In today’s marketing environment, marketing campaigns benefit from highly specialized holiday marketing campaigns. These types of campaigns, whether they are social media posts or commercial spots, take advantage of the holiday season to associate your business with the emotional feeling that is often present in each season. It can also serve to humanize your business, showing potential customers that you care about more than just their money.
How do I use holidays to my advantage? And what holidays should I advertise around?
Advertising around the holidays can seem complicated at first, but in reality, there are several very easy ways to acknowledge holidays and drive customers to your business at the same time. The first, and most common, are social media campaigns. These campaigns can last months, like advertising around Christmas, or they can be single posts. So while their actual formatting may differ, the message behind them is still the same. Here are some examples that we reference when creating social media posts.
Cinnabon
This is a textbook example of how to solicit holiday feelings using a simple social media post. The ad itself is not complicated, just a picture of some delightful-looking Cinnabon rolls. But by inviting the viewer to think about curling up with a lovely holiday movie, they associate their brand./product with the warm, fuzzy feeling that people get when watching their favorite holiday movie.
Reese’s
One of the most successful holiday-themed social media posts of all time, this Reese’s ad proves that any holiday can be used to increase a brand’s reputation when properly used. In this instance a limited-time promotion (the Reese’s Pie) is used to “replace” a traditional Thanksgiving offering; the dessert pie.
Dick’s Sporting Goods
This advertisement is one of the best examples of holiday marketing to date. This ad associates Dick’s Sporting Goods with the unrivaled joy of opening presents on Christmas morning with nothing more than some holiday well-wishes and a heartwarming photo.
Choosing a Holiday
While any holiday can be used to create an effective marketing campaign, some holidays lend themselves to certain businesses more so than others.
For example, candy companies almost always run effective campaigns based around Halloween because of the strong correlation between the holiday and candy.
Other common holidays include Thanksgiving, Christmas, the Fourth of July, and the New Year.
Thanksgiving
Focus on family gatherings and familial aspects of your business
– Families around the table, watching sports, playing games
– Use warm colors like burnt orange, maroon, and yellow
Christmas
Promote togetherness and give well-wishes to your audience
– “Happy Holidays” and “From our family to yours”
Focus on family gatherings and familial aspects of your business
– Unwrapping presents and eating meals are always popular
Lots of reds and greens/ Christmas imagery is always helpful
The Fourth of July
Fireworks and Patriotism
Red, White, and Blue color schemes
Historical Information
New Year
New Beginnings
Retail Sales Opportunities
Well-Wishes Encouraged
Fireworks and related imagery are also encouraged
ConnectNow.Agency is a full-service digital marketing agency specializing in content creation, social media management, analytics, and more. The team works closely with businesses to develop tailor-made digital marketing plans that align with their objectives.