Amazing Examples of Seasonal & Holiday Promotions to Spark Inspiration
Holiday and seasonal promotions can spark new interest in your school store and business, as you creatively integrate celebrations with your products or services. Below are a few examples of companies that incorporated their products into holiday advertising in fresh and innovative ways. You might not be able to create an actual video commercial or campaign, but take these ideas as inspiration for the resources you do have.
Ancestry.com Independence Day Ad
This ad from genealogy software, Ancestry.com, contains a subtle tribute to Independence Day with an unexpected twist at the end.
The 2019 video highlights the diversity of the United States through a variety of different people portrayed on screen, each saying a part of the Declaration of Independence in turn. At the end, you find out that each of the individuals are descendants of one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, brought together through modern day genealogical records and archives.
This ad contains emotional appeal, as it appeals to one’s sense of patriotism through swelling music and a serious and inspiring tone. It also demonstrates the wide variety of people who would benefit from using the service, as it portrays people of many different ethnicities and backgrounds who discover their common identity. And lastly, it takes an unusual approach to the loud and flashy Independence Day ads which usually feature fireworks, barbeques and family gatherings. In the end, the viewer can’t help but wonder who they might discover as part of their own heritage and ancestry.
Apple Christmas Ad 2021
This ad is a great example of diving into the real-life experience of customers.
Throughout this ad, you see the concrete ways that Apple products help simplify parents’ travel experiences, as well as the ways it helps the children express their creativity in different ways. It highlights very common experiences of some families during the holidays. The family travels through crowded airline terminals on long flights. They navigate changes in the family dynamic as the children ask about their grandpa’s sadness. As their parents think the girls do not understand the grief, the girls are behind the scenes, making a video to honor their grandmother who passed. This ad doesn’t talk about any features of the iPad, but you experience how it is used and the benefits of using it throughout the video. The girls watch movies and shows, take pictures, and create a slidedeck/e-book for their family to flip through. Ultimately, Apple shows that the technology didn’t divide the family during the holidays (a prominent customer concern), but provided an opportunity for connection.
This ad shares a story many families can relate to on one level or another, and the emphasis upon family and connection helps it stick out within the fast-paced ads about gifts and more.
Avocado Green Mattress Black Friday 2021
Avocado Green Mattress is a mattress brand that says it is one of the most sustainable brands in the world. They value ethical business practices and sustainably sourced materials. It’s no surprise, then, that their Black Friday email ran counter to the usual “Hurry and Shop” messages typical of the season.
This is just the first part of the much longer email, but you can see that the company crafted a message that would resonate with their target customer, as well as stick out from the crowd on Black Friday. Instead of centering the individuals’ benefits or creating fear of missing out from material stuff, the company emphasizes the planetary benefits of shopping with them over the competition. “A Carbon Negative Holiday” is not a phrase usually associated with Black Friday, but it is one that would be meaningful to those interested in sustainability. And since it is sent out to only those who have opted in to receive emails from the company, they do likely care about sustainability. The company highlights the fact that they are donating 1% of revenue to clean water initiatives, with the added benefit of a carbon-negative footprint for every purchase. This email is a great example of a promotional ad that speaks to a very specific audience about a specific topic to set themselves apart.
Spotify 2018 Valentine’s Day
Spotify turned customer experiences and data into clever advertising. One of these was this billboard below, presumably for Valentine’s Day.
“Dear person who played ‘Sorry’ 42 times on Valentine’s Day, What did you do?”
This is a great example of turning a real-life customer experience into an ad that resonates with many. Many people experience love on Valentine’s Day, but many do not. This ad strays away from either extreme, by sharing an experience that most people can likely relate to in one form or another: the feeling of wanting to apologize and not being able to. However, the emphasis isn’t even on that feeling itself, but rather curiosity about the story behind the person’s behavior on Spotify. Why did they play that song 42 times on Valentine’s Day? It takes something relatable and emotional, and brings some levity and humor. This is another great example of incorporating a holiday into advertising with fresh ideas and not cliches.
Create your own holiday and seasonal promotions!
Now that you’ve seen how some of the big companies advertise for the holidays, it’s your turn. You can visit Part 1 and Part 2 of the Holiday & Seasonal Promotion blog articles to create your own plan to turn holidays into opportunities for your Spirit Box.