5 Examples of Awesome Holiday Marketing Campaigns

Rachel Leist
Rachel Leist

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rudolphThe holidays are here! The holidays are here! And with the holidays come so many companies' holiday marketing campaigns. While these campaigns are a great opportunity for business' to show thanks for their existing customers, spread holiday cheer, and even attract the attention of new prospects and customers, how can you make sure your business stands out and does more than simply sending out a cheesy holiday card? Here are five awesome examples of companies doing it right that you can use to motivate your own marketing campaign this season.

American Express: Small Business Saturday

american express small business saturdayAmerican Express created Small Business Saturday to encourage shoppers to remember their favorite small businesses during a period when big brands are usually in the spotlight. This year, the company is even giving American Express customers rebates for shopping at their favorite local businesses. They are also helping small business owners capitalize on their social media success by providing stores with Facebook ads, scripts, for tweets and Facebook posts, and even signage to attract attention to them.  

What makes it awesome?

American Express' campaign is not only a good example for marketers, but the company is also helping small businesses learn how to market their businesses. Furthermore, they are helping to stimulate the economy and local communities by encouraging shoppers to remember the smaller, local stores while also promoting its brand effectively.

Starbucks: Cup Magic App

describe the imageStarbucks' regular mobile app has brought the company a lot of success. So for the holiday season, Starbucks launched an app to celebrate its renowned red cups and continue making Starbucks an experience for its customers. This app highlights holiday offers, allows you to send an eGift and uses augmented reality to animate the pictures on the red cups. Collecting all the characters on the cups may even lead to something special.

What makes it awesome?

Starbucks is always successful with customer engagement, especially when it comes to its mobile app. By creating an app just for the holidays, the company is not only promoting its brand and holiday drinks but also reminding people of its regular mobile app. When creating your marketing strategy, keep your long-term goals in mind. Your campaign should incorporate some holiday flair while keeping in mind and leveraging the bigger picture.

OfficeMax: Elf Yourself

describe the imageWhat's funnier than putting your friends and pets in elf outfits and watching them dance around on your screen? Few companies are able to repurpose the same holiday campaign year after year and still find success. But to keep things interesting every year, OfficeMax slightly changes the songs and themes of these videos, successfully getting people keep coming back for more. JibJab also makes it simple to share the videos on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and via email.

What makes it awesome?

By creating these interactive videos, OfficeMax is constantly engaging with its audience. OfficeMax saw an opportunity to do something fun while still promoting its brand. In addition, the personalized nature of the campaign creates a viral effect, helping the promotion to spread, and thus expanding the reach of the OfficeMax brand. For your next holiday campaign, consider opportunities to better personalize and target your campaign to the audience you're trying to reach.

Kohl's: Friday Parody for Black Friday

Someone was bound to do it. This season, Kohl's released a commercial with a parody for Rebecca Black's song "Friday" with the purpose of highlighting Kohl's as the destination for discounts on Black Friday. Even if people laugh at Kohl's song selection, it has received a lot of viral attention as "Friday" is a song people love to talk about, even if they hate it.

What makes it awesome?

This may seem like an easy opportunity for any store with Black Friday approaching, but Kohl's was the first store to take advantage of the song's viral nature. Kohl's also recognized that its target audience is made up of the types of people who applaud this song instead of laugh at it. Using this song for the parody keeps Kohl's brand goals in mind while still benefiting from promotion for Black Friday.

Macy's: Believe Campaign

describe the imageEvery year, Macy's donates $1 to the Make-A-Wish Foundation for every letter to Santa that is submitted at their store. In the last three years, they have collected more than four million letters. Customers and their children are immersed in the holiday spirit as they write to Santa and raise money for charity. This year, Macy's designed an app to take pictures with some of Macy's holiday characters to further promote their campaign.

What makes it awesome?

Macy's always gets a lot of press during the holidays, but this year the department store is making its annual campaign more interactive. By giving customers a mobile experience, the company will be able to take the Macy's brand and experience outside of the store, which is important for any business trying to leverage the current mobile phenomenon.

The holidays are a great time to market your business during a time when many of your competitors are likely asleep at the wheel. Whether you create a mobile app or simply create a few holiday-themed offers, don't miss out on a great opportunity to get creative and keep your business on the tops of your prospects and customers' minds.

And don't forget to check out HubSpot's holiday campaign featuring the @HubSpotUnicorn!

What other awesome holiday campaigns have you seen this season?

Photo Credit: cindyiscrafty

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