Here’s How to Ace Holiday Marketing in 2022

• Creativity. Shopping bags that become ornaments is a fresh idea that captures consumers’ imaginations.
• Shareability. Nordstrom incentivized customers to share their creations on social media. This generated more buzz for the campaign and increased its reach.
• Value. Customers got something fun to do with their purchase at no additional cost. Imagine the countless Nordstrom bag ornaments still visible on trees this holiday season.

#5: Apple’s Saving Simon

Apple’s Saving Simon was a charming holiday ad with a twist—they shot it entirely on the iPhone 13.

Something crucial to note is the ad didn’t focus on Apple products at all, just on the sentiment of seeing your loved ones on Christmas. Like in their Make Someone’s Holiday ad, Apple chose to focus on the sentiment.

The result touched viewers’ hearts rather than making them feel like a commodity and a revenue vehicle.

You’re probably not selling phones this holiday, but you are selling to human beings. A campaign rooted in the holiday spirit (whether it be Christmas, Thanksgiving, or Hanukkah) makes a more profound impact than just another holiday promotion.

How to Create a Holiday Marketing Campaign Plan

The above examples offer an idea of what successful holiday marketing looks like.

But you only saw the final product. Behind each successful campaign is tons of research, planning, and skillful execution.

So next, we’ll break down each step of creating a winning marketing campaign plan.

Step 1: Set Goals

You need to decide what you’re trying to accomplish before you create a campaign. What’s the ideal result you’re looking for?

Your goals need to be SMART—specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound. For example:

• Create 500 leads for our Black Friday sale by November 24th
• Make $25,000 in sales during December
• Get 2,200 email list sign-ups by December 20th

When you have a specific and measurable goal, you know what to focus on. But without a goal, your marketing has no direction.

Step 2: Identify Your Target Audience

With your goals in place, determine who you want to reach specifically. The most effective way of doing this is by creating a buyer persona.

A buyer persona is a detailed profile of someone who accurately represents your target audience.

Example of a Buyer Persona

The persona comes from detailed research into your existing audience. For example, if you’re selling baseball bats, your persona might be American teenagers (though more specific).

The more information you can gather about your target audience, the more accurate your persona will be. Think about:

• Hobbies & interests
• Age
• Occupation
• Income
• Location
• Preferred social media platforms (ex. Teenagers on TikTok, Baby Boomers on Facebook)
• And any other information relating to their consumer habits

Maybe you already have personas, but they have to be specific to your holiday marketing planning. Eliminate target audiences you don’t want to include in this campaign.

But remember, a persona should scratch more than surface level. Find out what deeper emotional problems or values are driving someone to your product, and you’ll be in a better position to choose the messaging and strategies most likely to resonate with them. 

Step 3: Choose a Campaign Theme

Launching a campaign isn’t the same as producing regular content. Instead of creating one-off content, you align all marketing channels around a specific message.

You might have a specific message, like:

• 50% on Black Friday
• Free shipping all December
• Reusable bags free until December 25th
• Join our email list for a 25% off discount
• Free holiday cookie with sandwich purchase

This message persists throughout your entire campaign. For example, all over your content from October 15th-31st might orient around Halloween sales.

Your message might come wrapped in a more general holiday theme, such as:

• Spend time with family this holiday season
• Stay safe this Halloween
• Put kindness first this Christmas
• Do something different this Thanksgiving

Step 4: Design an Offer

Your holiday campaign is ultimately about your unique offer. This is the main driver for achieving the goal you set earlier.

Your offer might be:

• Free item with purchase
• Discount
• Free service to build publicity (ex. Google’s Santa Tracker)
• Free delivery

Whatever your offer is, it’s crucial to orient it towards accomplishing your goal.

For example, Starbucks’ offer in 2019 was a free reusable cup in return for placing an order online. Their goal was most likely to get downloads for their app.

Step 5: Choose Promotion Channels

Your campaign is worthless if nobody sees it. In this next section, we’ll explore different channels for promoting your campaign—with the best strategies for each.

Blogging

A holiday campaign should start on your company’s blog. Here, you can describe the exact message of your campaign and promote your offer.

Create a post introducing your offer, explaining its value, and featuring a persuasive CTA.

Keep it customer-centric, focusing on how your offer improves their holiday experience. Think back to the campaigns featured above and their customer-centric approach.

And aside from targeting your blog’s followers directly, articles are resources to use throughout your campaign. For example, you might link to it in emails and social posts for further reading of your offer.

Email

During the holidays, email lists represent countless potential customers eager to spend on loved ones. This drives email marketing returns higher than ever, so getting your offer out effectively is crucial.

Here are the parts of an enticing holiday email: