• by Aaron Baar , February 27, 2012

Like the Olympics, Leap Day comes only every four years. And companies big and small, national and regional, across all industries are using the extra day to provide a little marketing (and business) oomph.

Among the national companies offering Leap Day promotions is Zappos.com, which on Feb. 29 will quadruple its standard 365-day return policy to 1,461 days. The promotion, according to the company, is a tongue-in-cheek way of promoting its standard return policy, while avoiding “penalizing” customers who happen to buy something on Feb. 29 when next year’s calendar only goes until Feb. 28.

“Giving our leap year customers 1,461 days to return, or more simply put, four years, to return seemed like a great way to celebrate Leap Year,” Matt Burchard, Zappos.com’s senior director of marketing, said in a statement. “It also felt like the right thing to do given that our standard return policy goes by date of purchase.”

Meanwhile, restaurant chain Outback Steakhouse is encouraging its Facebook fans to wish one of their fans, Jennifer Barfield, who happens to have a Leap Day birthday, a happy birthday. Four of those well-wishers will win a card good for one free meal a month at Outback every four years. Sprinkles, a chain of cupcake bakeries with 10 locations across the country, will also give away a dozen cupcakes to anyone born on Leap Day.

Office products retailer Staples, meanwhile, hit up its email database to promote its “Leap Year Savings Event,” with 29 select offers. And Subway is offering a free cookie with any purchase on the 29^th.

Travel companies, in particular, are making a big deal about the extra day. Luxe Worldwide Hotels is offering limited-time Leap Year specials at 24 of its location, including those in Paris, Barcelona, San Francisco, New York and Beverly Hills. The company has also been holding a daily sweepstakes to those who booked during the extended February, offering a two-night complimentary stay at one of those hotels. The Walt Disney Company is planning to keep its Disneyland and Disneyworld theme parks open 24 hours on the 29^th, while Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows ski resorts are offering discounted lift tickets for the day.

Princes Cruises is holding a 23-hour, 58-minute (from 12:01 a.m. to 11:59 p.m.) sale on Wednesday offering deals on its Alaska cruise and overland touring trips. The promotion, which starts at $1,438 per person for a 10-day trip, also includes an onboard credit of $100 for balcony cabins ($50 for interior or non-balcony cabins).

Meanwhile, regional operators of McDonald’s and Chick-fil-A franchises are reportedly offering Leap Day deals, such as Buy One, Get One offers on certain sandwiches, free coffee or 29-cent meal add-ons at McDonald’s, and a giveaway of mini-sandwiches at participating Chick-Fil-A’s. (Not to be outdone, IHOP will be giving away free short stacks of pancakes one day before Leap Day, on Feb. 28, which is supposedly National Pancake Day.)

Finally, for those who didn’t partake in this Leap Year’s marketing extravaganza, Boston-area B-to-B marketing agency will be offering free consults on Wednesday to help companies looking to improve their marketing. The consults will be available in the company’s Newton, Mass., and San Antonio offices, as well as in Google+ hangouts throughout the day.