holiday content - Express Writers

6 Brands That Win at Fantastic Holiday Content

6 Brands That Win at Fantastic Holiday Content

With the holiday season upon us, brands in every industry are putting together their holiday editorial calendar. It’s important to adjust your blog content, your email marketing, and even your social media presence to target the holidays your audience is celebrating. We recently shared five tips to help you create “irresistibly tasty” content for your readers this holiday, but today we have some new inspiration for you. We are sharing six brands that consistently do a great job with their holiday content year after year. 6 Brands That Win at Fantastic Holiday Content These brands may create festive content for their blogs and social media or they might give their product a fun twist around the holidays to get you feeling jolly. Whether you’re in need of some inspiration for your own brand’s holiday editorial calendar or you just want to get in the holiday spirit, look to these brands for some help! Starbucks: The Yearly Tradition It wouldn’t be possible to have a round-up of brands that do the holidays right without mentioning Starbucks, would it? Although Starbucks isn’t exactly known for festive blog posts around the holidays, they are known for those classic red cups. And you know what? It works for them! Each and every year, the coffee chain releases a brand new red cup design (or even multiple red cup designs, like they did this year). Their customers get excited to see what they have come up with, looking forward not just to the seasonal lattes, but the seasonal red cups as well. Not only do people get to enjoy their delicious drink in a decorative cup, but Starbucks also encourages customers to share photos of the popular red cups on social media. For the past few years, Starbucks has run an Instagram contest where they ask people to share photos of their red cups. Customers are encouraged to snap a photo of their red cup with the hashtag #RedCupContest for a chance to win prizes. This motivates customers to head to Starbucks and share photos, which likely prompts others to do the same when they see the images in their Instagram feed. It’s effective marketing for Starbucks and gets people in the holiday spirit! The Takeaway: Create something your audience can look forward to every single year. Then, get people involved! Create a challenge of your own and encourage your audience to participate. You can even take it up a notch by giving back through giveaways people are sure to love. If you choose to do a photo challenge like Starbucks, it provides amazing user-generated content you can share on your own profile, too. Target: Masters of Storytelling The Christmas season is a pretty big deal for Target. Because many parents are shopping for presents to put underneath the tree and children are adding to their Christmas lists, Target is a popular destination for gift shopping. So, it should come as no surprise that the nationwide retailer puts a lot of effort into their Christmas ads each and every year. In 2015, Target used their television commercials to tell a story of children and the store mascot, Bullseye the dog, as they set out to light up a giant Christmas tree. Throughout the commercials, you would see famous characters children are familiar with, such as the Minions. People would pay attention to the commercials so they could see what would happen in the end. While it may seem the commercials were designed with only children in mind, Target slipped in details parents would want to know, too! They would add pitches about some of their holiday offers, such as free shipping for online purchases until Christmas. Their goal is always to take the viewer on a journey, so it’s no surprise they plan to do the same thing for 2016. This year’s advertisements are said to be a Broadway-style marketing campaign that will feature some celebrity guests. Target doesn’t just put a lot of effort into their advertisements every year. They also have the Kids’ Wish List App, which children a way to save all of the items on their Christmas wish list. And it gives parents a list of exactly what to buy! You’ll likely see pitches for this app in the commercials as well. The Takeaway: Create a holiday marketing campaign that tells a story. Draw your audience in with a captivating story that leaves them wanting to know more. J.Crew: Embracing Social Advertisements Fashion retailer, J.Crew, is pretty savvy when it comes to their social media marketing, especially around the holidays. Last year, the company ran a few ads on both Instagram and Facebook. Now, it’s no secret that social media ads can be a great way to increase sales for your product and build brand awareness. So, what’s the big deal? J.Crew knew what they were doing with the ads they created. They took advantage of the “Shop Now” button that can be placed on ads, which would encourage people to click over to the website and immediately start shopping straight from the ad. The Takeaway: If you’re looking to boost sales this holiday season, don’t be afraid to experiment with social media advertisements. They can be a great way to reach your audience. Figure out which platform your audience is most active on and start building an ad. Promote your product and send people over to your website to encourage them to make a purchase. Tone It Up: Cooking Up a Great Holiday The mission of the Tone It Up girls is to help you get fit and healthy, no matter what time of the year it is. However, it’s not surprising that can be difficult this time of year. We often indulge in large meals and lots of sweets during Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. Karena and Katrina of Tone It Up show that it doesn’t have to be that way! Because the ladies also share healthy recipes on their website, they keep holiday dinners in mind when cooking … Read more

