HOLIDAY CAMPAIGNS THAT KEEP ON GIVING

November 3, 2011

In our technologically-laden world – where we’re constantly bombarded with tweets, blasts, pings and pokes – many brand marketers are realizing that there’s still something special about receiving a parcel in the post during the holiday season.

Long before the idea of brand persona became the cornerstone of marketing philosophy, the holiday gift was one of those special traditions where business – especially those in B2B – got to show off their human side. Creative services would use the opportunity to create greeting cards that showcased the kind of award-winning work they dreamed of yearlong, while merry marketers sourced for the perfect gift that would set them apart from the slew of gift baskets piling up on their clients’ desks.

Contracting budgets and expansions in digital marketing tools have left many feeling like physical holiday cards and gifts are too extravagant and too costly to create and distribute. The rationalization that an e-card is ‘eco’ has also made it easier to default to a digital holiday greeting.

Of course for some brands, a digital holiday message aligns perfectly with their brand persona – especially if the platform demonstrates a brand’s commitment to innovation, its connection to its social community, or an environmental message.

For others though, a reliance on generic template-driven e-greetings, already overloaded in-boxes, and Facebook updates may make e-cards a lost opportunity for your brand to make a personal connection with your audience.

At Parcel, one of our favourite projects year after year is our annual holiday desk calendar. Nowadays, there’s nothing more unexpected than receiving a beautifully designed refillable desk calendar in the mail. But it demonstrates our firm’s inspiration for unexpected brand tactics that have a lasting impact – and we get calls every year from anxious clients ensuring that they’re “on our list.”

Regardless of whether it’s delivered through email, social media channels, or through the good old post office, the bottom-line is that a well–thought holiday greeting campaign campaign can make a deep and lasting impression on audiences. That kind of investment in a strongly aligned brand gift campaign can keep on giving all year long.

Posted in PARCEL POST