6 Creative Holiday Marketing Campaigns to Inspire You This Holiday Season

By Baillee Perkins
Nov 11, 2022
holiday email campaigns

⛄Move over, Santa! We’re giving the gift of knowledge this holiday season. ⛄

Did we grab your attention? That’s exactly how you want your customers to feel when they see the marketing campaign you carefully crafted pop up on their social media feeds or commercials! During the holiday season, your customers will see marketing campaigns galore. You need to get creative, so your customers remember your store when the time comes to shop. If creating unique marketing campaigns seems challenging, or if you find yourself with a case of writer’s block, we’re here to give you some inspiration with several examples of well-executed and successful holiday marketing campaigns. 

Table of Contents

  1. Why do holiday marketing campaigns matter?
  2. Examples of effective holiday marketing campaigns
  3. How can I use these ideas to create holiday email campaigns?
  4. Can I use ShippingEasy to help with my holiday marketing campaigns?
  5. Conclusion
Enjoy the most wonderful time of the year with a 30-day free trial of ShippingEasy!

Why do holiday marketing campaigns matter?

Before we teach you how to write effective email and marketing campaigns, let’s talk about the why. Why should you put so much focus into holiday marketing for your customers? Holiday marketing campaigns are especially important because they’re created during the busiest time of the year. If done correctly, holiday email and marketing campaigns can help boost your sales, brand awareness, and positive customer engagement. Now that we’ve given you the context, let’s get you started on building your own holiday marketing campaigns.

Learn how to earn repeat holiday customers with the help of our blog.

Examples of effective holiday marketing campaigns

Sometimes the hardest part of creating a holiday marketing campaign is just getting started. How do you balance being creative with being informative? These brands have found ways to think outside the (gift) box while still showcasing their products and holiday specials. We’ve selected holiday marketing campaigns from big brands like Google to ShippingEasy customers like New Wave Toys and Ice Shaker for an array of inspiration. Also, this includes everything from social media posts to commercials, so you have examples from different mediums to see what works best for your business. 

1. Chewy’s Black Friday campaign

During the Black Friday holiday season, Chewy offered their customers early access to deals; they included items customers purchase frequently. This way, customers can be reminded of products they might need to stock up on for the holidays or for everyday use. Chewy is also offering free shipping over a certain threshold. During the holiday season, your customers might be expecting free shipping or free shipping over a certain threshold. If your business is able, this is a great way to make extra sales during the holiday season. Chewy’s promo successfully nails customer holiday expectations and how to format your promotions during the holiday season.  

Image source: Chewy

2. Clorox’s Brit + Co collaboration holiday campaign

To promote their limited edition holiday canisters, Clorox took to social media in a noteworthy way. The tagline and imagery are both memorable, and the copy is direct. Clorox is letting their audience know exactly what the product is and where they can find it. We like this post because it’s an example of how to effectively reach your audience without breaking the bank. It shows your customer exactly what your new product is, where it’s available, and why it’s special. Social posts like these are a great way to grab your customers’ attention while also letting them know why they should care about your product. 

3. Sprite’s Holiday Specials

In 2021, Sprite released several commercials that spoofed traditional holiday specials for the release of their season flavor. Sprite’s holiday marketing campaign took the idea of something familiar like holiday variety shows and shifted their customers’ expectations to create a successful marketing campaign. We also want to highlight this campaign for another reason. Sprite chose to showcase Black talent and celebrate the holidays from the perspective of the Black community, and we think it’s truly incredible. 

“Everyone shows love and joy during the holidays, but no one as uniquely as young Black people whose humor and vernacular spread cheer with a little extra spice and uplift—just like Sprite Winter Spiced Cranberry,” said A.P. Chaney, director of creative strategy, sparkling flavors. “Our creative leans into expressions of Black joy, which are always ‘extra’ but never too much, and celebrates the spirit of connection we all crave more than ever.”

Quote source: The Coca-Cola Company
Video source: YouTube

4. Ice Shaker’s gift guide

ShippingEasy user Ice Shaker has a gift guide on their Instagram highlights for their customers to reference. Each slide features a different item with the benefits of each product. This way, their customers can browse Ice Shaker’s products easily to find the gift that works best for them. During the holiday season, your customers might be shopping at the last possible minute, or they may not have a lot of time to spare. Gift guides enable your customers to see what your store has to offer without having to go through your store, page by page. Your customers will be more likely to purchase from you if they can readily see what products you have available and how your products will benefit them. 

Video source: Instagram
Read how ShippingEasy helps Ice Shaker in our case study!

5. New Wave Toys’ nostalgic ads

We love to showcase our users, so up next, we have ShippingEasy user New Wave Toys! New Wave Toys promotes all of their specials on Instagram with sales ads that look like they’ve been pulled straight out of catalogs from the 90s. Their customers not only know what deals they can expect, but the way New Wave Toys presents the deals is unique, so their customers will remember these deals when it comes time for their holiday shopping. 

Learn more about New Wave Toys in our case study.

6. Google’s “Home Alone, Again” Commercial

In the ultimate move of nostalgia, Google had Macaulay Culkin reprise his role of Kevin McCallister from Home Alone; Google chose to market to their customers in a way they would understand. However, the nostalgia doesn’t overpower their message. Customers still walk away knowing about the product, and the marketing efforts make it more likely they’ll purchase what Google is selling. 

Video source: YouTube

How can I use these ideas to create holiday email campaigns?

We know marketing budgets range from business to business, so you might not be able to spend the same amount on marketing as Google. But, that doesn’t mean you can’t create engaging content for your customers! As we mentioned above, both Ice Shaker and New Wave Toys are ShippingEasy customers who utilize social media to create Reels and ads for their customers. You can also draw inspiration from other brands to include in your social media and email marketing campaigns. 

Show your customers behind-the-scenes photos of your team celebrating the holidays to better connect with them. Think about the holiday specials and content you grew up watching as a kid that brings up nostalgia whenever you remember it. You can even ask your customers about their favorite holiday movies to get them involved at the ground level. After you’ve found the theme of your campaign, start writing. Find ways to incorporate exclusive promo codes and discounts, the story of your business, and even information about shipping deadlines. 

All of these things can be used to design a successful holiday campaign for your business without destroying your seasonal budget. Live streams are cost-efficient ways to reach your customer base For example, ShippingEasy user, Furls Fiberarts has a YouTube channel where they regularly host live streams and post crafting tips, and they did a stream for the holiday season you can check out below! 

Video source: YouTube

Can I use ShippingEasy to help with my holiday marketing campaigns?

Yes! ShippingEasy’s Customer Marketing feature is a subscription add-on available to our users. For $14/month, you can send up to 5000 emails per month to your customers. You can create Regular or Automated Campaigns, depending on your customer base and who you’d like to market. We have premade templates, or you can create your own and use some of the ideas we’ve given you throughout this blog!  

Keep your holiday season merry and bright with the help of ShippingEasy.

Conclusion

If we haven’t stressed it enough, holiday marketing campaigns are extremely important for your business. They can help you to increase your sale and customer engagement while also attracting potential new customers who might not be familiar with your brand. The holiday season is also the time to get creative! Use the campaigns we’ve mentioned as inspiration to go forth and create amazing holiday campaigns for your business. We understand your small business might not have the time or budget as larger retailers, but don’t let that discourage you. Simple social media campaigns or emails created through our Customer Marketing feature can be just as effective. 

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Baillee Perkins

Baillee Perkins is a writer of shipping by day and pop culture by night, so her Google search history is an actual nightmare.

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