5 Tips for Creating Irresistibly Tasty Holiday Content for Your Readers

5 Tips for Creating Irresistibly Tasty Holiday Content for Your Readers

Picture this… You’re eating some turkey with a side of potatoes and gravy. The smell of thyme and rosemary overwhelm your senses. The fresh cornbread stuffing aroma dances across your nose. The tart and sweet blend of cranberry sauce in the distance… Salivating? Now, let’s move to content. Did you know that product descriptions, blog posts and even website content can all be tailored to your target holiday using inspirations from that holiday? Sights, sounds, smells, and tastes all recharge your existing content and make it holiday-ready. But here’s the million-dollar question… How do you take something as delicious as Grandma’s turkey and create killer content for your brand that inspires readers to take action during the holidays? To find out, let’s dive into the gravy boat: 5 Tips for Better Holiday Content and Holiday-Driven Conversions The holidays are prime time for site owners. It’s an opportunity to take the content you have, revamp it, and make it appeal to those shopping for the season. Before you start hyperventilating at the idea of rewriting all the content, eek: keep in mind that it doesn’t have to be super hard if you have some direction. Here are our five best tips (scroll past the infographic by our amazing designer for the full details): 1. Add a Taste of Seasons’ Greetings to Your Homepage We’re not suggesting you go crazy here. Think of it like decorating your online presence with a Christmas wreath. Adding in a little holiday spirit creates a sense of festivity and shows that you’re all about the season, says GetResponse. Add some images that represent the holiday, like a pumpkin and some fall leaves. (For Christmas, add in snowflakes, a snowman, and possibly some Christmas lights.) Look at Sephora. This online beauty retailer created a festive, cute way to display their highlighted products and all they added was a little red ribbon and holiday cheer. Simple changes go a long way, folks. 2. Play on the Sayings of the Season There’s plenty of inspiration when you think about famous sayings of the season. Take HBO for example. In 2015, they created their 12 Days of HBO Now header for their homepage. It played on the 12 Days of Christmas, had a little festivity, and reminded you of the upcoming season. Think about your favorite holiday songs or sayings. TinyPrints shares a list of their favorite Christmas sayings that you can use for inspiration. Want some humor in your Thanksgiving posts? Then take some quote inspiration shared by Brandon Specktor at Reader’s Digest. Bottom line, take a phrase, lyric or common saying of the holidays and twist it to benefit your holiday pitch. 