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.
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 and freebies.
The app is divided into two sections: adults and children. You have to enter the name of a child in order to create a wish list account on the app.
The adult view of the wish list is comparable to what you would see on the website. However, the child’s wish list account is a little more magical.
Kids can pick their own character, ranging from elves to gingerbread and snowmen to help build their wish list. Once they select a character, they move on to another interactive scene where they can build a wish list from the wishing headquarters and decorate individual rooms.
This app is a great option for kids building a wish list that enjoy gaming and interactive elements of Christmas.
Target’s Christmas commercial features Alice in Marshmallow Land, where a small girl goes through Alice in Wonderland inspired adventures, including falling through a Target logo rabbit hole and eating marshmallows to grow smaller. Target usually has great holiday commercials, and their 2014 commercial is perfect for the Christmas season.
7. Starbucks – Sparkly Holiday Gifts
When you think about Christmas shopping, most likely Starbucks does not pop into your head. However, similar to Bath and Body Works, Starbucks adds sparkle and shine to their products for the holidays.
Starbucks’ home page features a graphic to guide you into their holiday tumbler and product selection. Their holiday collection shop is filled with metallic mugs featuring Christmas trees, ornaments, and gift sets.
Starbucks’ website presentation and graphics really hit the spot for extra holiday cheer.
8. Cardstore.com Candid Christmas Cards Contest
Cardstore has a funny contest running right now called the Candid Christmas Cards Contests. Cardstore is looking for candid Christmas photos that capture the ‘real life’ aspect of Christmas – kids crying on Santa’s lap, holiday mishaps, and any other occasions that are candidly caught on camera.
Have any holiday photos like this? Cardstore might just make you a winner.
9. Petsmart’s Holiday Moments and Save a Life Campaign
Don’t forget your pets this holiday season. Petsmart has quite a few holiday elements happening on their website right now, and it is not just all about buying treats and toys for your pet. Petsmart has a Holiday Moment widget, where they feature customers tweeting holiday photos of their pets.
Petsmart’s Pinterest is also decked out for the holidays, with a board solely dedicated to pet gift inspiration. One of their most popular pins features a Christmas wreath made entirely from Christmas dog collars.
Of course, there is always the opportunity to save a life through Petsmart this year. Petsmart offers toys with proceeds helping homeless animals, direct options to donate, or even adopting a pet of your very own for the holidays.
As the season progresses, there are bound to be even more companies that are putting out genius holiday content. There are always the companies that consistently put out great holiday content every year, such as Budweiser and Coke. However, there always seems to be a company that surprises everyone with a tearjerker campaign or something super creative. Who will that company be this year?
When it comes to content marketing, blogging is always in season. All puns aside, with the holidays right around the corner, you might be looking for festive ways to spruce up your blog in the name of Santa and the spirit of Christmas. There are a lot of holiday blogging opportunities to be discovered—nearly every niche can benefit from spreading holiday cheer right through their blog.
Even if you are in the Christmas spirit this holiday season, it might be a bit perplexing as to how you can craft Christmas and the holidays into your blogging routine. If you are stumped on your holiday blogging ideas, we have some creative topics that will put your prospects into the Christmas spirit right along with you.
As an extra special something to you, I’m including short intros that you can use to get your new blog topics started off on the right foot. Be sure to note you can’t copy and paste these: that will get you penalized for duplicate content! You can, however, copy and paste and then reword. It’s easier to do that than come up with these off the top of your head.
With a new set of seasonal blog topics and fun introductions, you will be well on your way to one-upping your competitors with some very merry Christmas content.
Holly, Jolly Blogging Ideas for Business
Business blogs can be a bit dry, but it does not have to be that way for the holidays. These fun holiday blog topic can blend into a variety of business blog while giving your content a seasonal spin.
1. Six Solutions For Balancing Your Christmas Budget
Most people are all ears when it comes to learning new ways to save money. Christmas time is no exception, where people tend to blow budgets to buy that perfect gift. Offering your audience some solutions on budgeting for their Christmas items can help keep money in their pocket during busiest shopping season of the year. Write your best and most informative money saving ideas to help your readers save some coin.
Intro idea for your Christmas budget blog:
As shoppers dig deep into their pockets this time of year, many may feel their bank accounts stretch to accommodate Christmas time expenses. You are making your list and checking it twice, but the price tag for gifts, wrapping paper, and seasonal decor continue to climb. Even though it may be Christmas time, there are smart strategies to budgeting wisely while still checking off every gift on your list. Below are our six smartest solutions for balancing your Christmas budget.
