The Holiday Shopping Season Is Coming!

We officially had our first rainy Fall day after an unseasonably warm September on the West Coast, and it immediately made the whole team think of pumpkin spice lattes, cozy movie nights and, of course, the marketing for the upcoming holiday shopping season. Q4 (or the 4^th financial quarter of the year) officially starts on Saturday and, for many, it is the most profitable 3 months of the year, with some companies making up to 40% of their annual profits between October 1^st and December 31^st.

The looming holiday shopping season might feel overwhelming, especially in the face of a global downturn, but The Simple Department has your back. We’ve put together 4 simple tips to prepare your marketing for the holiday shopping season (plus a part two with even more tips, coming in a couple weeks!).

Seasonal-themed Product Offerings

For many, the changing seasons signal to people that it’s time to switch up their wardrobe, eating habits, makeup routine, and more. People fall (pun intended) hard into Autumn and the holiday season as a whole, and as soon as the first leaf turns orange, they want Fall-themed everything, especially if it's limited edition. If you’ve already planned special seasonal product offerings for Q4 – perfect, now you need a comprehensive plan to market them and ensure they’re getting in front of the right shoppers right now. If you haven’t pre-planned anything, you may still have an opportunity to do so, depending on your product or service.

For example, if you run a cookie subscription box then a) please send us the details so we can get on the list immediately and b) it's probably not too late to plan a winter-themed box full of gingerbread, peppermint, and more. If you provide professional services such as dental care, your seasonal product offering could instead be offering a tooth whitening package for those holiday parties which, according to all accounts, will be making a reappearance this year. If it is too late to incorporate a seasonal product or two into your Q4 lineup, now is the perfect time to take note of products that your competitors are offering or products that jump out to you as the perfect fit and start planning now for next Fall.

Holiday Shopping Season Promotions

Whether you have seasonal-themed products or offerings or not, there is always time to run some promotions that tie into the season. While big deal days like Black Friday and, for our fellow Canadians, Boxing Day, are obvious choices and should definitely be considered, there are a lot of other opportunities for unique promotions this quarter.

Here are some ideas for promotions you could run:

1. If you have a sample or travel-sized version of your product, consider offering a special where loyal customers can purchase a pack of 5 sample/travel-sizes as stocking stuffers at a special price – not only does this bump their total order value, but it also gets your product into the hands of more potential future customers.

2. Consider a surprise gift with purchase, especially for first-time customers. Customers are more likely to make a repeat purchase from you if they feel delighted when they receive their order, and you create a lasting impression – and it is the gift-giving season after all!

3. Tap into smaller movements like Giving Tuesday or Small Business Saturday instead of discounting your product on Black Friday. Instead of devaluing your product, add value to it and your business in the eyes of your consumers by supporting a local charity or organization.

Holiday Product Shoots

If you know what you want to sell and how you want to promote it – it’s time to dive into the visuals! A Fall and Holiday photoshoot is a cost-effective way to get all your seasonal promotional photos done at once, so that you have a rich library to pull from all season long. It also ensures that your visual assets are cohesive across all platforms and touchpoints and helps to give your holiday shopping season campaigns a solid identity.

There are a couple things to keep in mind while planning your photoshoot.

• Do you want it to just focus on the photo with some seasonal props or do you want models involved to make it feel more alive?

• When do you need to launch your Fall campaign? Depending on your product offerings, this could be November 1st or it could have been 3 weeks ago. Turnaround time is going to be key.

• Do you already have a specific campaign feel in mind or do you want help from a marketing consultant and stylist?

We offer seasonal product photoshoots at The Simple Department (locals and non-locals welcome!), and there are also lots of other options online and in most urban areas that vary hugely in price and options. Feel free to start a chat with one of our Project Managers if you would like to know more!

Holiday Creator Campaigns

Have you considered working with a creator (or several) to make your Q4 as profitable as possible? While many of the biggest (and most expensive) creators will already be fully booked for this busy season, there are a huge number of niche and micro creators who create beautiful content and have highly engaged audiences. Creators bring excellent value to the table – not only do they create gorgeous, on-target content, but they also have a built-in audience to share it with. The content that they create is usually shareable beyond their profile (but ensure you check the contract you’re working with for fine print), which means it can be used for in-house ads and campaigns, in addition to sharing on the creator’s profile.

When it comes to working with creators, the key is to find the right type of creator who is creating content that resonates with your brand and speaks to your specific audience. Then, once you’ve found the right creators, it can take time and dedication to build a good relationship with them – which can develop into a long-term partnership if their content and audience generate strong awareness, sales, and/or reviews. That’s where we come in! We’ve worked with hundreds of creators across a variety of industries and are armed with the best tools on the market to find and develop relationships with the right creators for your brand. Get in touch with us to learn how!

It’s Never Too Late to Plan

There are a lot of moving pieces to the holiday shopping season, but it doesn’t have to be overwhelming, and you don’t have to miss this opportunity to bring in additional revenue and reach new audiences. Reach out to us if you’d like help planning your holiday campaigns, or just want to book a strategy session with a fractional CMO.

Don’t forget to keep your eyes out for part two of this series in a couple weeks, where we will be covering some of the technical considerations to keep in mind this holiday shopping season.