3. Create Holiday Specific Content that is Helpful to Viewers Now is the time to show off your strengths. Flex your wordsmith muscles and get to work! You can share your industry insider tips, tricks, and even guides to everything holiday. Of course, it needs to be relevant to what you’re offering or selling on your website. For example, you sell beauty products. For a holiday twist, add in some tips and guide posts into your content marketing plan. Such as offering eyeshadow tips unique to Christmas. Talk about what lipsticks to wear that won’t come off while downing that turkey at Thanksgiving. Compare blush colors to wines that are likely to be served during holiday festivities. You get where we are going here, right? Readers love it when you show off your talents. Even better, use these tips and guides as an opportunity to link into related and recommended products from your site. According to KISSMetrics, people are more likely to purchase your products when they are recommended in holiday-specific content. Think of content that keeps people coming back. Like Pinterest did with their 30 Days of Pinspiration. Not only was it branded superbly, but then it continued to get people to come back and check out the next Pinspiration for the holiday season. 4. Don’t Forget the Procrastinators Let’s face it. Consumers are notorious for last minute shopping. While it means they are rushing to find a gift quick, it is an opportunity for you to show off products and ideas that work for those last-minute pickups. Try to carve out space on your homepage or even in your blog about last-minute gift ideas. Consider offering up downloadable or digital gift cards to your company; something that can easily be purchased the night before it needs to be gifted. Kiplinger recommends highlighting email-delivered gift cards, software downloads, subscriptions, and monetary gifts for last-minute. 5. Play on Relatable Moments There are plenty of moments out there that relate to your content and the holiday you’re targeting. For example, Jessica Gioglio at Convince and Convert highlights how Century 21 played on competitive eater Geoffrey Esper at Thanksgiving with their message: “Century 21 agents sell homes like competitive eater Geoffrey Esper eats: fast.” There are plenty of gifs you can add to your holiday content as well; then, share them on social media. For example, when you and your family try (and fail) to take a group photo for Christmas – or you and your office get together for a recreation of the Dunder Mifflin Paper Co. classic. Think of pop culture TV shows that the majority of your audience have seen. This will require you to have some knowledge about your target audience — such as their age, gender, career, etc. However, when you know your target audience well, you can find funny, relatable moments that correlate with TV shows and movies to make your content more appealing (and entertaining to boot). Holiday Content: Wrap It Up with a Bow We’ve given you are insight and secrets into how to create holiday-specific content that really speaks to your reader. Of course, now you must bring it all together. By now you should feel less overwhelmed and more ready to tackle the holiday task. With Thanksgiving just around the corner, you can start revamping your Christmas content and even prepare … Read more