2. Ten Years of Christmas Expenses: The Average Family Budget
This Christmas blog topic is a little more on the statistical side, but it can still make for an interesting read. Using the research conducted by American Research group, break down the statistics between 2004 and 2014 on the average Christmas spending for American families. Remember to tie in your own expertise and offer insight on why you think the budget has increased, decreased, or stayed the same throughout the decade. There is also a lot of additional information on this report that you can include in your blog post, such as analyzing Internet purchasing trends during the holidays.
Intro idea for your Average Christmas Budget Blog:
Have you ever wondered how your Christmas budget stacks up against other American families? The American Research Group recently released a report that breaks down yearly expenses between 2004 and 2014. As you can see, Christmas expenses have fluctuated throughout the last 10 years, and the changes typically correspond with the economy and job market. Take a look at the average expenses dating back to 2004, and see how your spending compares to others across the country.
3. 7 Tips For Scoring The Season’s Hottest Gifts
While some shoppers choose to spend hours (or days) waiting in line for hot holiday items, there are a few tricks of the trade that can help you get those gifts under the tree this year. Research some of the ways that people successfully snag items before they go out of stock. This might include shopping on some hidden gem websites, strategies on finding early deals, or even include some tips of your own.
Intro for your Scoring Hot Gifts Blog:
Every year, there is always that one toy or gadget that flies off store shelves faster than the blink of an eye. Shoppers scramble to get the holiday’s most popular gifts with many coming out of stores empty handed. If you have ever experienced this disappointment, we are here to let you in on a few secrets to scoring the season’s hottest gifts. By following our guide, you will have better luck hunting down and snapping up popular presents before it is too late.
4. Best Apps To Help You Reach Your Resolutions in 2015
Aside from singing Christmas carols and wrapping Christmas gifts, many people are beginning to make resolutions for the upcoming New Year. Studies show that only 8 percent of people actually reach their New Year Resolutions, according to Forbes. One of the trip ups to those striving to reach resolutions is lack of organization. As a person who is business-savvy, you probably have a trick or two up your sleeve when it comes to organizational tips. With hundreds of apps that are dedicated to help people lose weight and managing money, showcase some helpful apps that will help those resolution-makers finally meet their goals.
Intro for your Apps for Resolutions Blog:
Determined to reach your New Year’s Resolution this year? There’s an app for that. One of the keys to successfully reaching your goals for the New Year is organization. Your smartphone can be used as a resource to helping you reach your goals, with endless apps that are designed to help you stay on track for multiple purposes. Whether you are looking to lose weight, manage your money, or travel to unexplored destinations, we have found the most helpful apps to making 2015 a truly happy New Year.
5. Plastic Free: Five Ways To Avoid Debt This Christmas
As we carry over the financing theme, credit card debt is a major concern when it comes to paying for Christmas gifts. Using your expert advice, educate your audience on the best way of avoiding debt during the holidays. This can include not doing all of your shopping at one time, stop shopping once the cash flow runs dry, or other tips that you have come to learn over the years.
Intro for Avoiding Christmas Credit Card Debt:
It is no secret that many Americans pull out the plastic to fund their Christmas time spending. With credit card debt looming over thousands of heads after the holidays, you might be left second-guessing how you decided to pay for those new gadgets. Although using credit cards responsibility is not always a bad thing, it is best to avoid excessive holiday debt if possible. Lucky for you, we are here to help you avoid any potential Christmas debt at all costs. Here are five ways to go plastic free this season, so you can enjoy the holiday without the invoices.
Holly, Jolly Blogging Ideas for Law Firms
If you run a law firm, you might be surprised at how many fun and original blog topics opportunities that are available at your fingertips. While your competitors will likely be blogging the same old stale posts that puts clients to sleep, you will not be in that position this holiday season. Here are 5 creative and seasonal blog topic ideas for your law firm.
6. 7 Holiday Slip Ups That Might Have You Calling An Attorney
This is meant to be a fun and amusing holiday blog post that will get your audience chuckling. Think of holiday party or events where things can go awry, such as too many jello shots at the company Christmas Party, fighting over Black Friday deals, or holiday chaos with neighbors. Use your imagination to talk about why clients might need your services due to slip ups stemming from the holidays.
Intro for your holiday slip ups blog:
Christmas time is a jolly time, but people can do some crazy things during the holidays.
