blank page. This article turns each of Hong Kong’s twelve windows into a template: when to send, what goes in the image, how the copy reads, what the customer should do. Everything is designed to the 800×800 and 230KB spec; the details are in MMS image size, file size and format — the complete guide.

Three rules every template shares

1. Send before the day, not on it. Pre-order campaigns (mooncakes, New Year hampers, Mother’s Day gifts) go two to three weeks ahead so customers have time to order; in-store campaigns (New Year offers, Christmas set menus) three to five days ahead; clearance (Boxing Day, season change) one to two days ahead.

2. The image does one job. One subject, one headline, one date or discount. Everything else goes in the text field.

3. The copy always ends with two things. The sender’s name and contact details, and how to unsubscribe. The Unsolicited Electronic Messages Ordinance requires both for commercial electronic messages, and they are what stops customers treating you as spam. Screen the list against the Do-Not-Call registers before every send; the full list is in the Hong Kong marketing message compliance checklist.

In each skeleton below, text in [brackets] is what you replace.

January: pre-Lunar New Year stock-up

• Timing: two weeks before the 20th day of the twelfth lunar month (hamper pre-orders); around the 25th (in-store)
• Image: red and gold key visual, one New Year hamper or festive plant, headline “New Year hampers — pre-order now”
• Copy: [Store] New Year hampers now taking pre-orders: [item] [price]. Order by [date] for a free [gift]. Store: [address], open until the 29th of the twelfth lunar month. Reply STOP or call [phone] to opt out of promotional messages.
• Action: pre-order link or store phone

February: Valentine’s Day

• Timing: 7–10 February
• Image: single product close-up (pairs, gift set), headline “Valentine’s exclusive — order by [date]”
• Copy: [Store] Valentine’s exclusive [product]. Order by [date] for delivery or pickup on 14 February. Limited quantity. [Store] [phone]. Reply STOP to opt out.
• Action: order cut-off plus link

March: spring changeover

• Timing: first week of the changeover
• Image: old-vs-new split or a new-season item, headline “Spring arrivals in — winter clearance [discount]”
• Copy: [Store] spring collection in store today; winter stock [discount] until [date]. Members showing this message get an extra [offer]. [Address] [phone]. Reply STOP to opt out.
• Action: show the message in store

April: Easter and the long weekend

• Timing: five days before the holiday
• Image: lifestyle shot (family activity, travel goods), headline “Easter holiday — [event or offer]”
• Copy: [Store] Easter long weekend [event/offer], [date range]. Holiday opening hours: [hours]. [Address] [phone]. Reply STOP to opt out.
• Action: holiday hours plus branch address

May: Mother’s Day

• Timing: two weeks before (pre-orders), three days before (reminder)
• Image: gift set photo, headline “Mother’s Day gifts — free wrapping if ordered by [date]”
• Copy: [Store] Mother’s Day selection: [product]. Order by [date] for free gift wrapping and a [gift]. Order online: [link]. [Store] [phone]. Reply STOP to opt out.
• Action: order link

June: mid-year sale and Dragon Boat Festival

• Timing: ten days before Dragon Boat (rice-dumpling hampers); two days before the sale starts
• Image: oversized discount figure or a rice-dumpling hamper, headline “Mid-year clearance — from [discount]” or “Dragon Boat hampers — pre-order now”
• Copy: [Store] mid-year clearance [date range], storewide from [discount], extra [offer] on [category]. [N] days only. [Address] [phone]. Reply STOP to opt out.
• Action: countdown

July: summer season

• Timing: one week before the school holidays start
• Image: hero product (summer classes, travel goods, seasonal appliances), headline “Summer [theme] — [bundle price or instalments]”
• Copy: [Store] summer [course/product] now open for enrolment/on sale, [bundle price/instalment plan]. Enrol by [date] for a [gift]. Enquiries: [phone]. Reply STOP to opt out.
• Action: enrolment or enquiry phone

August: back to school

• Timing: two weeks before term starts
• Image: checklist-style image (stationery, uniforms, electronics), headline “Back-to-school kit — all in one place”
• Copy: [Store] back-to-school offers: [items] [discount]. Buy by [date] for in-store pickup. [Address] [phone]. Reply STOP to opt out.
• Action: store pickup

September: Mid-Autumn Festival

• Timing: three weeks before (pre-orders), one week before (last call)
• Image: mooncake or gift box photo, headline “Mid-Autumn hampers — [offer] if ordered by [date]”
• Copy: [Store] Mid-Autumn hampers now taking pre-orders: [style] [price]. Order by [date] for the early-bird [offer]; corporate orders arranged separately. Order: [link/phone]. Reply STOP to opt out.
• Action: order cut-off reminder

October: National Day break and autumn arrivals

• Timing: three days before the break
• Image: new arrivals display, headline “Autumn arrivals — members’ preview [date]”
• Copy: [Store] autumn/winter collection lands [date]; members’ preview day [date], show this message for [offer]. Holiday opening hours: [hours]. [Address]. Reply STOP to opt out.
• Action: members’ preview

November: Double 11 and the Thanksgiving window

• Timing: 9–10 November
• Image: discount key visual, headline “11.11 — [discount], online and in store”
• Copy: [Store] 11.11 only: [discount/offer]. Enter code [CODE] online or show this message in store. 11 November only. [Link] [phone]. Reply STOP to opt out.
• Action: personal promo code

December: Christmas and Boxing Day

• Timing: set menus and gifts around 10 December; Boxing Day clearance on 24 December
• Image: festive scene, headline “Christmas [set menu/gifts] — pre-order now” or “Boxing Day — [discount]”
• Copy: [Store] Christmas [set menu/gifts] now taking pre-orders; order by [date] for [offer]. Festive opening hours: [hours]. [Address] [phone]. Reply STOP to opt out.
• Action: pre-order plus changed opening hours

Four reminders before you use a template

1. Check the combined size after editing. A few hundred characters in the text field cost nothing, but preview the image in the dashboard so the total stays under 230KB.
2. Write dates in full. “This Saturday” is ambiguous when the message is read the next day; write “13 December (Sat)”.
3. Put the promo code in both the image and the text field. If the image does not download, the text still does.
4. Send to yourself first. The first message of each window goes to one iPhone and one Android of your own.

One window a month: save the twelve templates as drafts in the dashboard and change the dates and offer when the time comes. To send a first test, start a free trial — trial credit on signup, no credit card required. If you would like us to do the layout, contact us.