Merry Christmas From Express Writers! Bonus: How To Create Awesome Holiday Campaigns

Merry Christmas From Express Writers! Bonus: How To Create Awesome Holiday Campaigns

We wish you a Merry Christmas, We wish you a Merry Christmas, …And a Happy New Year!    Merry Christmas From Express Writers! It’s already the end of 2015. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are upon us! I hope that you’re not spending too much time in front of the work screen, but if you are, you should read this one blog. (Insert brazen-faced winky emoticon.)  I hope it’ll inspire you and that you’ll leave with some content marketing tips you can start using right now – and bring into your New Year. First: Why Christmas Doesn’t Have To (Ever) Be Your “Slow” Season I’m even more excited to bring you this holiday post and hereby “blog,” or “work,” on the holidays, because, well, December is becoming our hottest month of the entire year!  I couldn’t believe it myself, but we broke records and had over 1,000 pages of content ordered in 48 hours, our first week of December. This is the most we’ve had ordered in 48 hours since I created the company, in 2011. Our financial graph for the entire year looks like this: (The lowest point, in January, looks lower than it was because we actually started our online Content Shop then and had all our clients begin placing orders online.) We still have one more half-week in December, and our team is in the office throughout this month still – so we expect the year to end with our busiest month yet! That’s my reason directly to you why December doesn’t need to be your slowest month. We actually saw it become our best month for 2015 – which means anyone can, too, provided they never let go of the hustle and effort it takes to get a best foot forward and put in some real work and passion. Copywriting Tips for the Holidays (and Beyond) Even as the holidays are quickly whizzing past us, there’s still plenty of time to hone your skills for your holiday campaigns and start converting readers into buyers. But before you do, let’s take a look at the top copywriting tips to get your writing into shape. 8 Top Copywriting Hacks 1. 90% Of Your Time Should Be Spent Crafting Killer Headlines There’s a lot to be said on the topic of headlines. Strong conversion copywriters spend at least 90 percent of their time crafting one, or two… or three for every piece. It’s important not to stuff your headlines with keywords. And while you’re at it, throw out everything you were taught by those old-school SEO dictators on how to craft those headers. Make them attention-grabbing, borrow from winning formulas, do what you got to, to reel readers in. Here’s an important tip to remember: great headlines are very often incarnations of the value proposition of the very thing you’re trying to sell. Here’s another tip: ask yourself this about the prospect you’re writing for: “what was going on in their life that brought them to you today?” 2. Write Amazing Headlines Using “Without”, “Even If” and “Data” There’s so much to be said about headlines and that’s because they really are THAT important. Here are a few things you could include to help make your headers stand out: Use an “even if” clause to overcome hesitation Add a little data about the outcome Replace “even with” with “without” – what don’t your readers have to do to get the result? 3. Stay Away From Positioning Statements – Use Value Propositions At its very core, a value proposition needs to express what’s desirable and unique about your offer. Never confuse it with a positioning statement. You should state something about that your product does. You can include an end benefit. But don’t make your value proposition a laundry list of benefits. 4. Get To Know Different Types of Awareness There are a couple of different kinds of awareness your readers will have during the sales process. Depending on the stage of awareness they’re at, they’re going to need different messaging and content: Pain Aware – in this stage people respond to seeing solutions to their pain, or even their own pain. Solution Aware – this is where people respond to high-level benefits, so avoid thinking of the problem and think of the solution. Problem Aware – during this phase, people realize they actually have a problem but don’t know how to solve it. Product/Brand Aware – here people want to know what best and biggest benefit your product has to offer before they’re introduced to the benefits. People love the phrase, “but wait! There’s more!” Completely Unaware – during this phrase, people are completely clueless about their problems. 5. Embracing Similarities Between Taglines and Value Propositions Sometimes the very best taglines are actually your value propositions (as discussed above), just whittled down smaller while being specific. 6. Keeping Swipe Files for Inspiration Never heard of a swipe file? It’s a collection of content that you can use for ideas – all that memorable stuff that’s resonated with you. Save everything you love so when the well runs dry, you have a file full of inspiration. 7. To Write Content That Shocks and Generates Shares, Go Ahead and Pick a Fight! Take a completely accepted way of doing things and go and turn it on its head. Don’t be insulting, though, just provocative. 8. Top X Lists Can Still Work These lists can work well, provided they add something meaningful to the conversation. Try to be better. Aim to be different. 5 Tips for Effective Holiday Content You Can Do Now Here are 5 bonus tips for crafting effective holiday content as you leave my blog today (and go eat chocolates, or open gifts, and enjoy your holiday – in short, get away from the computer :D). 1. What Are Your Customer’s Holiday Needs? One of the best things about the holiday rush is you get to offer your customers great value when you create content that will help them cross something off their to-do list, saves them time or makes the holidays more fun. Consider … Read more