We have all heard crazy stories about Black Friday shopping trips gone haywire, with shoppers fighting over gifts and even giving each other black eyes to score the perfect present. If you are caught up in holiday brawls or find yourself overdoing it on the alcohol, you might find yourself in a legal jam. Here are 7 real slip-ups that might have you calling an attorney.
7. 5 Crimes That Santa Claus Commits Year After Year
Another engaging and amusing blog topic: brainstorm some crimes that Santa Claus realistically commits during Christmas Eve night. For example, Santa crosses a lot of country borders without a passport. He probably doesn’t have a license to fly that sleigh, and sliding down the chimney is grounds for breaking and entering. Have fun with this post and think of 5 crimes that Santa is guilty of committing.
Intro for your Santa Claus crimes blog:
Santa is a man who is full of jolly, but is he also a convicted criminal? If you think about it, Santa crosses quite a few lines from the view of the law. Not many people can get away with entering homes in the middle of the night, or crossing country borders without a passport. We all love Santa Claus, but the man might have some explaining to do in front of a judge. Here are 5 crimes that Santa Claus commits year after year. Can you think of some more?
8. 10 Crimes of Christmas: The Most Common Crimes Committed at Christmas Time
Aside from Santa Claus committing his numerous crimes on Christmas Eve night, everyday people participate in crime during the holiday season as well. Using your expertise, dissect the most commonly committed crimes during the holidays. Perhaps credit card fraud or burglary as attempts to score hot ticket gifts for Christmas time. Analyze credible statistics or use your own experience to share trends with your audience.
Intro for your 10 Crimes of Christmas blog:
On the first day of Christmas the town judge gave to me: 2 years for committing burglary. Now that the holidays are among us, certain trends in crime tend to spike during the holidays. Burglary is one of those crimes, with in home invasions spiking up to X percent higher than other times throughout the year. Shoplifting is also on the rise this time of year, with people stealing items from Christmas Cards to Xbox 360s. The following list features the top 10 crimes committed at Christmas time.
9. 5 Family Friendly Holiday Activities For All Ages
Don’t let your clients forget that family matters most this time of year. Think about the fun activities that you do, or would like to do, with your family during Christmas time. Try to think outside of the box and offer some out of the ordinary activities that would make for an enjoyable time during the holiday season. Encourage your clients to spend time with their families by suggesting your best family friend activities. Remember to take activities in your home town into consideration as well.
Intro for Family Friendly Holiday Activities blog:
The Christmas season is one of the busiest times of the year, but you still want to set aside some time to spend with what matters most: your family. There is the usual decorating the Christmas tree or baking gingerbread cookies, but what if your family is looking for something extra fun to do this season? To help contribute to your Christmas cheer, we have put together a list of 5 fun holiday activities that everyone in the family is sure to enjoy.
10. Tired of Lame Christmas Gifts From Your Spouse? How to Hire a Divorce Attorney
Again, this is meant to be funny — but you should still share valuable and relevant information. Hopefully no one is petty enough to divorce their husband or wife over poor gift choices, but you never know with people these days. Divorce is a tough and uncomfortable subject, so this is an opportunity to lighten things up a bit with some humor. Be sure your call to action includes calling your office for further consultation.
Intro for Lame Christmas Gifts blog:
Are you fed up with getting ties every year for Christmas? Does your husband seem to always forget that Christmas list you make for him every year? If so, hiring the right divorce attorney can put an end to those terrible gifts that you receive at Christmas time. Here are our best tips to hiring the right divorce attorney for your needs.
Holly, Jolly Blogging Ideas for Marketing
The beauty of running a marketing blog is that you have a wide range of fun and quirky blogging opportunities. Marketing is a creative field in itself, so aim to have fun and give your clients an interesting read. The holidays can present interesting angles in your field, and here are a few suggestions to get the ball rolling for your seasonal blog.
11. 5 Unique Holiday Traditions In (Town Name)
If your audience consists a lot of local clientele, take this opportunity to explore unique traditions or holiday activities that occur in your town. For example, Los Angeles has a list of unusual holiday traditions, including a holiday marionette show, King Kong holding mistletoe over Universal Sidewalk, or a living Nativity re-enactment. Think of any interesting traditions in your town, and showcase them on your blog. To give the topic a marketing edge, talk about the best ways to advertise each activity (social media, flyers, etc.).
Intro for Unique Holiday Traditions in (Town Name) blog:
Every town has a few holiday traditions, and (town name) is no exception. While photos with Santa and decorating the tree are tried and true traditions, there are a few unique Christmas activities that occurs in (town name) every year. If you have yet to explore the unique holiday traditions of our town, now is an excellent time to start. Check out these 5 unique holiday traditions that you can enjoy this holiday season.
