5 Inspiring Holiday Marketing Campaigns

Do you want to add extra seasonal spice to your marketing strategy for the upcoming holidays?

Evoking positive emotions through your holiday marketing campaigns can help your business attract more customers, and of course, spread the holiday joy. Holiday marketing campaigns create positive feelings about your brand, increase sales, and help you gain new customers. Many of your prospects will soon start shopping for gifts online, and launching a successful holiday marketing campaign will help you grab the attention of online shoppers.

Online sales are expected to grow 11-15% this holiday season and reach $226 billion, according to the eCommerce statistics in 2021.

If you are already working on your upcoming holiday marketing campaigns, you might be looking for inspiration from other renowned brands that have already done it right.

Here’s a list of five inspiring holiday marketing campaigns to help you generate ideas for your campaigns.

Lego – Rebuild the World

Lego launched its brand campaign titled Rebuild the World in 2019 to celebrate children’s creativity and demonstrate its importance for achieving success in the modern world.

This year’s holiday campaign from Lego is also built around its brand campaign – Rebuild the World. Their video commercial uses their version of the famous song “Build Me Up” with changed lyrics and festive elements such as Christmas chimes.

LEGO’s holiday commercial combines positivity, imagination, and the Christmas spirit into one delightful advertisement. It celebrates the power of creativity and its potential in children and how its product can help children unlock their imagination. The advertisement with dragons, stormtroopers, rocket ships, luxury sports cars, and of course, LEGO Santa at the end is a clear demonstration of creative power both children and adults will enjoy.

Parents who have seen this visionary LEGO commercial won’t think twice before deciding what Santa will bring for Christmas for their kids. Additionally, the kids will know what to ask Santa to bring them for Christmas.

Starbucks Red Cups

One of the most noteworthy holiday marketing campaigns is the Starbuck Holiday Cups, with this year’s campaign being Red Cups. Why is it successful? Because every year, customers wait for Starbucks ‘ new design that signals the return of favorite seasonal drinks like Peppermint Mocha and new arrivals, like this year’s Iced Sugar Cookie Almond Milk Latte (great news for our vegan friends).

The design change evokes positive and festive feelings among customers and excitement for the new products. This year Starbucks uses four cup designs in classic shades of red, green, and white with hints of frosty lilac. They have also added a little gift tag at the back of each festive cup to leave a space for a positive message.

“This holiday, we wanted it to feel magical, we wanted it to be warm, and we wanted it to be inclusive. Our goal was to really bring joy to every customer and every partner.” – Suzie Reecer, Starbucks associate creative director, who led the Starbucks Creative team for this year’s holiday campaign.

Microsoft: Find Your Joy

Those who have already seen this heartwarming and visionary 2020 holiday commercial from Microsoft would most likely never forget it. But, if you haven’t yet seen it, now it’s the time to spend the next minute and a half watching perhaps one of the most adorable, inspiring, and touching commercials from 2020.

‘Find Your Joy’ is about a cute pup Rufus who can’t get any attention from his family members, all of whom are busy having virtual fun or working with their Microsoft products.

2020 was a year of isolation during the global pandemic and lockdowns, so in its advertisement, Microsoft implies its products are what kept people entertained and busy during times of isolation.

In the dog’s eyes, it might seem they are all having so much fun that he wants to be part of these games he sees on the screen. But, once he drifts off, he dreams of him and his neighbor dog being a part of Microsoft products and having virtual fun like their family has been having during the pandemic.

Rufus is flying around in Microsoft Flight Simulator, running around in Minecraft, having a Zoom meeting with peer dogs, and even rolling in the grass of Microsoft wallpaper.

The commercial is a success for many reasons. It’s festive, creative, joyful, sad (because it seems like everyone is trapped in the house, and they all ignore the cute puppy), and it successfully promotes Microsoft products. Even though many of us had to isolate ourselves during the holidays last year, Microsoft offered us alternative ways to find our joy – in virtual reality. Their product assortment allows everyone, even Rufus, to find amusement.

Santa Tracker by Google

“Explore, play and learn with Santa’s elves all December long.”

Google Santa Tracker is perhaps one of the best online holiday marketing campaigns. Not only it’s entertaining, festive, and joyous, but it’s a classic of its genre. Why? Because it’s very creative and engaging. 

Google launched the annual program in 2004, allowing online users to track Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. Until the big celebration, the program offers numerous activities and games for users to play – these are added daily. Like a digital advent calendar, you can watch and learn through little activities that are added daily in December. The program is interactive, engaging, entertaining, and appealing to children and adults.

Airbnb: Airbnb Rings the Bell with Hosts

Do you want to make your holiday marketing campaigns without Christmas trees, Santas running around, or gifts falling from the sky? You can. Airbnb’s 2020 holiday campaign – Hosts Ring Our Opening Bell is an excellent demonstration that you don’t need any of these in your campaign to make it feel festive.

The commercial features actual Airbnb hosts from all around the world, and the message of the campaign is to thank all hosts for opening their doors and sharing their homes with strangers. So, instead of ringing Christmas bells, Airbnb used doorbells from all around the world to celebrate the season and show gratitude to its hosts. The campaign is heartwarming and touching as you see the largest hospitality service thanking those who played a crucial role in its success.

Happy Holidays from Internet Marketing Geeks!

We hope the holiday campaigns above help spark your creativity and generate imaginative ideas for your brands. Holidays come with many opportunities for your company, including business growth, raising brand awareness, and attracting new customers. If you want more information or help to start your holiday marketing campaign, reach out to us today. We will be happy to help you begin your holiday marketing journey today!