Why We Didn’t Have a Black Friday Sale

Why We Didn’t Have a Black Friday Sale

This is an original short by Julia McCoy, CEO of Express Writers. Everyone around me, everywhere I look, is having some sort of “Blowout Black Friday Clearance Deal NOW!” I flipped through (and instantly deleted) maybe 50 emails with some version of this title just today. Now I’m not one to stop anyone from going to sales or having them. If that’s in your best interests, by all means—enjoy Black Friday. Why We Didn’t Have A Blowout Black Friday Sale How come we were one of the very few businesses who didn’t send out one of these emails or put out a quick promo code on social media? For the new people perusing this. Express Writers is a copywriting agency. Our job is to write and create high quality content, web pages, ongoing blogs, sales pages, resumes, you-name-it—for businesses of all sizes and types. My point is we don’t sell a product. We sell services. Human services. And creative services, at that. No machine can replace a pen wielded by a real human with an active brain that has been endowed with the extra cells of writing creativity. We don’t sell a product we can mass-produce at once, sit in the closet, and ship out at a moment’s notice. Or what can be discounted for a quick sale at the end of the year. Human services shouldn’t be discounted just because the commercial, product-oriented world has declared the Friday after Thanksgiving THE day for “blowout sales”. 4 Reasons Writing Doesn’t Ever Deserve a Coupon Code 1. It’s humanly created. Did I say yet that writing is a service written specifically to order, EVERY time it’s ordered? That is, if you want high quality. There’s services like Constant Content where writers bucket articles with random keywords, and you can come and buy those. I don’t recommend this, because in 2015/2016, to stand out in a huge sea of content marketing, you need to be unique; have your own voice; research and put a lot of work in; and have your own expertise angle to become a thought leader (a factor of winning content online). 2. It always takes time. Writers are working on the clock. If they give you a discount, chances are they have to rush through that piece and not spend as much time so they can make a decent hourly rate. And that’s why we don’t ever allow bartering. We know how much time is required by not just the writer, but our management; content specialists; and editorial staff on every single content piece (we never skip the quality process on anything). So, we charge to make the process worth our time, each time. 3. It’s too valuable. Would you ask your heart surgeon for a discount? Would you ask your chiropractor? Replace that with any service you value. Writing isn’t necessarily heart surgery, but it’s a talent to be valued. This ties into our human creation process mentioned. It also has huge ROI if you pick the right creative writer. Just don’t think of asking a good copywriter for a discount on their talents. The value is too high. 4. Writing is an art. A fading art, a God-given talent that not everyone can boast of. I meet a lot of people who say they can write or edit, but once they’re given our SEO and content tests, cannot. To truly create high quality content for the web is actually getting harder to do, because it’s hard to find a good copywriter who is dedicated and given to their trade. So, don’t do a quick sale if you’re among those offering a human deliverable. Something that requires brain cells to come up with and deliver to specific order details, not in mass amounts that will sit on shelves for unlimited dates. Here’s to the rebels of Black Friday. Those who don’t conform and discount themselves to match the commercialization of America. If you’re humanly creating what you’re selling for a living, don’t cheapen yourself for 24 hours just to match a short-lived fad. I leave you with this quote by Eric Thomas: To get high quality, non-cheap quality writing services 365 days of the year, visit our Content Shop.

Turkey Day Content Tips: How to Create Great Content from the Thanksgiving Holiday

Turkey Day Content Tips: How to Create Great Content from the Thanksgiving Holiday

