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Retailers Get In The Holiday Spirit With Cross-Channel Campaigns

To celebrate the official kick-off of the holiday season, the RTP editorial team is sharing their thoughts on the best campaigns of the year. Although it is still early, and undoubtedly, more examples will crop up, retailers and retailers of all sizes and segments have already pulled out the stops. 

There were no specific rules or regulations regarding the type of company we could select. We were only asked what about the campaigns were most compelling and what other businesses could learn from them. Our thoughts are below: 

Debbie Hauss, Editor-in-Chief: I am quite impressed with the holiday TV ads from Target…both the children’s ad with the child who shrinks to the size of the toys after eating a marshmallow, and the ad showing men in their underwear creating a holiday tune with their bellies. Both ads are visually compelling, entertaining and capture the holiday spirit in a unique way. They also clearly identify the advertiser, Target in this case. Too often ads try so hard to be artistic and clever that afterwards you cannot remember what the ad was for.

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Alicia Fiorletta, Senior Editor: I have to say, I gotta hand it to Macy’s for constantly executing a great campaign during the holiday season. The retailer’s “Believe” campaign has become a mainstay in its marketing arsenal, providing a fun and cheerful way for consumers to give back. From November 7 to December 24, customers can visit their local Macy’s store to drop stamped letters addressed to “Santa at the North Pole,” into special Santa Mail letterboxes. Now, consumers can even visit Macys.com/Believe to create and send their letters to Santa. For each letter collected in-store and online, Macy’s will donate $1, up to $1 million, to Make-A-Wish, helping to grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions. It’s a great way to have some fun with the youngsters in your family while reminding them what the holidays are all about: Giving and good cheer. 

Rob Fee, Managing Editor: I’m more surprised by what we won’t be seeing in this year’s batch of holiday themed spots. Anheuser-Busch recently announced that it would not feature the Clydesdale horses its holiday commercials this year. While I will admit to not paying much attention to these commercials in the past, seeing these ads every holiday season since the 80’s has made them a tradition. Times change though, and the company’s new ads are, perhaps, better targeted to today’s audience. And don’t worry, the Clydesdale horses will be back for this year’s Super Bowl.

Kim Zimmermann, Managing Editor: While I watched it online — as it is an ad for UK supermarket chain Sainsbury — I was intrigued by an ad about the Christmas 1914 truce between British and German soldiers fighting in WWI. While not what you might expect as an uplifting holiday message — and at more than 3 minutes it is much longer than a typical commercial — it does capture the holiday spirit of peace and sharing. They used letters and interviews with historians to be as historically accurate as possible, and it is a high-value production. Of course they are selling the candy bar featured in the ad in vintage packing at Sainsbury, but I’ll give them a pass as they’re donating the proceeds to wounded soldiers. 

Glenn Taylor, Associate Editor: Earlier this year we saw RadioShack try to recapture its magic by introducing the commercial with various ’80s icons taking over the store. It looks like they (sort of) went to that formula again in having Weird Al Yankovic sing about a drone heliquad toy in a new commercial. While the company has been in financial disarray, I enjoyed the emphasis on the drone heliquad, as it shows that they do offer newer items that aren’t batteries or phone cords. I’m sure it’s no coincidence that the Radio Shack team selected Weird Al, given how he has done an excellent job reinventing himself for each decade. Radio Shack, through all their difficulties, certainly has hopes to do the same.

Brian Anderson, Associate Editor: Heineken launched an intriguing campaign this year that lets consumers transform digital messages into handwritten holiday notes—aiming to to help busy individuals spread the holiday spirit. In partnership with Geometry Global and tech platform Bond, an robot designed to mimic personalized script and write 400-character messages, Heineken is aiming to make a more personal connection with loved ones this holiday season. This type of personalization is unique, and will keep the brand top-of-mind  do to the unorthodox service.

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