Holiday Loyalty Strategies: Festive Marketing Ideas to Engage Customers and Build Stronger Relationships

The holiday season offers a golden opportunity to strengthen your connection with customers and turn one-time buyers into loyal advocates. 

From rewarding engagement to using social media and personalisation, here’s how brands can make an impact during the most wonderful time of the year:

1. Make Rewards Festive and Fun

The holidays are all about giving, and your loyalty program should reflect that. 
 

Consider gamified campaigns that reward customers for festive interactions. For example, many brands use the "12 Days of Christmas" approach, offering a new surprise, reward, or discount every day for twelve days leading up to Christmas. 
 

Marks & Spencer’s “12 Days of M&S” campaign offers exclusive daily rewards, encouraging customers to check back daily for new offers.

Similarly, you can use social media engagement modules like Gravitate to launch campaigns tied to seasonal activities.

Tip: Run a “12 Days of Christmas Rewards” campaign, where customers earn points or exclusive prizes for engaging daily.
 

2. Inspire Good-Will During the Festive Season

Macy’s "Believe" campaign is a festive win-win, combining holiday cheer with philanthropy. Macy’s has partnered with Make-A-Wish, encouraging customers to write letters to Santa. Each letter earns a $1 donation from Macy’s. During National Believe Week, the donation doubles, sparking more participation. This heartwarming campaign not only raises funds for wishes but also connects customers with a cause, creating an emotional bond during the holidays.
 

Idea: Create a campaign that encourages your customers to complete charitable activities. 
 

3. Tap Into Emotional Connections

Etsy’s “Give ‘I Get You’ Gifts” campaign brings the magic of gifting to life by highlighting the emotional impact of thoughtful, handmade presents. The focus is on how personal, heartfelt gifts create stronger connections - perfectly aligning with the holiday spirit of giving.
 

Tip: Encourage customers to share their most meaningful gifting moments with your brand. Reward these stories with loyalty points or exclusive perks, turning shared experiences into a powerful connection-building tool.

4. Extend Engagement Beyond Christmas

While the festive season ends in December, loyalty programs can drive engagement well beyond the New Year. Encourage customers to redeem rewards or engage with your brand in January by highlighting post-holiday incentives.
 

Idea: Launch a “New Year, New Perks” campaign to extend the holiday spirit and keep customers connected. Encourage customers to use loyalty points for meaningful resolutions, inspiring post-holiday engagement. For instance, a fitness brand could offer double rewards on January purchases of workout gear. Meanwhile, a retailer like Sephora might encourage customers to redeem points for skincare to align with “New Year, New Me” resolutions.

5. Publish Exclusive Holiday Content

Creating exclusive, holiday-themed content is an effective way to captivate your audience. Consider sharing behind-the-scenes content, limited-edition products, or holiday-specific tutorials. These not only entertain but deepen customer engagement. Exclusive content also makes customers feel like part of a select, special group. 
 

Example:
Lush, the cosmetics brand, often creates limited-edition products and exclusive behind-the-scenes content during the holidays. For example, during the Christmas season, they launch "Snow Fairy" bath products and offer behind-the-scenes videos of their product-making process. These exclusive content pieces, available only to subscribers or loyal customers, help create buzz and drive traffic to their stores.
 

Tip:
Consider offering special “members-only” holiday content, like exclusive gift guides, product previews, or how-to videos related to your products. This content should be available to loyalty program members, giving them insider access that enhances their sense of belonging.

Planning promotions for 2025? Get our FREE 2025 Loyalty Calendar - with plenty of ideas of how to reward your customers on special days throughout the year.