12. Remix Your Client Holiday Cards With These Quick Tips
Everyone enjoys a Christmas Card, but let’s be honest: business Christmas cards can be a bit drab and impersonal. Before you resort to Dollar General’s stock pile of Christmas cards, considering putting your own spin your greetings this year. To get started with some new and fresh ideas, check out Pinterest’s section of holiday cards. You will find tons of easy ideas that don’t cost a ton of money.
Intro for Holiday Cards Remix blog:
Sending out the same old Christmas cards to clients year after year? Starting this Christmas season, give your clients something other than the standard Santa and sleigh Christmas card. With a little creativity, you can put a new spin on Christmas cards that will give your business a modern edge. Check out these holiday card remix ideas that will have your clients proudly displaying your Christmas card on their fireplace mantel.
13. 5 Ways to Jazz Up Your Website For The Holidays
This is a great blog topic for your clients who have websites (which, hopefully, is most of them). Using your expertise and tips that you have seen around the web, give your clients pointers on how they can easily add pizzazz for the holidays to their websites. Make sure the tips are user friendly and easy to apply, especially if your clients are not the most tech savvy people around. If your clients can’t do dress up their website on their own, offer 5 ways that you can add holiday cheer to their website for them.
Intro for Holiday Website Blog:
You always remember to decorate your store front, but don’t forget about your website. Your website is the face of your business online, and it can use some Christmas cheer this time of year. When it comes to marketing yourself online, use your website to stay on trend with the holidays and season. Here are a few popular ways to jazz up your website for the holidays. If you can’t handle these updates on your own, call us: we are here to make your website a little merrier!
14. 6 Inexpensive Holiday Gift Giveaways For Your Clients
Gift giveaways are fun, and they do not always have to be TVs or other big ticket items to make an impact. If your clients don’t have the budget to give away expensive gifts, they might be looking for more inexpensive options for gift giveaways. Explore fun gift ideas that are easy on the bank account, and encourage your clients to do a gift giveaway this season.
Intro for Gift Giveaway blog:
Christmas is the season of giving, and everyone loves a special holiday treat. You might think that offering free gifts to your clients will take you to the bank, but this isn’t always the case. To spread Christmas cheer and get in the spirit of giving, we have found some inexpensive gift options to give to your clients this holiday season.
15. The Importance of Mobile Friendly Websites During The Holidays
It is no secret that having a mobile friendly website is high priority these days. However, some clients still might not be on the ball. Use the holidays and the busy shopping season as an angle to promote the importance of having responsive design implemented on their website. For example, according to KISSMetrics, one third of all holiday shopping was done on a mobile device in 2013. To take things a step further, 40 percent of Black Friday purchases were made from a mobile device on that very same year. Use statistics and data that you can prove to help support the importance of mobile friendly websites this time of year.
Intro for Mobile Friendly blog:
With emphasis on responsive design and a large percentage of shopping being done on mobile devices, customers come to your website expecting to browse on a tablet or smartphone with no complications. The key to having a smooth transaction between your website’s desktop and mobile version is responsive design, which allows your website to work efficiently on mobile devices. Websites that are not designed for mobile users can have your customers having to panning their screens or zoom out to properly view your content. Now that we are in the heat of the holidays, including responsive design on your website is critical to turning those clicks into conversions.
With these 15 holiday blog topics, you can easily coast through the season without taking too much time to plan your Christmas content. Remember to have fun with your content this season, and always remember the gift of relevance and value.
Anyone having basic knowledge of SEO and website development is familiar with the name of Matt Cutts. A digital “friend” slash ultimate horror to many webmasters, Cutts has been the head of Google’s web spam team and a company employee for almost 14 years.
Matt Cutts surprised the online community in July 2014 with an announcement that held a little secret. A blog post informed the world about the break Cutts intended to take for a couple of months. In his blog post, Cutts wrote:
I talked about this as recently as last month and as early as 2006. And now, almost fifteen years later I’d like to be there for my wife more. I know she’d like me to be around more too, and not just physically present while my mind is still on work.
The leave was initially scheduled to last through October but Cutts presented another surprise in the end of the month. That’s when the world learned his leave was going to be extended into 2015. There has been no specific information about when Cutts will return and numerous people have reasonably began asking the question whether he’s going to come back and fight spam anymore at all.
