Winning Holiday Marketing Campaigns: Tips & Success Stories

Consumers spent $211.7 billion online over the 2022 holiday season, an increase of 3.5% year over year. The 2023 holiday season is here… do you feel ready?

A solid holiday marketing strategy is what makes a brand stand out in a crowded marketplace and connect with consumers during the holiday period.

In this blog post, we’ll explore five holiday advertising campaigns and some tips and tricks you can use in your holiday marketing plan.

Why is a holiday marketing campaign important?

A holiday marketing campaign holds immense significance for both businesses and consumers alike. It serves as a pivotal opportunity for brands to connect with their audience, offering not only enticing discounts and special gifts but also fostering a sense of goodwill and engagement.

Beyond the immediate revenue boost, a well-executed holiday campaign bolsters a brand's reputation and builds long-term customer loyalty.

It acts as a litmus test for a business's adaptability and growth potential in a highly competitive market, showcasing its agility in catering to evolving consumer demands and preferences.

How to create a holiday marketing campaign

Crafting a successful holiday marketing campaign involves a strategic step-by-step approach:

1. Begin by conceptualising a compelling theme that resonates with the season and your brand.
2. Define clear campaign objectives tailored to your business goals. 
3. Identify and understand your target audience, ensuring your messaging speaks directly to their needs and preferences. 
4. Develop enticing offers that align with the holiday spirit and create a dedicated landing page to showcase these offerings effectively.
5. Design a comprehensive holiday marketing plan utilising various channels to reach your audience. 
6. Create paths for lead nurturing to guide potential customers through the buyer's journey.
7. Finally, launch your holiday marketing campaign, monitoring its performance and making necessary adjustments to maximise its impact.

What are some of the most successful holiday marketing campaigns?

Here you’ll find five of the most creative holiday advertising campaigns we’ve seen yet to give you some inspiration and some tips you could use to create your very own successful holiday marketing strategy.

1. Google – Home Alone, Again

This iconic holiday marketing campaign example made in Google features Macaulay Culkin, the star of the beloved Home Alone movies.

Maybe your company doesn’t have enough money to hire a Hollywood star, but you can certainly use nostalgia to appeal to your audience and create a memorable holiday advertising campaign.

2. Apple - Make Someone’s Holiday

Speaking of evoking emotions during the holiday season, another amazing holiday marketing campaign example comes from Apple’s Make Someone’s Holiday.

The story creates a strong emotional connection with viewers, featuring acts of kindness and empathy that also showcase the role of their products.

Emotion-driven marketing and emotional loyalty are what bring your customers back again and again, and Apple definitely knows that.

3. Spotify - Spotify’s Wrapped

Spotify Wrapped has become an annual tradition for everyone: it’s not just a holiday marketing strategy, it’s a whole phenomenon that encompasses music enthusiasts all over the world.

This holiday advertising campaign uses personalised data to create a “Year in Review” for each user, displaying their most-streamed songs, artists, and genres, providing a deep sense of connection between the user and the brand.

4. Target - My Kind of Holiday

Another great holiday marketing campaign example is Target’s My Kind of Holiday campaign, which offered customers a personalised holiday shopping experience and unique value offers.

The in-store campaign was also shared and extended to social media, for example on Instagram and Snapchat, and it also had its own hashtag, #MyKindOfHoliday.

5. H&M - Come Together

This might not be the most doable holiday marketing campaign tip, but if you can hire Wes Anderson and Adrien Brody to direct and star in a short film for your brand… well, you should definitely do so.

H&M’s impressive and heartwarming “Come Together” campaign aligns the brand with Anderson’s aesthetic sense, but this can work for your brand even if you can’t afford to hire Wes Anderson.

A key part of every holiday marketing strategy is to use your brand’s unique signature and style, which is crucial during the busy holiday season.

Marketing strategies for the holiday season

Here are some holiday marketing campaigns tips you can use during this holiday season to make sure your brand can create memorable experiences and build relationships this year - and the next one!

1. Use an interactive advent calendar

Incorporating an interactive advent calendar into your holiday marketing plan is an amazing way to surprise your customers and foster a great connection with them.

Surprise them daily with exclusive offers, coupons, and sneak peeks - if you have a loyalty program, you could even offer your members extra points! This encourages daily interaction with your social media platforms.

Speaking of which, keep an eye on our social media pages: we’re sharing our own advent calendar in just a few days (;

2. Use data to give customers a personalised shopping experience

Collect insightful data to learn more about your customers’ habits and needs, so that you can create a shopping experience tailored to each individual.

Recommend new products, show relevant ads, and create targeted messages that resonate with your customers - and specific groups within your customer base.

Our Loyalty Console dashboard makes data easily accessible, allowing complete visibility over what customers are doing and when, and providing all the information to effectively market to them.

3. Get ready for 2024

Get ready for the new year with something like a New Year’s marketing campaign offering special discounts for 2024 or showcase your brand’s most memorable moments and achievements from 2023.

If you don’t have a loyalty program, consider introducing one that rewards customers for their ongoing engagement throughout the year.

If you want to get ready for a new year of promotions and marketing campaigns, we have just the tool for you: check out our Loyalty Promotion Planner to get a month-by-month calendar with promotional opportunities, helpful resources and exclusive tips!