5 Tips for a Successful Holiday Marketing Campaign

The holidays might feel like they’re ages away. But if you’re a marketer or PR pro, the holiday season is probably on your mind already. Or at least, it should be!

Media and consumers will soon be flooded with holiday marketing campaigns and product offers from all angles. To cut through the noise, now is the moment to finish up your holiday strategy—and share your brand’s gifts, news, and campaigns with reporters.

Placing products in media round-ups (e.g. Top Gifts for Dog Lovers) can go a long way to driving sales. The majority of Americans agree they need help when it comes to holiday gifting—which means there’s a lot of appetite for gifting advice from trusted media outlets.

To help you hit the ground running, we tapped Praytell’s media experts to share their hot takes on holiday marketing and public relations campaigns. In our guide, you’ll find inspiration from brand campaigns we love, tips for how to break through, mistakes to watch out for, and more!

1. Tailored pitches will help you stand out.

In the crowded holiday season, tailored outreach is the name of the game.

As you kick off your holiday marketing campaign, avoid sending one blanket pitch that lists a whole bunch of products. Instead, go to media with relevant angles (and associated products) that will actually make their life easier.

Think: The best gifts for the athlete in your life; What to get the mom who has everything; Gifts under $50, ensuring that the products included ladder back to the pitch angle.

Reach out to media with relevant angles (and associated products) that will actually make their life easier.

2. Sampling isn’t just about sending products.

Sampling is key to getting reporter interest. But just sending products might land you in the “review later” pile.

To cut through the clutter, we often sweeten the deal. We’ll send reporters a product to sample, and offer to send a second for someone on their holiday list.

This simple gesture helps build long-term relationships by helping the media with something they’d need to do anyway. Imagine a holiday fairy drops off gifts for people on your shopping list and all you have to do is wrap them! Be the holiday brand fairy!

3.  Affiliate links are an absolute must.

No affiliate, no coverage. It’s a harsh reality, but these four words should be the foundation of your holiday marketing campaign.

Editors are under pressure to drive revenue, especially during the holidays. This means they’re forced to prioritize products with affiliate links. (These are special shopping links that kick back revenue to the publication when a reader buys a product through the link.

If you’re on a mission to secure holiday coverage this year, we recommend hustling now to get an affiliate program up and running.

Editors are under pressure to drive revenue. To make the cut for gift round-ups, affilaite links are essential.

4. Steer clear of the December dark period.

Once December rolls around, the number of OOO responses from the media will grow rapidly. Plus, reporters often finalize their last stories of the year weeks in advance of their vacation time.

So, don’t leave a big holiday marketing campaign launch or pitch effort for December! You’ll risk pitching unattended inboxes.  

5. If in doubt, learn from the best.

If time is running out and you’re stuck for ideas, take some inspiration from brands that get it right every single year. Here are some of our faves!

• The hype-builder: Bonne Maman has created exclusivity and hype culture around their annual advent calendar drop. Media cover the calendar drop as early as August, with influencer buzz ramping up in September.  
• The trusted favorite: Butterball and Starbucks show us that a great holiday campaign can keep rolling successfully for years. Butterball’s Turkey Talk-Line has stood the test of time and continues to generate media coverage each holiday season, while Starbucks’s red cups surprise and delight year after year.
• The limited-edition sensation: Last year, Miller Lite’s Christmas tree keg stand and Miller High Life’s Leg Lamp Beer Tower broke the internet starting in early November, proving that high-quality, limited-edition launches catch media attention.

Check out these helpful hints!

Our final gift to you is a few more handy hints to make your holiday marketing campaigns a success. Keep these in mind to put a final polish on your plans.

• Visual assets at the ready: Get all your holiday imagery ready in September. Media will only feature specially prepared holiday assets or products on a white background. Failure to share these on time will likely result in getting cut from coverage.

• Call out last-minute shipping: Can your client's product arrive in a day? Same day? Call that out big and bold because the media will often include these products in last-minute gift guides and it's a great way to get one final push.

• Be smart about requests for edits: Errors happen but please be mindful to only request edits if information in an article is factually incorrect. And be kind to journalists as they sometimes lack direct access to updates.

Give your holiday campaign a little extra magic. Reach out to us at hello@praytellagency.com

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