This article has been shared from PPAI
Your phone calendar is not on the fritz. Your sense of timing is not off. It’s true—we are in July, and yes, we’re talking about the holiday season. Holidays represent a natural shift in demand in the promotional products industry, providing an opportunity for companies to thank clients for the work done in the previous year while at the same time extending an offer of continued collaboration. It’s also a great time to provide employee gifts for jobs well done.
1. Use tried and true promotions. Some types of campaigns fare better during the holidays. Try using contests to grab the attention of buyers, and tailor subsequent offers based on the information they share during registration.
Combining sweepstakes and promotional offers at various intervals can catch buyers’ attention and keep things interesting. Also consider personalizing your offers based on their interests and use your social channels to spread your campaign among your buying communities.
Saks Fifth Avenue is one brand that ran a holiday promotional campaign with strong engagement and viral buzz last season. The contest took advantage of Pinterest, a popular social channel among Saks customers, and used user-generated content to spread its message
Consumers registered for the promotion through Facebook and were prompted to pin the Saks Fifth Avenue Gift List image to a Pinterest board, as well as six additional images of products from saks.com.
2. Make it fresh. Taking a phased marketing approach with your campaign is especially key leading up to the holidays in order to keep your messages fresh and reduce the likelihood of consumers tuning you out. Yes, the time period right up until the holidays is a sprint, but the months leading up to that are a marathon.
If you push the same message during that marathon, you lose relevancy. Differentiate your brand by using distinct stages of messaging and various promotions or giveaways.
Tier your promotions, from awareness and general familiarity of a product to the final sale. Use your messaging to tell an evolving story from start to finish, from the discovery of the perfect holiday gift to the urgency of getting the last product on the shelf.
3. Keep it simple. There are just as many marketing strategies to avoid as there are tips to leverage. First and most importantly, the holidays are not the time to market a complicated promotion. Everyone is moving so quickly during this time of year, and buyers participate in promotions that are easy and fast.
This holds true for messaging as well. Think of stronger, less confusing messages. During the holidays, brands are all competing for buyers’ time; quick hits and strong calls to action will help set your products apart.
Begin reinventing the holidays now. The key to creating a dynamic and successful holiday marketing campaign is to get started early, plan ahead and be concise. So even though temperatures outside might be nearing triple digits, it’s time to get in the festive spirit and begin strategizing your plan for this year’s holiday gifting season.
Combining sweepstakes and promotional offers at various intervals can catch buyers’ attention and keep things interesting. Also consider personalizing your offers based on their interests and use your social channels to spread your campaign among your buying communities.
Saks Fifth Avenue is one brand that ran a holiday promotional campaign with strong engagement and viral buzz last season. The contest took advantage of Pinterest, a popular social channel among Saks customers, and used user-generated content to spread its message
Consumers registered for the promotion through Facebook and were prompted to pin the Saks Fifth Avenue Gift List image to a Pinterest board, as well as six additional images of products from saks.com.
2. Make it fresh. Taking a phased marketing approach with your campaign is especially key leading up to the holidays in order to keep your messages fresh and reduce the likelihood of consumers tuning you out. Yes, the time period right up until the holidays is a sprint, but the months leading up to that are a marathon.
If you push the same message during that marathon, you lose relevancy. Differentiate your brand by using distinct stages of messaging and various promotions or giveaways.
Tier your promotions, from awareness and general familiarity of a product to the final sale. Use your messaging to tell an evolving story from start to finish, from the discovery of the perfect holiday gift to the urgency of getting the last product on the shelf.
3. Keep it simple. There are just as many marketing strategies to avoid as there are tips to leverage. First and most importantly, the holidays are not the time to market a complicated promotion. Everyone is moving so quickly during this time of year, and buyers participate in promotions that are easy and fast.
This holds true for messaging as well. Think of stronger, less confusing messages. During the holidays, brands are all competing for buyers’ time; quick hits and strong calls to action will help set your products apart.
Begin reinventing the holidays now. The key to creating a dynamic and successful holiday marketing campaign is to get started early, plan ahead and be concise. So even though temperatures outside might be nearing triple digits, it’s time to get in the festive spirit and begin strategizing your plan for this year’s holiday gifting season.