Holiday season marketing is a great way to increase sales and generate excitement about your brand. There are plenty of ways to do this in the outdoor industry as the winter months roll around. Of course, a strong holiday campaign is always prepared in advance, but you can add these tips to your strategy anytime. Keep reading for our list of holiday marketing tips and techniques, and check out this article on successful holiday campaigns.

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Up your email marketing game

Email marketing is a great way to target and communicate with potential and existing customers if you don't use it already. Though sometimes it may get a bad rap for being pushy or overwhelming, email marketing can be done in an informative and thought-out way. For example, consider creating catchy templates that advertise your holiday campaign, keep it brief, and be sure to include visuals and relevant information about the ad's timeline and deals. Another great touch is to personalize your message with the customer's name. 

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Try to craft a message that will hook your audience in the subject line and keep them reading while appealing to things they might be interested in. As an outdoor brand, think about the demographics your product reaches and who might be interested in giving or receiving the item this holiday season. 

Lastly, consider how programs like MailChimp or Klaviyo could help organize and analyze your email marketing strategy.

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Show gratitude 

The holidays are all about giving, and there's no better time to give back to customers. A great way to run a successful holiday campaign is to thank the customers who have supported your brand all year. This could mean gestures like a thank you message, or giveaways, free gifts with a purchase, and limited-time discounts. 

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Reward early shoppers

One way to get creative with how you show gratitude is by encouraging and rewarding early shoppers. Holiday deals and discounts often start as early as November, so your rewards for early shoppers should too. You don't want to push too much of the campaign into the holidays when customers have already purchased gifts for the season. Some types of rewards include:

• A VIP or exclusive program with deals or features
• Limited-time coupons, holiday promotions, or extended offers 
• Crafting a program or reward system for customers who refer others 
• Hosting a virtual workshop or event that customers would be interested in 
• Inviting customer feedback
• Free or expedited shipping conditions

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Make it memorable 

While the holidays are an exciting time, it's easy for customers to feel overwhelmed with the amount of shopping, consumption, and sales during the winter months. For this reason, your holiday marketing strategy must be one to remember. Think about what sets your brand and campaign apart from others. Do you focus on a niche outdoor activity or sport? Does your target audience prioritize specific values or products? 

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A perfect example is provided by Patagonia, who created the "Don't Buy This Jacket" campaign for Black Friday 2011. Focused on preserving the environment, Patagonia launched the movement as a way to draw attention and encourage shoppers to rethink before they buy. While some people may see the ad as pointless, many of Patagonia's customers really care about the Earth, so this was a great way to show care for the planet and was well-received. Since then, many brands have joined the trend of launching anti-Black Friday campaigns.

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Also, consider the role of aesthetics and ensure the campaign is in line with the company colors and style; you don't want to create a campaign that becomes unrecognizable from the brand.

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Holiday Hashtags

Lastly, a super simple way to help measure impressions and boost engagement is the creation of a custom hashtag. Unlike other examples on this list, holiday hashtags are free and easy to use. Try to avoid just throwing the words "holiday," "winter," or "Christmas" at the end of existing hashtags.

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Think about ways to create plays on words, draw attention to unique brand qualities, or even make users laugh. These also tie into creating a memorable holiday campaign, as customers will become familiar with and recognize the hashtag. On social media, everyday users can use this tag to show content, products, and lifestyle shots related to the campaign, which brand accounts can also re-share as user-generated content.

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Finally, whether you launch your campaign on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or another platform, hashtags provide great metrics about who is viewing your brand and the demographics being impacted.

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Wrapping Up

Just because it's December doesn't mean it's too late to launch the perfect winter campaign. Think about what type of needs your consumers have, tap into gift-giving, and consider how to make a campaign that sticks in the minds of your target audience.

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