Holiday Marketing Tips

How can brands and retailers stand out this Holiday season amid judicious spending and unabated inflation? the race to launch even earlier #Holiday deals has created one long, continuous promotional cycle. It also trains customers to wait for sales and only buy at reduced prices, significantly impacting brand equity and profits. Here are some holiday promotion strategies to avoid this race to the bottom: 💶 Commit to price transparency as shoppers become increasingly weary of price gouging. Rather than helping overcome consumer scepticism about the discounts offered, they can lead to more of it. Look to 2023's viral TikTok hashtag #BlackFridayIsAScam. Similarly, Amazon customers found that merchants inflated their prices ahead of Black Friday 2023 to promote steeper discounts, driving down trust 💬 Have the confidence to hold sales until peak periods. While last year’s earlier start saw some retailers begin their promotional cycles as soon as August, a spike in sales didn’t actually occur until a few days before Black Friday and Christmas. Target saw its first visit peak of the 2023 season the day before Thanksgiving (up 22.1%) while department stores experienced a 183.6% spike in visits two days before Christmas. This year, two-thirds of shoppers say they’re holding out on making big purchases until #CyberWeek, according to Salesforce 📊 Double down on dynamic pricing. Use data and AI to develop an innovative promotion and discount strategy. Utilise time-sensitive models and a differentiated merchandising mix to more easily adjust to Holiday market conditions and shopper preferences in real-time 📌 Rather than appeal to all shoppers, target promotions to your most loyal customers. Salesforce predicts two out of five purchases over the 2024 Holiday season will be from a repeat buyer. Coupled with the fact that 77% of US consumers who have retail subscriptions buy more from brands they have relationships with, Holiday loyalty schemes will have a big impact 🎊 Create limited-time product bundles or gift sets that combine complementary items, offering convenience and savings without sacrificing perceived value 💰 Launch deals consumers actually want. To cut through the discounting noise, retailers must deliver more individualised discounts. 83% of US consumers are interested in receiving personalised offers Any other advice for brands and retailers ramping-up their #BlackFriday and #Christmas promotions?

Why a promotional agenda for beauty brands? Calendars are a key driver of revenue, acquisition, and engagement. Because beauty products align with gifting, emotion, and seasonal spikes, brands can leverage moments like Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, and holidays to capture intent-driven purchases when consumers are actively seeking meaningful gifts rather than purely functional products. +96% consumers have gifted beauty/personal care products, and 89% plan to do so again Particularly powerful due to the intersection of gifting, emotion, and self-care. Beauty and cosmetics represent a significant share of gifting categories, accounting for ~22% of women’s gifts globally ~$38B. On average, each shopper buys gifts for multiple recipients (≈1.5 per occasion), expanding basket size. +New Year / Self-care season – January 1 +Valentine’s Day – February 14 +International Women’s Day – March 8 +Mother’s Day – Dates vary by country (e.g., May in EU/US) +Father’s Day – June (varies by country) Spain - March +Summer / Vacation season – June–August +Back to School / Reset period – August–September +Black Friday / Cyber Week – Late November +Christmas / Holiday season – December Calendars work especially well because the category naturally aligns with emotional and social purchasing behaviors. In essence, promotional moments convert beauty from a functional purchase into an emotional, socially driven one. +30% of holiday shoppers purchase beauty products as gifts. A STRUCTURED calendar helps beauty brands capture seasonal demand, align with emotional moments, increase average order value through bundles, and improve acquisition during high-intent periods, while strengthening brand relevance and driving repeat purchases through recurring annual triggers and avoiding missed opportunities when consumers are ready to buy. FUTURE of promotional strategies Shifting from fixed discount-driven periods toward more experience-led, personalized, and value-oriented strategies. Rather than relying solely on price incentives, brands are increasingly designing campaigns around emotional relevance, product curation, sustainability, and data-driven personalization to better align with evolving consumer expectations. +Shift from discounts to experience and value +Growth of self-gifting +Focus on sustainability and refills +Increased personalization and segmentation +Expansion of always-on gifting moments Conclusion For beauty brands, a promotional agenda is a strategic growth lever that aligns with cultural and gifting moments to capture predictable, emotion-driven demand. The most successful brands will move beyond static promotions toward integrated, experience-led, and personalized systems that combine timing, storytelling, and product strategy to drive both short-term sales and long-term brand equity. Featured Brands: Crown Kinship Laneige Ohii Peach & Lily Tamburins Summer Fridays #beautybusiness #beautyprofessionals #beautypromotions #giffting #gift

𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗦𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗮 ₹𝟵𝟵𝟵 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 ₹𝟮,𝟰𝟵𝟵. 𝗬𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗥𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝟮𝟬% 𝗢𝗳𝗳. 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆'𝗿𝗲 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴. Most D2C brands treat December as "clear inventory with discounts." Meanwhile, MyFlowerTree reports consumers are increasingly moving towards stylish, premium, and experience-oriented gifting this Christmas 2025. IGP just launched 30-minute personalized gift delivery across 30+ cities in September 2025. What's happening? Indians aren't buying cheap gifts. They're buying meaningful ones. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐚𝐬 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐮𝐦 𝐓𝐞𝐬𝐭 Here's something counterintuitive: Christmas is when people are most willing to pay premium prices – not because they're feeling generous, but because emotional stakes are high. A ₹500 gift feels cheap. A ₹2,000 thoughtfully curated gift feels appropriate. This is your window to test premium positioning without heavy marketing spend. If your regular product is ₹999, bundle it with complementary items and sell at ₹2,499 as a "Christmas Gift Hamper." No discount needed. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 2025 𝐈𝐬 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 MyFlowerTree's data shows the most ordered categories this Christmas include premium chocolate and dry fruit hampers, personalized keepsakes with festive themes (custom mugs, photo frames, calendars), and candle and home decor gift sets. The insight? Personalization drives purchases – consumers add custom notes, names, and photographs, creating gifts that build lasting emotional memories rather than fleeting moments. IGP understood this. Their growth isn't from cheaper products – it's from faster, more personalized delivery. Premium service, premium price, premium perception. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐃2𝐂 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 Stop discounting in December. Instead, reposition your products as gifting solutions. Bundle your ₹800 product with ₹200 worth of items and sell at ₹1,500 – higher margins, premium positioning. Add simple personalization options – gift wrapping, custom notes, festive packaging. Create urgency around emotional deadlines ("Order by Dec 23 for Christmas delivery"), not discount timers. Test your premium positioning now. If customers pay ₹1,500 for your ₹999 product during Christmas, that's your real market price – you've just been underpricing it all year. The brands winning this December aren't racing to the bottom with discounts. They're using gifting psychology to prove their products deserve premium positioning. Merry Christmas! May your brand discover its true premium potential this season. #christmas #D2C #premium #branding #gifting #strategy 

30–50% of annual sales happen in these 12 weeks, yet many wait until it’s too late. Here’s how we’re advising brands at Incrementum Digital to attack Q4: Intent is everywhere, but only if you’re set up to capture it. Auto campaigns can capture new or seasonal keywords you may have missed manually. Target gifting related keywords and test - gifting keywords are often broad in nature and don't always convert well. Lower bids may be needed to hit the right KPIs. Not all deals are created equal. Consider tiered promos to increase AOV and layer in brand tailored promos on top of retargeting/remarketing to increase conversions. Holiday creatives matter. Shoppers are making emotional decisions. Seasonal visuals, updated product images, and gift-ready copy can push conversions without touching price. Leverage AMC data. Audiences of cart abandoners, PDP viewers, look-a-likes, high spenders who’ve gone quiet, can all lead to incremental sales when targeted. Q4 is competitive. But the brands that plan for it and execute across ads, promos, and creative are the ones that come out ahead in Q1.

The future belongs to creators Who build rituals audiences depend on. I make Christmas music in July. Summer jams in December. Sounds backwards? That's exactly the point. While everyone else chases the moment, try building a cycle that compounds. Here's how seasonality transforms any creative strategy: Lesson 1: Create before the season starts Farmers plant in spring for fall harvest. Retailers stock winter coats in August. Content creators should work the same way. Research shows lead time is critical for seasonal success. Your move: Start your holiday content in summer. Plan your summer releases during winter planning sessions. Lesson 2: Build annual rituals your audience anticipates Spotify Wrapped drives 40% higher app engagement during campaign week. That's up from 37% in 2023 and 32% in 2022. The Institute of Analytics found that Wrapped incentivizes year-long engagement by creating anticipation. People wait all year for it. Your move: Create your own "annual event" that audiences expect and countdown to each year. Lesson 3: Align releases with real-world moments Love songs hit different in February. Productivity content lands in January. Reflective posts resonate in December. The 1985 Journal of Marketing Research study on "The Ritual Dimension of Consumer Behavior" proved rituals create larger experiences that consumers anticipate. Your move: Map your content calendar to emotional and cultural moments throughout the year. Lesson 4: Let seasonal content compound over years My Christmas album still gets streams every December. My productivity posts from 2022 resurface every January. Seasonal content doesn't expire. It hibernates and returns stronger. Your move: Build a catalog that works for you annually, not just once. Lesson 5: Use predictability to create anticipation Audiences crave patterns they can count on. Consistency breeds anticipation. Anticipation drives engagement. Your move: Establish a rhythm. Stick to it. Let your audience's calendar sync with yours. The breakthrough isn't chasing trends. It's creating cycles that outlast them. ♻️ Share this with someone ready to build long-term strategy 🔔 Follow Kabir Sehgal for frameworks on creativity