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Express Writers! This Thanksgiving season, we hope you’re enjoying some well-earned time off! That being said, in our industry, we don’t really see it as time off from content creation. That’s because Thanksgiving is a great time to create some seriously fun content. The festiveness of the season and the air of celebration in the air mean that Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to create and distribute content your readers will love. Just how do you go about this? 5 Thanksgiving Content Tips Readers Will Love Don’t be a turkey, make holiday content work for you this Thanksgiving Day! Here are five of our top holiday content tips for creating memorable Thanksgiving-themed content. 1. Snap and Share Photos of Your Holiday Celebration 40% of people respond better to visual content than they do text, so don’t hesitate to take some photos this holiday season. Don’t be shy to share your personal festivities! #DispatchFrom @madhungrylsq mad prepping for this #Thanksgiving. Wherever you are in the world, we want to see your #MoveableFeast moments because tomorrow we’ll be regramming our favorites! Hashtag #MoveableFeast for a regram! A photo posted by Condé Nast Traveler (@cntraveler) on Nov 25, 2015 at 7:52pm PST Snap pictures of your movements throughout the Thanksgiving holiday, whether you volunteer, spend time with family and friends, eat a turkey or a ham, or spend it away from the snow in someplace tropical. Consider dedicating a blog entirely to photos and then encourage your readers to submit their own photos in the comments. Visual content is a big deal right now and creating some of your own can help people connect to your content and feel the Thanksgiving cheer! 2. Share Traditions You look forward to it every Thanksgiving: Grandma’s creamy, gooey, delicious pumpkin pie – the recipe for which she got from her grandmother. Why not share the love this Thanksgiving and share the recipe with your fans? Doing this provides value on a few different levels: first of all, you’re giving your readers something actionable that they can apply to their lives and, secondly, you’re giving them pie and who doesn’t love pie? If you don’t have a coveted family recipe to share with your readers, consider telling them about the traditions you do have over the holidays and then encourage them to share their traditions as well. This engages readers in your content and helps them feel seen, respected, and cared for by your brand. 3. Give Back Do you have something that can benefit someone else? Why not use the Thanksgiving holiday as an opportunity to give it away? Whether you run a class that can help fans learn something new or you sell a product that can enhance people’s lives, Thanksgiving is the ideal time to run a promotion that allows your customers to enter for a chance to win. Holiday promotions give people something to get excited about and, in advance of the Christmas holiday, promotions may even help your customers get that special someone a gift they’ve always wanted. No matter how you choose to structure your promotion, Thanksgiving is shouldered by two of the biggest shopping days of the year (Black Friday and Cyber Monday) so this is a great time to give some gifts and share the joy! 4. Share What You’re Thankful About What is Thanksgiving all about, after all? One of the best ways to create great content this Thanksgiving is simply to be thankful! Be thankful for your readers and your business partners and all of the people who have helped you get where you are today and then tell them so. Consider sending your readers a heartfelt “thank-you” email or offering small incentives as a showing of your gratitude. No matter what you choose to do, Thanksgiving is a fantastic time to let the people near you know exactly how much you appreciate them. 5. Try New Things If you’ve never done a podcast before but Crazy Aunt Lisa is coming to Thanksgiving dinner and she’s got some serious stories, right now might be a great time to dip your foot into a new content form. Whether you’ve been meaning to move from short-form to long-form or textual to visual, the Thanksgiving holiday is a great time to take advantage of the abundance of your surroundings to step into uncharted content waters. In addition to keeping you on your creative toes, this can also help you keep your site fresh and keep readers interested. Take These Content Tips and Go Forth! There you have it – our top 5 content tips for creating great marketing this Thanksgiving season. While we hope that your Thanksgiving holiday inspires you to crank out some exciting new content, we also hope that your Thanksgiving holiday is filled with all the things that are really important: friends, family, and happiness for one and for all! Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours from the Express Writers team.