Cutts later took part in an interview and his answers suggest that a new professional direction could possibly be on the horizon for him.
Brief History of Matt Cutts
Matt Cutts joined Google originally as a software engineer. He has become popular through the numerous blog posts and videos about the best anti-spam techniques, particularly the ones addressing the latest Google updates (the Panda and the Penguin that shocked the SEO world starting 2012).
Cutts is listed as one of the inventors of the Google search engines and web spam patented technology. Since then, he has often been the “bearer of bad news” that informed the SEO community about PageRank downgrades and penalties that have affected the search engine positioning of so many websites.
Cutts has literally made hundreds of videos to answer the most common and pressing questions about algorithm updates, Google’s anti-spam policies, content creation and other news that have affected professionals in the field. He has also participated in a number of public initiatives and he’s also been a Ted speaker.
Are We Bidding Matt Cutts Goodbye?
After announcing the extended leave, Matt Cutts has provided a bit of additional information that has made many think he won’t be coming back.
I loved the part of my job that dealt with keeping an eye on what important news was happening related to Google, but, it’s not clear that having me as a lightning rod for unhappy black hat SEOs, or something, is the best use of anybody’s time compared to working on other things making the world better for Google…so we’ll see.
This is a big change from his original statement. In the first announcement, Cutts made it sound like he wanted to dedicate more time to his family. The next time he addressed the situation, there was some additional information connected to his Google work.
Some more information was shared during a web chat show called This Week in Google. During the show (around 9 minutes and 50 seconds), Cutts said that everyone on the Google anti-spam team was doing exceptionally well since the start of his leave. The leave allowed team members to try new things and approach problems from a different angle.
Cutts also said that the Google team encourages members to rotate between different departments and it’s rare for one professional to remain on the same position for an excessively long period of time. During the interview, Cutts said that he has a big number of other interests (computer graphics and commodity hardware being two of those) and would love to get involved in such an alternative project.
To sum it up, it seems that Cutts has gotten tired of addressing the complaints of blackhat SEO professionals and bringing all of the bad news to such individuals. Though it’s a speculation, his comeback to the Google anti-spam team appears to be highly unlikely. If this prediction comes true, it will mark the end of a crucially important era that has changed the world of SEO and online content creation forever.
It’s also interesting to note that the news about the extended leave was presented at a time during which a major layoff was announced by Microsoft. The latest Microsoft layoff affected Bing Senior Product Manager Duane Forrester. Just like Cutts, Forrester was a very popular professional and a representative of the Bing team who often made key announcements and interacted with webmasters.
Forrester was a member of the Bing team for four years and his layoff indicates that two of the world’s most prominent search engines are facing the task of coming up with new visible personalities. Microsoft justified the layoff with corporate structure changes that affected several prominent Bing teams.
Don’t Panic and Know Where Your Towel Is
Yes, we just did a reference to the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Webmaster forums and blogs have been buzzing with information and reactions about the extended leave. Some have been quite happy about Cutts being gone, others worry about the implications of having somebody else in the driver’s seat.
Google’s algorithm policies have been going in a consistent direction over the past few years and one professional change isn’t expected to have significant impact on the course of events. Sticking to quality content, avoiding spammy techniques and working on increasing audience engagement will certainly continue contributing to effective SEO.
There are some speculations about the latest Penguin update and whether it would have been rolled out differently under the guidance of Matt Cutts. It’s all a learning process, both for the Google anti-spam team and for optimization professionals. Only time will tell whether the Google policies about spammy practices are going to head in a completely different direction in the years to come.
All you have to do is head to your local grocery store to notice Thanksgiving is almost here. There are turkeys everywhere and all of the essentials for a Thanksgiving Day meal. There is nothing quite like walking into a store and smelling pumpkin or pecan pie baking in the bakery, and my stomach grumbles at the thought of delicious food that my family plans to make. I’m sure you’re in the same boat!
It is a great day to give thanks, spend time with family, and also offers a unique marketing chance for all companies (if done correctly). I am going to take a look at the history of Thanksgiving, what it has morphed into in the modern age, and the some brands who have incredible marketing strategies! Don’t worry; I’ll also give you some great tips for your Thanksgiving content and marketing.
The Story of Thanksgiving: A Brief History
It’s hard to miss the basis of Thanksgiving Day history when you head to your kid’s school or the local library. You see tons of adorable little pilgrims and Native Americans in their paper gear, giggling and showing off their cornucopia drawings. What is the full history, however?