As the festive season approaches, it's the perfect time to connect with your audience through engaging food content. Here’s how to make your festive creations stand out: 1. Celebrate Seasonal Ingredients: Focus on recipes that feature seasonal produce. It’s a great way to showcase freshness and relevance. 2. Share the Stories Behind the Dishes: Dive into the history or personal significance of your festive recipes. Stories resonate and build a stronger connection with your audience. 3. Invest in Visual Appeal: High-quality photos and videos are essential. Festive dishes should look as delightful as they taste, so make sure your visuals are vibrant and enticing. 4. Engage with Interactive Content: Use polls, quizzes, or live Q&A sessions to involve your audience in the fun. Get them talking about their holiday favorites or sharing their own recipes. 5. Offer DIY Tips and Tutorials: Provide practical advice and step-by-step guides for festive baking. Your audience will appreciate the valuable tips and be inspired to try your recipes. 6. Collaborate and Expand: Partner with fellow food enthusiasts or brands for guest posts, recipe exchanges, or live cooking events. It’s a great way to reach new audiences and add variety to your content. 7. Highlight Sustainability: Share tips on making festive baking more sustainable. It's a topic that resonates with many and adds an extra layer of value to your content. Authenticity and creativity are your best tools. Let’s make this festive season delicious and memorable! Happy baking! #BakeWithShivesh #FestiveBaking #ContentCreation #SeasonalRecipes #HolidayCooking #SustainableBaking

✨ Beauty Brands: Here’s Why Your Holiday Strategy Must Be Value-Led, with Stats (and Examples) to Back It Up Holiday 2025 will be tougher than usual. Consumers are holding the purse strings tighter but what about beauty? 💄 Beauty remains resilient Despite financial pressures, real-term spending on beauty & personal care is still growing, the famous “lipstick effect.” Many consumers now regard beauty as a “non-negotiable”, even reprioritising spend away from other categories. The UK beauty industry has risen dramatically, now worth £30.4bn, growing 4× faster than the economy, and even outpacing spend on leisure. ⏰ Consumers Are Starting Holiday Shopping Earlier. Especially for Beauty Last year stats: - 34.8% of UK consumers began Christmas shopping earlier in 2024 than the year before. - 48% had bought most of their presents by early December, up from 43% the previous year. - Women & Gen Z lead the charge: 77% of women start in November or earlier; 29% of 18–24-year-olds start even earlier. 🏷️ Real Brand Examples of Value-Led Holiday Campaigns ALLIES OF SKIN stretched Black Friday into a month-long campaign, reducing urgency but building trust, delivering 80%+ YoY growth. P Louise launched gifting early, with payment plans for its £110 & £250 advent calendars, making them more accessible to younger, budget-conscious buyers. Liberty. staged holiday beauty into three phases: July pre-sales for loyalists, editorial storytelling to build hype, & a September full launch. GLOSSYBOX offered an £85 advent calendar (worth £585) - a 6× value multiplier that drove subscriber loyalty. Boots UK released £20 “little luxury baubles” stuffed with minis valued up to £68, perfect value stocking fillers. 📧 What This Means for Beauty Marketers Beauty remains a priority spend. Campaigns should lean into value while preserving perceived quality. Holiday shopping starts earlier. Launch gift sets, bundles, and content well before Black Friday. Value sensitivity is high. Highlight payment plans, smaller curated sets, and discount messaging strategically. 🚀 Why esbconnect & Optivo Are the Q4 Power Channel Retarget those anonymous high-intent browsers and trigger urgency in real time via email : “Only 250 advent calendars left, secure yours now.” Target new customers & encourage them to subscribe ahead of Q4 with early access to sales or added perks Promote value clearly to new customers and avoid discounts with payment plan messaging and curated bundles delivered to inboxes. Get into the inbox of new customers & build anticipation early: Use teasers and countdown flows ahead of social or retail launch. 💬 Final Thought Holiday beauty campaigns aren’t just about what’s on the shelf, they’re about how value is communicated. The brands winning in 2025 are doing it through early, personalised, & value-led storytelling. 📧 With Optivo, beauty brands can turn browsers into subscribers & subscribers into buyers at exactly the right moment.

