Elevating Holiday Campaigns for Lasting Impact Beyond the Season

The holiday season is upon us, and many brands across the world have launched their festive marketing campaigns with the intent of capturing consumer attention and driving sales.

However, recent research we conducted revealed that 89 percent of consumers feel that holiday campaigns launched before October are too early, with 41 percent admitting they don’t even begin thinking about the holidays until after Halloween. This presents a valuable opportunity for retail marketers to rethink their approach — building a more connected, engaging narrative by fostering consistent engagement throughout the year, as opposed to just focusing on heavy promotion around the holiday season, as a way to build lasting customer relationships.

Striking the Right Balance

According to Tracksuit’s research, the majority (55 percent) of consumers prefer to see holiday promotions start in November. So then why is it that come October it feels impossible to avoid holiday-related campaigns? And more importantly, how can brands find the balance between staying relevant and not overwhelming their audience? What strategies can they implement to ensure their brand is at the top of customers' minds when they're ready to shop for the holidays?

Now, given the current landscape — a shortened holiday shopping season and economic uncertainty — brand marketers and retailers have a unique opportunity to adapt their strategies for impactful, lasting success. This calls for a bit of creativity, gaining a deeper understanding of your audience and, most importantly, building an emotional connection that truly resonates with consumers.

The Power of Emotional Storytelling

As brands plan their campaigns, the focus should shift from aggressive promotion around the holidays to instead building meaningful, emotional connections with their customers. Emotional storytelling plays a crucial role in forging these connections, as this will help your brand stay top of mind when consumers are ready to shop for the holidays. It also helps foster customer loyalty that extends beyond the holiday season.

Tracksuit recently published a whitepaper indicating that ads that evoke positive emotions are 42 percent more likely to drive long-term brand growth, which underscores the importance of creating a continuous engagement strategy that doesn’t hyperfocus on just the holidays, especially given the competition with other brands that are pushing similar agendas during this time of year.

At Tracksuit, we recognize two types of market demand: existing demand (i.e., people ready to buy now) and future demand (i.e., those who will enter the market later).

While rational ads effectively reach the approximately 5 percent of buyers currently in the market, they don't connect well with the other 95 percent — your future customers. These future buyers need attention-grabbing, memorable advertising, even if they're not ready to buy yet.

As marketers, we must both convert current demand and create positive brand memories for future buyers. While facts are quickly forgotten, emotions leave lasting impressions. This is why emotional advertising, across all channels, is crucial. It builds future demand by creating positive associations that influence choices when people eventually enter the market.

Research by Google and Ipsos also found that people are more likely to value brands and consider them when they’re differentiated, relatable and provide a new perspective.
And when they studied 100 YouTube ads with a panel of 15,000 respondents, they found the ads that elicited a positive emotional reaction were significantly more effective at driving those value levers of differentiation, relatability and newness. In summary, in an era when consumers are constantly bombarded with rational messaging and promotional content, taking the time to build emotional connections is what sets brands apart.

Crafting Memorable Customer Experiences

It can be easy for brands to jump heavily into discounting and sales strategies as a tactic to win over customers. While traditional discounting can be an effective strategy, it’s important to not overlook the potential impact on a brand’s bottom line. This is where creativity in marketing strategies becomes essential. Brands can focus on enhancing the overall shopping experience instead of just relying on heavy discounting. Instead of slashing prices, brands can deliver value through other strategies that focus on enhancing the customer experience — e.g., improving search experiences or simplifying payment methods to build stronger customer relationships.

Many savvy brands are also taking unique approaches to successfully navigate peak season sales, including bundling complementary products, offering exclusive experiences, or giving back to customers who give back to the brand (or environment).

Building long-term engagement with consumers beyond the holiday season is key for sustained brand growth. While, of course, the peak holiday season is a critical time for businesses and marketing campaigns, focusing efforts solely on these moments can limit opportunities for deeper, more meaningful connections with consumers. By integrating seasonal campaigns into a year-round strategy, brands can create a connected narrative that keeps them top-of-mind and builds trust through consistent engagement, even during quieter seasons.

Mikayla Hopkins is head of marketing at Tracksuit, a company empowering marketers with always-on tools that measure brand health and give them a seat at the boardroom table.