And even though there are hundreds of holidays worldwide, the last three months of the year are phenomena on another level. There are back-to-back holidays, giving brands the added pressure of catering to their diverse audiences. 

The opportunity is huge. And if you get it right, you have the opportunity to attract and impress a large audience base. 

Ready to get started on your own? Need some inspiration? Let’s take a look at some of the top holiday marketing campaigns, and the designs that drove them to the top.

Holiday Marketing campaigns: A high note to end your year 

Even though holiday marketing campaigns have now become a staple, some brands and small businesses are still on the fence about how significant they are. While almost everyone takes part in them, not all know the impact of a great holiday marketing campaign on their brand value and revenue. 

In this section, let’s take a look at exactly why these holiday marketing campaigns get so much hype worldwide. 

When it comes to holiday shopping, studies show us that the internet and social media influence over 80% of holiday shoppers. 

Moreover, holiday season shopping is on an increasing curve even with the year 2020 seeing a massive hurdle by the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2020 holiday season saw a 6.5% increase in retail spending. 

This trend does not show any signs of stopping, and experts expect the holiday season in 2021 to rise by 3.5% from 2020 in retail. Ecommerce may see over a 10% growth aided by the growth seen during the pandemic. 

Holiday Marketing Campaigns: Design Trends 

Holiday marketing campaigns are clearly very important for everyone in the business world. But there are big brands and small businesses in the mix competing for the same audience’s attention. 

So how do you get in on the action? How do you compete with brands worldwide and ensure that your campaigns reach more people with impact too?

Year after year, marketing experts are telling us that the best marketing material has two defining elements for their success – copy and design. If you get your creatives right, it makes your copy shine too. And you can create an emotional connection with your customers easily. 

So, what should your holiday marketing campaign designs look like in 2021? 

• Use the typical colors that people associate with the holidays. This means red, green, and/or gold tinsel leading up to Christmas. Or for a more modern touch blues, whites and silvers.  And New Year’s Eve can be represented with some silver/gold. 

• Create interactive and engaging designs. Add a small touch of animated elements to your designs to grab attention and keep spirits high.

• Use relevant and holiday-based imagery such as Christmas trees, bells, stars, mistletoe, and so on. These images have a lot of importance in conveying the holiday mood to the audience. Experiment with how you use them but don’t miss out on them. 

• Ensure branding and design consistency across all mediums for best results. When you have a presence across different channels, customers must see and hear one message without conflict. 

• Incorporate festive fonts that work with your brand’s personality and tie into the festive season, too. 

Following these tips will ensure your holiday marketing campaigns hit the bulls’ eye and get you a great ROI. Or you can just sign up for a Kimp Graphics or Video subscription to get the help of a professional design team for a flat fee.

5 Of The Best Holiday Marketing Campaigns of all time 

An investment in knowledge pays the best interest, according to Benjamin Franklin. By understanding how the brands before you handled holiday marketing campaigns, you can get great results too. 

Analyzing how trends affected the revenue and success of these campaigns is another way to approach this too.

Either way, we’re thinking having a list of the best holiday marketing campaigns of all time will surely come in handy for you. In this blog, the Kimp Graphics and Kimp Video teams have also included ways you can replicate some of the best campaigns for your brand. 

So with no further delay, let’s dive into this.

1) Air New Zealand’s attempt at being Santa’s helpers 

As an airline, customer service with a smiling face is your brand’s first and most important trait. And it always pays to tell people that you understand your customers and their needs the most.

Air New Zealand’s 2017 Christmas commercial “A very merry mistake” took it to a very literal level. The commercial underlines the concept that people speak English in different accents all over the world. And this seems to trouble Santa as he cannot understand what the gift requests actually were. 

In a hilarious and brand value-affirming turn, he then turns to Air New Zealand’s staff to interpret and help understand the requests better. 

Takeaways:

• The main takeaway here is that holiday marketing campaigns and advertisements with humor seldom go wrong. Especially when the brand’s USP and branding value come across clearly. 
• Using the firm’s uniform is a nice touch, as now everyone knows what the Air New Zealand staff wears. Brilliant move for brand awareness. 
• Using Christmas sounds and imagery in the video also helps to lend authenticity to the video. 
• You can replicate this for your brand too. And when you do, you can come straight to the Kimp Video team to enhance it via editing, captioning, and video design-related services.

2) Spotify 2017 Wrapped Ads: Building #2018Goals From Customer Data

If there is a brand that absolutely knocks it out of the park every year with marketing that uses in-house customer data, it is Spotify. A trend that began in 2016 is still going strong with the Spotify wrapped ads becoming more popular every year.

While every other brand focuses on Christmas, Halloween, or Thanksgiving, Spotify has shown merit in doing end-of-year/New Year campaigns exclusively. 