In 1621, the Pilgrims celebrated a day of thanksgiving to show thanks for the crops and harvest they had. They were taught how to grow crops on the land by the now infamous Squanto who helped them not only with crops, but also by being a translator between the pilgrims and his tribe. His tribe leader even donated food to the pilgrims for their festival. Historians believe it lasted three days as many harvest festivals in the 1600s did. Three days? Can you imagine three days of turkey, stuffing, and pecan pie? That would be a great tradition to re-kindle, don’t you agree?
After the initial day of thanksgiving, there were a few more celebrations in later years, but it was never officially recognized as a civic holiday until the 1800s. In 1863, Abraham Lincoln declared that there needed to be a national day of thanksgiving and remembrance, and thus Thanksgiving Day was born. To make things easier on everyone (much to future generations approval) the celebration is the fourth Thursday in November.
While we still celebrate Thanksgiving Day on the fourth Thursday of November, the day has seen a lot of changes. Some of our traditional foods aren’t entirely traditional to the feast the pilgrims had, but it is still fun to celebrate this long lasting holiday here in the States. Let’s take a look at the modern times Thanksgiving!
Current Day Celebrations: My, My, How Time Changes
There have been many changes to the holiday, namely that of football and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. People gather around the TV to watch these festivities, which is a far cry from what the holiday used to be – family sitting around a table together. People still do this, and many families have rules that the TV must go off at a certain time in order to be together and talk. However, television plays a major part in many Americans’ Thanksgiving celebrations.
The hallmark aspect of Thanksgiving is obviously giving thanks for what we have. It started out as a religious holiday where people gave thanks to God for all that he provided. However, it has steadily changed from being religious to something where families discuss what they are thankful for, without attending religious services. Some local churches may have events, but nowadays the most important aspect of Thanksgiving is spending time with family. Many times this incorporates a lot of traveling whether driving or flying to meet with extended family.
There are many amazing traditions that we now have in the modern era of Thanksgiving, and many hope to never see these go away. These are:
Eating turkey baked in the oven with sides of mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans in different forms, pie (lots of pie), and stuffing. The meal changes from family to family and depends on the location. The South has seen more people deep-frying turkeys and many on the East Coast seem to prefer cranberries with their meals.
Turkey Day football! What makes the American Thanksgiving uniquely American is the fact that we can watch our favorite sport – football.
We love parades, and there is never a shortage of those leading up to and on Thanksgiving with the most famous being Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Donating to charity and feeding the homeless on Thanksgiving Day. This is something many families will join together to do on Thanksgiving and celebrate the day together at a later time. People hand out Thanksgiving meals to those in need, providing amazing charity.
And of course, the day after Thanksgiving – Black Friday. The name doesn’t harken to the Grim Reaper, but to where businesses’ budgets will be after shopping is finished.
Now that you know the history and how it morphed into our modern day celebration, I am going to look at a few brands that have marketed for Thanksgiving in perfect ways.
The Top 6 Brands Who Do Excellent Thanksgiving Content
1. The NFL. No one can out-do the NFL when it comes to Thanksgiving Day marketing. They know that this holiday is a big day for them and they make sure to put their best forward. The NFL makes sure to use every channel of social media they can push their Thanksgiving Day games and provides schedules as soon as possible for viewers to plan out their day.
In 2013, the NFL knew that if they were going to reach an audience quickly, they needed to be on Instagram. In fact, the social media site announced that it had some of the highest traffic on Thanksgiving, which makes sense as everyone wants to show off their meals. The NFL published a schedule on their Instagram account, making it accessible to their followers. Such a neat idea! This is a great example of knowing where your client base will be on social media and how to market directly to them.
2. Oreo Has a Great Idea for Leftovers. Another genius ad campaign that is still relevant was Oreo’s suggestion with what to do with Thanksgiving Day leftovers. It created the Leftover Dessert Taco, which included bits from your favorite desserts from the day and the Oreo filling. All you have to do is simply take out the filling, add your desserts and fold – there you go, your own Dessert Taco! This provided a great DIY lesson while also promoting the brand without making people feel that they were being forced into buying Oreos.
3. Starbucks to the Rescue! The holidays are always a fun, yet exhausting time, which makes Starbucks a prime candidate for coffee lovers everywhere. The chain knows this and makes sure to market as much as possible. While not a Thanksgiving trend, the chain released their red cups early, which, of course, brought in several coffee lovers who love those red cups! They also provide people with the ability to buy a Thanksgiving Blend coffee that is perfect to drink why giving thanks and celebrating. No matter the season or holiday, Starbucks does its best to meet the needs of their clients and bring in some pretty snazzy revenue!