5 Awesome Holiday Content Ads

5 Awesome Holiday Content Ads

Christmastime is here, which means there are several great holiday content ads out and about—from the TV to out there in the wild. This year, while I made my Christmas shopping rounds, I decided to carry my superpower copywriter glasses and along the shopping way, caught a few great Christmas ads and setups to inspire you for Christmas and holiday marketing. I saw many a Santa, Rudolph’s red nose a-gleaming in multiple locations, and heard Christmas carols till I couldn’t anymore. It was really a great time and I am happy to share some of what I saw with you! Here are a few stores and a charity that really captured the Christmas advertising spirit! 1. Salvation Army – Firefighters and Bag Pipes. While out doing my Christmas shopping, I noticed that there were several bell ringers out for the Salvation Army. This is something that I absolutely enjoy about the holidays because many people will feel more inclined to give during the season, helping many. However, I’ve recently noticed that the volunteers seem to blend into the background and some people might just ignore them in the hustle and bustle of gift buying. When I was walking up to a store on my Christmas route, I noticed something different about some volunteers – they were firefighters and one had bagpipes. Mr. Bagpipe Guy (this is his unofficial name) wasn’t playing anything yet; just chatting with other shoppers. I went inside the store to buy my gifts and some decorations, and when I headed through the crowds and checkout lines to the door, I heard Mr. Bagpipe Guy playing Greensleeves. He then switched to other Christmas hymns as shoppers bustled in and out. However, every single shopper made sure to take a few seconds out of their busy shopping to gather some change and drop it into the donation bucket. I thought this was absolutely brilliant on the Salvation Army’s part! People are more willing to support the men and women who protect us, no matter what line of work they are in. And who doesn’t like hearing bagpipes play on Christmas – there’s just something very Christmas-like about them. While not exactly an ad, this probably helped bring in more donations for the Salvation Army. 2. Bass Pro Shops. If you live in the Midwest or South (or a few select Northern areas) then you know all about Bass Pro Shops. Whether you are a hunter, fisher or just like some great quality flannel, you know Bass Pro is the place to go. Bass Pro happened to be on my route of Christmas shopping. Currently, there isn’t a major season such as hunting or fishing that Bass Pro would normally advertise for, except, of course, Christmas. They had deals galore for everything from camouflage to Under Armor and various nice clothing. One thing I did notice is that Bass Pro is taking the flannel fad and are making it readily available and mostly affordable with many Christmas deals. This is a great example of jumping on the latest trend wagon even if you don’t know how you can market to certain demographics. They marketed the flannel shirts as great gifts for family and friends, with fashion tips for how to wear it or advice on how certain flannel is good for cold weather camping or wearing around the house. Bass Pro made sure to incorporate the holiday spirit into all of their advertisement and they even have a Santa Claus for kids to get pictures with. This gives families from all over the chance to go to a shop that interests them while still enjoying the holidays. I love seeing the various Santa Claus’ everywhere and think this is a perfect holiday ad. How many people are more willing to buy from a store after seeing Santa? I’m sure many of us are! Santa just says, “Merry Christmas!” Everyone who sees him can’t help but smile and get into the Christmas spirit. 3. Locally Owned Bookstores Know How to Sell Books. While I was out and about, the one thing I really wanted to do was buy a few books for friends at locally owned shops. I enjoy supporting local as much as possible because it helps support more than just the shop, but my community as well. This particular store has had a pretty awesome social media approach to the holidays sharing photos when it snows as well as photos of Christmastime from various stock photo sites. When you walk in the store, you are instantly greeted and the smell of old books greets you, as well. The bookstore is prepped and ready for Christmas and they constantly encourage followers to support local for the holidays. I really enjoyed this and thought their holiday social media approach was really a great way to bring people in this holiday season. 4. Target Isn’t Just Celebrating Christmas and the New Year. One thing I find very important when it comes to the holiday season is for stores to have sections available for other holidays celebrated around Christmastime. The most well known holiday is that of Hanukkah, or the Festival of Lights, which lasts eight days. Many stores only market for Christmas, or, if they market for the Jewish holiday, they only have a small end cap tucked away in a corner. However, Target understands what it means to, well, hit the marketing target and reach out to a wider audience. As I went through their store, I saw content ads galore for Christmas and even went to their “Christmas Shop,” which is filled with tons of Christmas décor. However, on my way, I couldn’t help but notice their rather large and obvious section of Hanukkah decorations, cards, gift ideas, and hilarious toys, including Mensch on a Bench. This is a great idea for those who celebrate the holiday for religious or family reasons, as well as those who would like to keep the tradition alive. The combination of Christmas … Read more