One of its most popular Spotify wrapped ad campaigns has to be #2018 goals based on the 2017 playlist data. But the most notable element of this ad is that, while Spotify is a digital company, the advertisements were primarily in the OOH format. 

Spotify cracked brand awareness to potentially a very large audience base by stepping out of the Internet. They knew that everyone on the Internet knows them, but OOH ads on billboards can put them in front of more people. And it did with a healthy buzz online too. 

Takeaways: 

• Note the usage of unique and extremely eye-catchy colors in these advertisements. It completely challenges the typical palette of a billboard ad and works well with the brand’s personality of a trend-setter. 
• The design of these holiday marketing campaigns is completely minimal with easy-to-read fonts, scoring high on user experience even on the offline front. 
• The success of this holiday marketing campaign inspires every brand to be innovative and incorporate print and web designs in their strategy. 
• And if you want to do that this holiday season without breaking the bank, we suggest you check out the Kimp Graphics unlimited graphic design subscription today. 

3) Myer Christmas Windows

Have you wondered about the importance of store decorations or storefront displays in a world ruled by ecommerce stores? Can they really create much of an ROI? Well, this unique holiday marketing campaign from an Australian brand will clear all doubts for you.

Myer is a household name in Melbourne. More so for its unique Christmas marketing than its products even. A campaign that turns 65 years old in 2021, Myer’s unique animated Christmas windows bring people out every year. 

Holiday shoppers, of all ages, line up to see what the brand has in store for them. 

The beauty of this campaign is that the brand has become an essential part of everyone’s Christmas celebration over the years. There is an emotional connection that will have an ROI for years to come.

Takeaways:

• Retail stores have an enormous challenge in front of them competing with the convenience ecommerce stores offer. But innovative practices during holiday marketing, as shown by Myer, can be extremely effective. 
• Spruce up your displays. Get a holiday-themed sign installed and leverage the power of technology by using your storefront to display your advertisements, product collection, and more. 
• If you are interested in coming out on top this holiday season in marketing your store, sign up for the Kimp Graphics + Video subscription. You can create animations, signboards, short videos, gift guides, and so much more under a single plan at a flat monthly fee.

4) Starbucks’ Holiday Cups 

Retail stores always have an intrinsic role to play in holiday traditions. They’ve long been the go-to place to make purchases for the holidays. Especially those last-minute buys. Add to that, people like stepping out on holidays and are more likely to return to establishments that actively take part in these traditions.

Starbucks is now known around the world as being a huge proponent of hangout culture. And the brand thrives on this niche community they have built. To ensure that the community gets into the holiday spirit bright and early in the holiday season, the brand has a 24-year-old tradition of holiday cups. 

This holiday marketing campaign by the brand generates a lot of buzz in the market and over the Internet. People visit solely for these cups and engage with the brand online with their selfies and photos. The brand also launches these cups on their social media profiles to announce their holiday marketing campaigns every year. 

Takeaway: 

• Via this ongoing holiday marketing campaign, Starbucks has shown us that packaging designs specifically for the holiday season are always a colossal hit. 
• Also, showing up consistently with expected traditions brings delight to the customer base. These traditions also help you form deeper bonds to instill customer loyalty. 
• Need some more festive packaging design ideas? Read our blog here.

5) Lego’s Holiplay Campaign 

The world’s most popular toy brand has seen some tough days. In 2012, the brand was on the brink of extension and may have become a forgotten name if not for this marketing campaign. 

As we all know that no matter what the bottom line says, a brand’s biggest strength is its customers. As long as you have them, you can turn anything around. So getting into the true spirit of holidays, Lego ran one of the earliest holiday marketing campaigns that relied entirely on user-generated content.

Lego invited its patrons all over the world to create something festive via the lego sets they own and share photos of it in a real-life setting. They then compiled it into a fairy tale video and released it on the Internet. Instantly, the campaign was a big hit and became the talk of the town.

Takeaways: 

• This video and its success are proof of the concept that you do not need expensive production budgets for emotional and effective holiday marketing videos. All you need is the intent and a story. 
• Creating videos that put the focus on your products and their usability is holiday marketing gold. So no matter what your budget is, you need this kind of video in your campaigns.
• With a Kimp Video subscription, you can create videos like this for your holiday campaigns in no time. We take images and raw footage from you to create world-class advertisements for your brand. Ready to give it a shot? Sign up for a free trial and try us out today!

Create Inspiring Holiday Marketing Campaigns with Kimp 

Feeling inspired by the holiday marketing campaigns you just saw? Do you also want your marketing and advertisements to stand out similarly in the 2021 holiday season?

Well, we hear you and we’re ready to help! Sign up for a Kimp Graphics + Video subscription to get all the designs you need for digital marketing, print marketing, and OOH marketing for your brand.

And with unlimited revisions, you can be sure that you’ll get the results you want. Make holiday marketing easier with Kimp.

Sign up for a free trial to see how.