4. Of Course, There’s Always Betty Crocker. Thanksgiving is a holiday that Betty Crocker never takes from granted, providing people with recipes that are perfect for the day. They have an entire section of their website dedicated to Thanksgiving and various recipes people can use. They make sure that you know you can use Betty Crocker products, but still make it easy for everyone. Betty Crocker also makes sure to take social media by storm, and utilize the one channel that people readily scour for last minute recipe ideas – Pinterest. They have a whole Pinterest board dedicated to Thanksgiving, giving people a great selection of recipes to choose from when using their smartphones. Quite the smart idea, don’t you agree?
5. We All Know About Macy’s and the Parade. Everyone loves the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and many people tune in, in the morning while starting to bake and cook. There are many people who countdown to this event, which means Macy’s can really benefit from it! In fact, they have an amazing interactive website helping people know what to expect, the route and the lineup.
This is great for people who plan on attending, but also great for those at home who want to plan their day around it. While it might not seem like a genius marketing move, many people look on the name of Macy’s with a sense of happiness, making many people willing to purchase items from the store. When you see a Macy’s store, you might think of Thanksgiving and Christmas, simply because of their genius campaigns over the years.
6. TJX Corporation is Closing Their Doors on Thanksgiving. In recent years, more and more stores are opening earlier and earlier for Black Friday. However, this has sparked a lot of controversy as many don’t believe companies should be open and have sales on holidays.
While closing on Thanksgiving isn’t some grand Turkey Day marketing campaign with emails, newsletters, and decorations, it is a great move for the TJX Corporation and is a smart bit of marketing. In fact, many people are saying they plan on shopping at TJ Maxx and Marshalls more, especially before Thanksgiving, and on Black Friday. This will undoubtedly bring in a lot more revenue for the company.
What can you learn from this for your Thanksgiving marketing? Always encourage your customers to spend time with their family. Avoiding doing sales pitches on Thanksgiving Day, and save it for the days and weeks before or the day after. This shows you care about your customers and employees, which is a great way to promote your company in the minds of customers!
How Can You Get Stellar Thanksgiving Content?
While these are major brands, it is possible to get some stellar Thanksgiving content for your campaign. You don’t need to wait until next year to start some of these ideas, either! They go hand-in-hand with the Christmas holidays as well. A few ideas to take into consideration are:
1. Encourage People to Give. One thing that sets the holiday season apart, especially Thanksgiving, is how much people are willing to give and volunteer. Consider finding a few non-profits to sponsor for Thanksgiving and encourage your client base to donate time or money. At first, this may seem like something that could lose you money, but many people view businesses that help non-profits or charities in a very positive light, impacting your revenue in big and amazing ways. When you encourage people to give, offer it in an easy way for them to access the website to give donations. If you are a storefront business, ask people when they check out if they’d like to donate and consider having a jar nearby to place the money in.
2. Give Out Thanksgiving Day Relevant Content. When you create content around Thanksgiving, make sure you make a few pieces more Thanksgiving oriented. You can say what your company is thankful for, have designs of turkeys and other traditional Thanksgiving décor, and highlight various charities. You can find numerous ways to make content that is relevant to the holiday while also helping to promote your business. You might even find more people that are willing to shop with you if you have some sort of tie-in with the holiday. Relevancy is everything in content, and what is more relevant on Thanksgiving than pie and turkey?
3. Participate in a “30 Days of Thankfulness” On Social Media. A recent trend over the past few years has been social media users updating and tweeting #30DaysofThankfulness. They list one thing each day that they are thankful for until the end of November. It isn’t always something mind-blowing, but it gives people a way to be positive in the holiday season. Consider doing something similar with your business. Update your social media sites with what you are thankful for, and urge your followers and clients to reply with what they are thankful for, as well. A great thing to do is feature a few of these by re-tweeting them or sharing them on Facebook for others to see. This will help encourage more engagement from your client base, and get everyone in a positive mood, which is something we all need right now.
Take a note from some of these great brands for your Thanksgiving Content Marketing and make something memorable and fun for all! Create your own ideas or follow the above suggestions to create a campaign and be prepared to grow and tweak it throughout the coming years. You’ll be quite happy with the results when you celebrate holidays with your client base!
From all of us here at Express Writers, we would like to wish you and yours a very happy Thanksgiving!
