From picking out a specific theme to using humor in your Holiday marketing, here are the 7 answers to the question, “What is one strategy or recommendation that businesses should use when creating their holiday marketing strategy?”
Pick Out a Specific Theme
It may sound banal, but setting a theme is the best strategy to ace a sophisticated Christmas campaign. It should act as a common ground that the company can always refer to for future planning.
Themes are also consumer anchors, so they should be easy to remember, recognize, and work across multiple channels. Make sure it fits your brand and your customers can relate to it. “Charity,” “compassion,” “home,” “nostalgia,” and “family” are always popular themes around Christmas time. You can go for that for better results.
Not only should this formula fit the topic, but it should also fit the image. The human brain processes visual content about a thousand times faster than text. Therefore, typography, coloring, and illustrations should be used consistently.
Maria Harutyunyan, Co-Founder, Loopex Digital
Focus On Creating Ads that Evoke Emotion
One strategy businesses should use when creating their holiday marketing strategy is to focus on creating ads that evoke emotion.
This is because people are more likely to make purchases during the holidays if they feel an emotional connection to the product or service. And what better way to create an emotional connection than with a heartwarming ad?
Ads that make people laugh are also effective, as they help create a positive association with the brand. So, if you want your holiday marketing campaign to be successful, focus on creating ads that will make people feel something.
Benjamin Basic, Content Writer, Fast Food Menu Prices
Let Your Customer Choose their Deals
We receive a huge influx of orders for our business during the holiday season. It kicks off with Black Friday and continues through Cyber Monday and we throw in a few deals for Christmas and New Year’s.
What makes our marketing special during this time is the advertisement in that we let the customer choose their deal. We offer six different discounts for our dental products, each being very unique in terms of savings, perks, shipping speeds, and extra products.
When the customer feels like they are in control they are much more likely to purchase using one of the deals that they select from. It’s a huge money maker for us during the holidays. Let your customers choose their deals and it adds to the fun of holiday shopping.
Seth Newman, Director, SportingSmiles
Give Customers a Reason to Shop Local
The two biggest consumer trends for the holidays are seeking out personalized gifts and shopping locally.
Throughout the pandemic, people have been wanting to support their local communities while also connecting with their friends and family in more meaningful ways. By shopping locally, you can get your hands on custom gifts that stand out from all of the Amazon deliveries.
The best thing for small businesses to do is to develop a cross-media marketing approach so that they can interact with and attract shoppers across multiple touchpoints.
Don’t rely on just digital, and take advantage of your retail space as well as direct mail. Customers want to hear from local small businesses, and they will continue this trend as a way to keep their dollars local.
Chris B., PR Rep, Minuteman Press International
Focus Your Messaging Around Loyalty
When building a holiday marketing strategy, we encourage brands to think about how they’ll convert new customers who likely buy with a discount to become loyal and repeat purchasers in the future.
To make this happen it is necessary to have intelligent marketing in place to get customers coming back for more.
For any retailers selling online via E-commerce, we recommend a combination of email marketing, SMS campaigns, direct mail, and social media ads which are targeted specifically to new customers with messaging around loyalty.
Getting this strategy right and turning new purchasers into repeat customers can mean the difference between seeing your holiday marketing efforts work out close to breakeven overall, or being highly profitable going into 2023 as customers start to come back and buy again.
Ryan Turner, Founder, EcommerceIntelligence.com
Plan Ahead On Holidays Campaigns
The best advice I can give when coming into the festive season is to plan. You can buy back time, and if you don’t pre-plan you will find yourself scattered trying to get your campaigns over the line in time.
Pre Planning your campaigns mean the entire team is under less stress, and it gives you time to act quickly on additional marketing activities you may want to engage in, such as Black Friday sales. Planning ahead is a crucial factor in my holiday season marketing strategy.
Taleisha Barker, Marketing & Communications Manager, Flowers Across Brisbane
Be Memorable by Incorporating Humor
There’s one strategy that’s often overlooked: using humor in your marketing. A little bit of levity can go a long way in making your brand more relatable and engaging to customers. And when it comes to the holiday season, nothing beats a good laugh to get people in the mood for spending.
So this year, why not try adding some humor to your holiday marketing? It could be as simple as writing tongue-in-cheek blog posts or crafting playful social media updates. Just be sure to stay on brand and keep things in good taste – no one wants their company associated with bad jokes.
If you’re not sure where to start, there are plenty of online resources (like this one) that can help you get started. Humor is a powerful tool, so don’t be afraid to use it!
Jamie Irwin, Director, Straight Up Search
