“Brands are so worried about what’s right in front of them, they forget the holiday buying season lasts over two months now, and there are immense opportunities to build your business for the rest of the year through what you accomplish then.”
— Jordan Brannon, President, Coalition Technologies
Holiday ads that aren’t the same-old, same-old
A 2018 National Retail Federation survey found more than 89 million people shopped both online and in stores, up nearly 40 percent from 2017. Multichannel shoppers outspent single-channel shoppers by up to $93 on average.
During this time of year, it is challenging to get consumer attention. They’re bombarded by so many holiday sales and promotions. When they see the same thing year after year and day after day, traditional sales and marketing tactics leave them uninspired.
Visually, holiday imagery that is intrinsic to the messaging leads to better engagement. While tacked on ornaments, snowflakes, ribbons, Santas, and so on just add to the “white noise” of the season.
Stay true to the clients branding and persona during the holiday season. Whether you use humor (above) or heartstrings (below), consistency helps improve the customer’s shopping experience as well as encouraging repeat purchases after the season is over (until next year).
One final thought: the holiday season is a great time to grow content marketing as a method to reach customers by offering more personalized shopping experiences, like holiday gift guides, shopping assistants, and brick-and-mortar-only offers.
Whatever promotion you decide to run, make sure there’s a non-BS reason for customers to buy NOW.… Whatever your angle is, avoid false urgency… because buyers can smell it from a mile away.
— Lianna Patch, Founder, Punchline Conversion Copywriting
References
- 16 Holiday Marketing Campaign Strategies to Delight Your Customers
- How the 10 best holiday ads of 2018 worked their merry magic
- Holiday and Seasonal Trends: Winter Holidays
- Top 25 Christmas Promotion Ideas from the Pros
- Creative Newsletter: December 2018
Holiday to Year End: Maximize the Message
Upcoming Campaign Refresh Opportunities
College Football (Ongoing), Halloween (October 31), Veterans’ Day (November 11), Thanksgiving (November 28), Black Friday (November 29), Cyber Monday (December 2), Christmas (December 25), New Year’s Eve & Day (December 31, 2019-January 1, 2020), Martin Luther King Jr. Day (January 20), Chinese New Year (January 25), Superbowl Sunday & Groundhog Day (February 2), Valentine’s Day (February 14)
2019 August Spec Sales Numbers
During the month of August we had $204,593 (in Closed Won Verified). The total creative impact for 2019 to date is $1,002,231. Specs drive business. Our business and our customer’s business.
August/September Additions to the Spec Gallery
We’ve added more examples of sold and unsold spec in both digital and print. Click HERE or on the menu links below and upper right-side of this page.
“All right, you go back and tell them that the New York State Supreme Court rules there’s no Santa Claus. It’s all over the papers. The kids read it and they don’t hang up their stockings. Now what happens to all the toys that are supposed to be in those stockings? Nobody buys them. The toy manufacturers are going to like that; so they have to lay off a lot of their employees, union employees. Now you got the CIO and the AF of L against you and they’re going to adore you for it and they’re going to say it with votes. Oh, and the department stores are going to love you too and the Christmas card makers and the candy companies. Ho ho. Henry, you’re going to be an awful popular fella.”
— Campaign Manager Charles Halloran
to Judge Harper in ‘Miracle on 34th Street’ courtroom scene (1947)
The Creative Team monthly newsletter will be archived each month. Visit for more ad design examples, galleries, creative tips, spec sales numbers, testimonials & more… We’ll be adding new content each month to grow this resource.
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