There’s magic in the air during the holiday season. Everyone’s a bit more energized, optimistic, and eager to get into the giving spirit. For marketing, growth, and engagement teams, this presents an exciting opportunity, as it gives brands the chance to craft custom messaging that aligns with this unique holiday spirit.

Naturally, there are commonalities that emerge when we examine great holiday campaigns. While it’s always worthwhile to look to your own industry for inspiration, you can often learn just as much from smart marketing tactics being deployed in other verticals. Let’s take a look at five holiday messages and the five key lessons any brand can learn from them.

1. Emotion is a top priority

Buddy The Elf was right: Holiday magic is real! Great holiday marketing taps into that spirit by appealing to the sentiments people are feeling during the holiday season. Arousing emotion in marketing campaigns can be done in a number of ways—from rich imagery to smart emoji usage to note-perfect copy.

This email taps directly into the feelings of self-improvement and optimism we feel at the dawn of the new year. Email’s ability to support in-depth messaging presents a great opportunity to ditch snappy mottos and actually speak to your customers. That’s exactly what this brand does in their upbeat message—while also highlighting the launch of a key new technical integration.

2. Don’t oversell the holidays

Believe us: there’s no need to remind your users it’s the holiday season. Odds are they’ve got a mile-long gift list to tackle and are100% aware that loads of gift shopping is in their immediate future. Thoughtful brands need to consider a less-is-more approach—one that serves up value without overwhelming recipients.

This push notification is a great example of a brand getting it right. It’s friendly without feeling intrusive—and its use of emojis keeps everything casual and light.

3. Get into the holiday spirit and “gift” customers for their loyalty

Some brands don’t spend the holiday pushing sales. Instead, the holidays serve as a key time to build up your brand’s image. As we said earlier, it’s an emotional time. Brands and consumers alike want opportunities to give back and feel closer to others.

This push notification runs with that concept. It’s simple, straight to the point, and gives the brand’s users an opportunity to actually make a difference in the world around them. Again, it’s not an aggressive sell, and that’s okay—not every message needs to be. Remember that the holidays are a magical time, and sometimes the best strategy is simply aligning your brand with the moment.

4. Leverage rich media to provide eye-catching holiday experiences

Is it possible to convey the holiday spirit with more than words? The best holiday campaigns leverage the imagery and aesthetics of the season to catch users’ attention and nudge them to take meaningful action.

Full-screen in-app messages like this one are an effective way to get your message across, but they’re anything but subtle.That said, if you’re going to go big, the holiday season is the perfect time to do it. Going all in with custom typography and visuals is a smart move with this sort of message—adding rich images to outreach can lead to a 57% increase in conversions.

5. Mobile matters—especially during the hectic holiday season

Today, more and more people do their holiday shopping on the go. The holidays have always been a busy time of year for consumers, but the rise of the smartphone has made it possible for brands to offer their customers a streamlined way to organize their holiday shopping and optimize their shopping experiences, both online and off.

Focusing on mobile engagement and emphasizing push notifications is a great way to engage users throughout the busy holiday season and beyond! No one wants to arrive at a store to find the item they wanted just sold out. Everybody benefits when it’s easier to make last-minute purchases directly from their smartphone. Push is a powerful channel to inform users when favorited items are running low or to remind people when shipping deadlines are about to hit.

This particular push notification is an effective way to engage on mobile; it demonstrates how to make the push notifications you send valuable to recipients by providing a specific offer your users can claim. Simple. Clear. Fun. It checks all the holiday boxes.

Anything else?

No matter your industry, the best holiday campaigns draw from time-tested principles and leverage modern customer engagement technologies that deliver in today’s fast-paced, mobile-first world. For even more campaign inspiration, stop by our client stories page and see what the smartest brands are getting right all year long!