Ho, ho, hold the phone, player. From increases in competition and prices for ad space to corporate philanthropy and responsibility—there is no denying the marketing world changes dramatically once the sweater weather hits. Holiday marketing is no joke, folks. Some of America’s most important sales days—like Black Friday and Cyber Monday—have experts debating where and when everybody should shop. It’s also been estimated that 36% of shoppers plan to spend more in 2021 than last year’s holiday season. Do you know what that means? You have to step up your holiday marketing game, or you’ll be out in the cold when it comes to consumers. Who knew Christmas could be so cutthroat?
Okay, so, we’ve established it’s a super f**king coconuts time for marketing, but also a critical time to be running successful holiday-themed campaigns. The competition is as stiff as the cookies Santa left behind – (Honestly, what were you thinking plating box cookies anyway? Don’t be a slacker, bake something cute!). The good news is we’ve got some jolly tips and tricks for you, our dear reader. We’re going to run through 5 different marketing tips we think can help you win the holiday season as far as marketing is concerned.
Get ’em in the feels.
It’s time to talk about Maslow’s hierarchy of needs in relation to holiday marketing because this stuff gets deep. For the “Get ’em in the feels” section of this blog, we focus on psychological and self-fulfillment needs (more on basic needs in our next section, “Don’t just make money-give it away.”) All humans share fundamental needs, two of which are having a sense of belonging and healthy self-esteem. Ads, at their core, are stories. And stories do more than sell a thing; they are an essential part of every culture. Stories reveal our values, and so do ads. A great ad makes its viewer feel seen, included and boosts their sense of self in the process.
Before settling on the angle for your campaign, make sure it’s coming from the heart. Holiday campaigns are a great time to get a little nostalgic and reflective. It’s the ending of one year and the beginning of a new one. Many holidays center around service, family, friendship, and faith. What parts of your company serve these values? Use your holiday marketing campaign to showcase these values, and you’re guaranteed to connect with your target audience.
Don’t just make money—give it away.
The base of Maslow’s is off the bench now. Because it’s great to sing about chestnuts roasting on an open fire, but only when you’ve got some chestnuts to roast. When the holiday season rolls around, generosity, community care, and service are at the top of many people’s minds. Maybe it’s the breaks we get during the holiday season that free up our time and energy to give a little more than we usually do. Perhaps it’s the extra coin in our pockets from end-of-year bonuses. Of course, we can’t count out good old-fashioned guilt about all the nice things we have. Whatever the case is—millions of dollars are donated in the holiday season every year.
Corporate philanthropy is one of the best things a company can do in marketing (and in general too.) First and foremost, we all should give back whatever we can, whenever we can. And if social responsibility isn’t your thing, there are financial reasons for corporate philanthropy too. When consumers feel like the money they spend with you benefits a charity or general do-gooding, it fosters brand loyalty. People love that little boost of serotonin associated with helping others.
Not to mention fiscal benefits like tax deductions, which can even include mileage driven to and from volunteer work. Volunteering time and hours can also make your team members feel more connected to one another and their job. Last but not least, millennial consumers, who are an essential portion of the market, care more and more about aligning their wallets with their morals. Listen, if it makes you look good, feel good, and do good—why not share the wealth?
Learn from the campaigns of holidays past.
Dear gentlefolk, it’s time to take stock of wins, losses, and market segmentation. How did you grow last holiday season? How did you not? And what is the reason for the win or loss? The answer can be unboxed from a combination of press reports, social media analytics, and web traffic metrics. Take note of any days that had high foot or web traffic and plan accordingly. Check out your KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators) and set reasonable, attainable goals for your business.
But BKN, what if I don’t have fancy reports or care to click through the links provided explaining KPIs?! Well, dear reader, don’t sweat. You can simply look at your social media postings and see which ones got the most comments, likes, and engagement overall. Then repurpose their core. Was it a promo code? A lovely story about a family reuniting for the holidays? A photo of your dog in a pile of presents? Great, now you know if your target audience is looking to save, feeling sentimental, or needs to see that pupper again. A quick audit of successes and growth opportunities from previous holiday campaigns will go a long way.
If this is your first season and you don’t have anything to look back on, peep your competitors’ social media for a starting point.
‘Tis the season to be inclusive.
The secret to this one is actually being inclusive all year round. That is our specialty at BKN Creative (did we mention we’re a certified minority-owned business through the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce?). Your promotional materials should include people of all abilities, sizes, genders, sexual orientations, races, ethnicities, and ages. For instance, hopefully, when you’re crafting or selecting crafted campaigns, you consider the deaf and hard of hearing or blind communities as well as POC and non-disabled individuals. This section is much easier to manage if you are already aware of your biases, underrepresented people, and accessibility.
But beyond the year-round inclusivity considerations, spirituality really has its moment in the sun from October to January. It is a time of numerous cultural and religious festivities. Día de Los Muertos, Diwali, Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday, Hanukkah, National Free Shipping Day, Christmas, Kwanzaa, and New Year’s Eve—all of these holidays and more happen in quick succession. Still, you may only get 1 holiday campaign to incorporate them all.
The trick for this is simply focusing on the values of these holidays. Christmas isn’t for everyone. Gentiles don’t celebrate Hanukkah. And for people who choose sanity on Black Friday, the bare-knuckle boxing over big-screen TVs is not going to happen. The spirit of most of these events is community, peace, and joy, which are universal and therefore inclusive. Focus your campaign on those values rather than getting specific.
E-commerce is IMPORTANT!
Globally, holiday-related e-commerce is expected to hit around $910 billion in 2021. Now that’s a lot of coin! That said, the easiest way to get your piece of the proverbial pie is to imagine a customer who has a million and ten things to do, a million and ten gifts to buy, and a certain amount of time and money to get it all done. Now, think about what would accommodate that type of schedule and budget. Here are the greatest hits of things that simplify e-commerce:
- Offering online ordering with delivery
- Offering in-store pick-up (not sure how to? Check this out.)
- Prioritize user experience on your webpage with…
- Write thorough descriptions that include price, care instructions, size or dimensions, or pertinent information to the shopper.
- Build intuitive navigation from page to page.
- Check-out should be easy peasy.
- Write thorough descriptions that include price, care instructions, size or dimensions, or pertinent information to the shopper.
If you’re not a web design wiz or a coder extraordinaire, it’s time to call in the experts! That’s us, we’re the experts. You might be a little late to a marketing campaign this holiday season, but the window of opportunity to create a magical campaign is still open. Open, but narrowing. In a perfect world, you’d want to get a headstart on holiday campaigns and have something close to a finished concept by the end of September and deliverables and strategy done by October. If this season is too much pressure at the last minute, that’s okay. You can start noodling yourself on the 2022 campaign (or outsource it to BKN Creative.) Get ahead of your competitors by keeping a watchful eye for marketing successes and cringe-worthy campaigns this holiday season.
If you think we’re cute or whatever, get in touch next time you’re ready to jingle some bells.