Half our marketing budget targeted women 25-34. Our highest converting audience? Men 45-65 buying gifts. Discovered this by accident when analyzing order patterns from last Diwali season. These gift-buying men were completely invisible in our targeting strategy. Weird pattern we noticed: ⤵︎ They never used discount codes ⤵︎ Always chose express shipping ⤵︎ Bought our highest-priced items ⤵︎ Had near-zero return rates Our acquisition cost for this segment was 4X lower while average order value was 3.2X higher. Instead of ignoring this insight, we rebuilt our entire holiday strategy around it: ↗︎ Created "gift concierge" landing pages with curated selections ↗︎ Added gift wrapping and personalized message options ↗︎ Developed email sequences specifically for gift occasions ↗︎ Built lookalike audiences based on this high-value segment These changes increased our holiday revenue by 142% year-over-year while reducing marketing spend by 17%. The most profitable audience segments rarely match your brand's imagined customer avatar. Data reveals who's actually buying, not who you think should be buying. What hidden audience segments are you overlooking?

Marketers, throw out your one-size-fits-all holiday plan. Intuit Mailchimp’s latest research, Holiday Shopping Unwrapped, shows that the holiday shopping season is a multi-month journey with distinct phases, each defined by a different shopper mindset. Think of this as a teaser for all the valuable insights in the report. The key to winning is understanding this "ebb and flow" and aligning your marketing to meet customers where they are. Let’s break down the 7 different phases and archetypal shopping behaviors within each: 1. Early Lead-Up (Oct 1 - 31): The season kicks off with Gift-Giving Lifers, the early birds motivated by preparedness. They want to get their shopping done before the frenzy. Cater to them by reframing messaging around smart, joyful planning. 2. Pre-Peak Sales (Nov 1 - mid-Nov): This phase is for Joyful Shoppers, who are more deliberate in their purchases. They are motivated by joy and nostalgia, not just savings. Win them over by highlighting emotionally resonant products that offer meaning and connection. 3. Peak Sales (Mid-Nov - Nov 30): This is for the Discount Devotees. They are driven by the pursuit of a great deal and the fear of missing out (FOMO). Appeal to their sense of reward and make them feel like they've "outsmarted the system." 4. Festive Phase (Dec 1 - mid-Dec): Meet the Curators. They're not just looking for deals; they're searching for something special with a story behind it. To capture them, shift from transactional marketing to emotional storytelling. 5. Last-Minute Sprint (Mid-Dec - Observational Days): The pressure is on for the Last-Minute Listers. They're anxious about gifts arriving on time. Brands can become problem-solvers by offering practical, low-friction solutions like express delivery or in-store pickup options. 6. Betwixtmas (Observational Days - Dec 30): This is the indulgent phase for the Self-Gifters. After weeks of giving, they're focused on rewarding themselves with the things they really wanted. Leverage this "me-first" mentality with messaging that shifts from "giving" to "gratifying.” 7. New Year (New Year's Eve - Early Jan): The focus shifts to renewal and self-improvement for the Self-Improvers. They are motivated by resolutions and a desire for a fresh start. Campaigns should emphasize savings and progress-oriented purchases to help them start fresh. My key takeaway for marketers: It’s not just a singular opportunity ahead of you. So be agile. Use data to understand your audience's emotional state. Then, tailor your email and SMS strategy to each phase. Your marketing should match the ebb and flow of the season—not just be a list of promotions. ↑ That’s your strategic roadmap. Get your free copy of the report: https://lnkd.in/eupdY9VP

I've noticed something about holiday social media that most founders miss. The secret isn't just pushing "holiday content."  It's understanding how your customers 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 experience this season. Here are 3 approaches I recommend to my CPG clients: 1. Leverage transition moments Those early sunsets when everyone's decorating for the holidays?  That's your opportunity.  Show your product naturally fitting into these moments.  If you sell tea, show it being enjoyed while putting up lights.  If it's skincare, feature your night routine as part of winter evening self-care. 2. Address seasonal challenges Winter's shorter days affect everyone's energy and mood.  Don't just sell your product - show how it supports people through these real challenges.  Whether it's your morning supplements or energizing drink, connect it authentically to these shared experiences. 3. Go beyond basic gifting Instead of just labeling your product "the perfect gift," tap into genuine gift-giving moments.  Show the relief of finding the right present.  Capture the joy of self-gifting after hosting duties. Make it real. The brands seeing real growth this season aren't just decorating their content with holly. They're meeting their customers in moments that matter. Want to discuss your brand's holiday strategy? Let's talk - comment below or DM me.