A pair of mouse ears and a big castle – these are internationally recognized symbols that mean that you are about to watch an incredible movie or are heading to the happiest place on earth. We all know Disney, and many of us have gladly watched many of their films. What makes this company so successful and what can you learn from them when it comes to copywriting? Let’s take a look at this powerful and incredible company for some great copywriting inspiration!
Disney’s Four Foundational Copywriting Skills
Beloved by thousands worldwide, Disney had its early beginnings in the 1920s. Today, it has over 44 resort locations worldwide, hundreds of thousands of products, and is an all-time favorite kids’ and classic movies & animation producer. Let’s take a look at how this very successful company excels in web content.
1. Repurposing Content. If there is one thing any copywriter can see with Disney, it’s that they know how to repurpose content and get the most out of it. Some of the obvious repurposing is with classic fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Anderson. While the stories are a far cry from the debauched and terrifying original renditions, the stories still carry some of the same life lessons. In addition, Disney does repurpose their existing content to create great, new content. We get several fantastic films, television shows, and many other things from their repurposed content.
What can you learn from this? That repurposing content is possible and is a great idea! It helps you get the most out of your content without making you spend days and weeks on new content. While you won’t be repurposing it to be the next biggest blockbuster, you can still repurpose it for great revenue. Ways to repurpose your content could be to use chapters from e-books as blogs, turning blogs into infographics, and making videos of your existing content. Make sure to take a page from Disney, however, and make your repurposed content unique!
2. Learning from Others to Improve Content. One thing that has kept Disney relevant is how they always manage to change with the times. Often, Disney is one of the first companies to make large steps and if they aren’t the first, they make sure to adapt as quickly as possible. In an attempt to stay up-to-date with current trends, Disney released something known as Oh My Disney, which seems to be heavily inspired by the ever-popular Buzzfeed. This is great for Disney because while they are already quite successful, they know that they need to follow other successful business models to get a wider audience. Creating this site has given Disney fans the easy-to-consume articles everyone loves with Buzzfeed, but with the best flair possible – Disney flair.
This shows how vital it is to learn from the trends and improve your content to match them. Buzzfeed is a great place for inspiration to show just how people want their content delivered. Yes, people like longer pieces, but they also enjoy reading those fun “You Know You’re a 90s Kid When” posts. Creating something that meets the trends and is easily shared on social media is important for content nowadays, and Disney jumped on that trend quickly. Take the time to research trends and how they will work with your business. Make any necessary changes to have an incredibly successful content marketing campaign.
3. Epic Social Media Strategy. On top of following the latest trends to improve their content, Disney also has an incredible social media strategy. They have a great presence on Vine, YouTube, and Pinterest, giving fans the ability to look at various forms of social content. On Vine, the company encourages people to create videos for a contest to be featured on the Vine channel, which is excellent advertisement. They also provide great pins for followers on Pinterest such as Disney foods, fun images, and great holiday inspiration.
This is an excellent suggestion for other businesses and shows just how effective a great strategy can be. While the company is quite large, they take opportunities to make their fans and followers feel a connection with them. This is a great idea for any company, large or small, giving you the chance to talk with clients and make them feel appreciated. You can have people submit videos for contests, or you can create a collaboration board on Pinterest. Whatever you do, make sure your audience feels connected to you with your social media campaign.
You can also learn from some of their social media blunders. In the article referenced above, the writer points out that Disney doesn’t have the strongest presence on places such as Facebook and Twitter, which require more one on one communication. Take a look at their strategy on those sites and see if there is anything you think you should avoid doing.
4. Winners in the Storytelling Field. Another great form of copywriting done by Disney is their ability to tell stories. No matter what it is, this company knows how to get people involved in their films, shows, and parks. It is obvious they tell stories in their films, but the instant you walk into a Disney theme park, you are transported from one world to another and every inch is filled with stories. Their campaigns all have story elements to them, and when they talk about their founder Walt Disney, they always share it in story format. Disney knows that one of the most powerful and effective tools out there is storytelling.
You can do the same with your content campaigns. Telling stories is a great way to connect with your audiences, and give them something entertaining. Your story can be about an experience you had, how your company started, or any other idea you have. It doesn’t need to start with “once upon a time” or “in a galaxy far, far away” to be powerful.
Take a few of these ideas from Disney and apply them to your own content strategy! You might not get to the juggernaut size of the Disney Corporation, but you can still build and improve your company following their strategy. Who knows, in the end, maybe you’ll be able to team up with someone as powerful as Darth Vader.