Top 9 Companies That Nail Holiday Content

Top 9 Companies That Nail Holiday Content

As retailers rush to prepare for the flood of holiday shoppers, marketing departments are working in full swing to develop creative Christmas marketing strategies for their customers. The holidays are a great opportunity to add a special touch to marketing campaigns, and there are certain companies that have truly nailed the holiday touch of web content for 2014. Nine Companies That Hit the Mark on Awesome Holiday Content What companies were really in the spirit this season? Here is a list of Christmas marketing campaigns that are sure to catch your eye.  1. John Lewis – Monty The Penguin John Lewis is a one-stop shop for electronics, furniture, home décor, and more. This UK based company has created a Christmas marketing campaign involving a little boy named Sam and his best friend Monty the penguin. Their TV commercial tells the sweet story of the duo doing all kinds of activities together, from feeding ducks at the park to decorating the Christmas tree. Monty begins to feel empty because he’s looking for love, and he’s in store for a surprise Christmas morning. However, the viewer might be in for a bigger surprise. This Christmas campaign is brilliant for three reasons: it connects to the viewer on an emotional level, it tells a story, and the penguin is adorable. See for yourself: The story of Monty does not end with the commercial. On the John Lewis website, there is an entire section dedicated to Sam and Monty. The Monty section has a variety of interactive elements, including a 360-degree panoramic world of Sam and Monty. There are various scenes that kids can explore, with most of them stemming straight from the commercial. Fans of Monty also have an opportunity to buy a book and a stuffed replica. Monty: A Penguin That Tweets Want to know what Monty is up to at every minute? You are in luck – Monty the penguin also happens to have his very own Twitter account. What is it exactly that a penguin tweets about? Find out by following him on Twitter. There are a lot of great holiday campaigns, but John Lewis hits the Christmas marketing aspect from every angle possible. Few companies go as far as creating tangible items based on their Christmas campaign. There is a lot of competition here with John Lewis, and Monty the penguin (complete with his own hash tag #MontyThePengiun) is going to be a tough act to follow. 2. Kmart – Jingle Bellies Kmart’s new Christmas ad featuring the ‘Jingle Bellies’ is a promo for Joe Boxer. Kmart had a similar commercial last year called ‘Show Your Joe’ that went viral on Youtube with over 18 million views. This year, Kmart played off of the 2013 commercial with the new Jingle Bellies. This ad has a few guys drumming to the beat of popular Christmas music using their bellies, with a pair of silver Joe Boxer boxers making their debut at the end. The ad has been posted on Youtube for about a week now, and it already has over 1 million views. Maybe the Jingle Bellies have a chance of going viral, too? Bath and Body Works Nails Visual Merchandising and Display If any retailer hammers home the holidays in their products, it’s Bath and Body Works. The soap and lotion retailer has a knack for visual merchandising in their stores, and their window displays really help lure you in to check out more. Once you enter the store, there is even more holiday set up that grabs the eye. Bath and Body Works really works with the visual aspect of marketing, and it really works for their products in store. However, Bath and Body Works also jazzed up their website for 2014’s Christmas season. They gave their logo a holiday overhaul by stringing lights through the latters of their name. The polar bear background also rotates to showcase more holiday product, where they play on words to emphasize the holidays. Lastly, Bath and Body Works holiday products always stand out in terms of visual appearance. They go big during the holidays with bright colors, metallic finishes, and some products contain glitter to give that true holiday sparkle. 4. Marks and Spencer – Follow The Fairies British companies are upping their game this year with Christmas advertising, and Marks and Spencer is no exception. As a competitor of John Lewis, Marks and Spencer’s holiday campaign features fairies that dust an entire town with sparkle, helping people find lost pets, and bringing children outside to play in the snow. The campaign is called ‘Follow the Fairies’, and they are following in the footsteps of John Lewis by using social media elements (#FollowTheFairies) to tie their Christmas campaign together. You can watch the video on The Guardian website. Evidence of the fairies campaign exists on the Marks and Spencer website, but it does not have its own dedicated section like Monty the Penguin. Marks and Spencer adds touches to the campaign instead, adding the fairies to the gift finder section. I think they could have played up the fairies a bit more on their website, but it is still a cute concept overall. 5. Old Navy Old Navy usually has fun Christmas campaigns, and this year they are decking out their website to prep for Black Friday. Their header graphic features a count down to the days left to the biggest shopping day of the year, and their homepage is filled to the brink with deals for the big day. 6. Target’s Wish List App is Great For Kids Target is another company that usually has decent Christmas marketing campaigns, and their website for 2014 is decked out for the holidays. Their holiday website design elements are on the subtle side, with golden stars adding a bit of sparkle to their homepage. Target also offers a wish list app where kids can build lists directly on smartphones and tablets. When you open the app, pop ups appear on the home screen that announces deals … Read more