How to Inspire Holiday Campaign Success
A strong seasonal item launch for a holiday campaign requires considerable planning, however, the payoff for a specialty business could be transformative.
During the SFA In the Know webinar, “Holiday Hustle: Strategic Planning for Festive Profits,” Elizabeth Hemphill-Burns, senior director of national sales at BrainJuice, discussed everything that makers and retailers should consider when planning for the holiday season, including market research, product development, inventory management, merchandising tactics, and customer feedback.
“Effective planning for holiday savings is crucial for increasing sales, engaging customers, and enhancing brand loyalty,” said Hemphill-Burns.
Quick Bites
Holiday market landscape: Holiday-focused items do not only increase profits but can also help facilitate a better consumer experience, enhance brand visibility, and provide opportunities for brands to eventually gain additional placement with retailers, said Hemphill-Burns. Additionally, no campaign is complete without also considering the perspectives of both the retailer and the customer.
Holiday product innovations: “Design seasonal items that are priced right and are priced in line with everyday items and/or competitive with other items in the category,” said Hemphill-Burns. “Also design packaging or pricing deals that are related to the class of trade. You don’t want something extremely high in a club format.”
Holiday marketing and sales strategy: A company must work with its marketing initiatives to craft a campaign that is equally festive and strategic, said Hemphill-Burns. Sales teams are equally important: they should fine-tune both the in-store and online channels to meet customers where they are.
Executing the Perfect Holiday Campaign
“You should be aiming to satisfy, delight, and dazzle” with your marketing program, said Hemphill-Burns. “This is a huge opportunity to increase brand awareness.” To do this, she suggested developing a targeted marketing campaign for the holiday season across multiple marketing channels, such as social media and email.
When drafting the marketing plan, storytelling will help connect a brand to its consumers. “Be clever. Consumers love it. Retailers love it,” she recommended.
Additionally, she advocated for working with retailers or other brands to help increase a campaign’s reach and impact. For example, once in-store, finding out which items the product would be merchandised near can illuminate interesting ways the product can be marketed. Holiday-specific promotions, like a buy-one-get-one-free limited-time offer, can be an easy way to help drive higher sales volumes.
When discussing the importance of the product, Hemphill-Burns emphasized the role that customer feedback should play in the product development process. Some considerations include taste, price point, and how the customer is using the product. The information is valuable because it not only helps improve a holiday campaign but can also be applied to other parts of the business.
The product should also fit the holiday theme. In the video below, Hemphill-Burns discusses some aspects to consider when creating a seasonal product.
To learn more about how to plan and develop a winning holiday campaign, watch the webinar on demand in the SFA Learning Center.