Target Launches The Holiday Odyssey

Target followed a Storytelling approach engaging audiences with a brand experience titled Adventure, where three kids and Bullseye set on a  quest to light up a Giant tree, set in a magical forest. In another video, Target introduces Free shipping an returns with a   story where the adventure is Set on the Whipped Cream Sea, with LEGO pirate ships carrying precious holiday cargo. Target has boosted the viewer engagement with Free Digital Storybook spot “The Holiday Odyssey” featuring the epic adventure. In the newest spot titled Undercover, the gang goes past the Stormtroopers, through a maze of giant presents as the  quest to light the ridiculously giant tree continues. Target began the Holiday marketing effort,  over a month ago, with first Chapter titled “The Journey Begins”.

Key Takeaway: Engaging experiences targeted at an audience with storytelling approach requires more than a single post or video for audiences to discover the content. Creating an experience that helps audiences discover about your offers and products with a video makes for more interactions, repeat visits and conversions.

 

Disney Stores Launches 12 Most Wished For Gifts

Disney Stores Most Wished For Gifts campaign features a contest that requires customers to share a pic with #12GiftsContest to win a USD 1000 Disney Store Card.

Most-Wished-For Gift of the Day: Captain Phasma Mask! Fly back to Halloween mode and post a pic of you dressed up as a character from a galaxy far, far away. May the Force be with your pic! Tag #12GiftsContest & @Disneystore for your chance to win a $1,000 Shop Disney Store Card. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Contest ends 12/12/15.

Key Takeaway: Brand Contests that are run for a limited time with an offer can create a greater impact as Social Media helps create buzz for your offers with popular Giveaways.

Febreze Lightens Up The Mood 

With the holiday season advertising being all about miracles, wishlists and Stocking Stuffers, Febreze has created a humorous campaign that is likely to be noticed, much like the Ugly Sweaters for its unmarketing.

Febreze, a Proctor and Gamble brand has taken 12 Days of Christmas to the level of a parody by introducing 12 Stinks of Christmas.  Lynch and Morrison will premier their music video during the Febreze #12Stinks of Christmas Party – ugly Christmas sweaters all – at LightBox. Attendees can expect to sing along to the kitschy tune and learn that they can be guest-ready all season long with Febreze through interactive product demos.

Febreze has reinvented the classic holiday tune, “The 12 Days of Christmas,” to showcase the stinks of the season and how to stay guest ready, with the debut of “The #12Stinks of Christmas” starring the hilarious duo, Jane Lynch and Matthew Morrison.

“Sure, it’s always great to see family; it’s great to walk into a kitchen and smell a pie in the oven,” said actress Jane Lynch. “But when the turkey’s burning and your bathroom is seeing a lot of foot traffic from party guests, it hits you: the holidays stink! And, Febreze is a great solution to eliminate odors and stay guest ready.”

Febreze boasts a line of products with freshness capabilities that range from ridding of pet odors and tackling sweat stink to decorating the home with scent and freshening on the go and has introduced a limited edition holiday line. Febreze continues to be one of the fastest growing brands in P&G’s portfolio of household brands and bring innovative products to market. Fresh air is an essential and basic human right, and that the air we breathe can give us “fresh starts.”

Key Takeaway: When you need your advertising to break through the clutter, unmarketing may get your brand noticed with a campaign that brings out the unusual.

Lowes Foods 30 Days Of Giving

Lowes Foods has newer ideas to inspire giving this holiday season. One of them is a handwritten letter that makes the gesture seem genuine and another idea is to have the family play a board-game.

Key Takeaway: A series of engaging social media posts over a prolonged time can get your offers, deals and campaigns noticed, as it builds anticipation with users looking forward to the next announcement or offer.

Macy’s Make-A-Wish

Macy’s Make-A-Wish Campaign weaves Christmas Magic with a Wish-writer pen that brings magic to unusual situations that makes Christmas look magical. “The star of the commercial is the magic pen, and we were trying to find another way to get engagement — this idea of gamification is the way to do it,” said Martine Reardon, CMO of Macy’s. “It’s our twist of bringing something traditional and nostalgic to the modern way the generations of today work, which is on mobile devices and through apps.”

Key Takeaway: Making Audiences nostalgic is a way of capturing audience interest and launching your campaign when audiences start looking for gift ideas can help you strike the right chord.

Staples Launches More For Less Campaign

 

“We’re giving our customers more for less this holiday season with exceptional savings on a great selection of stocking stuffers and last-minute gifts,” said Peter J. Scala, executive vice president – merchandising, Staples. “At Staples, we know our customers are busy so we offer convenient solutions for their holiday shopping needs including a buy online and pick up in store option, Price Match Guarantee, and free shipping for our Staples Rewards members during the holidays and everyday.”

Staples more for less campaign is targeted at different buyer personas, From the Inner Geek to the Fashion-Forward co-worker, with great last-minute gifts and deals throughout the holidays.

Key Takeaway: Staples More for Less campaign is notable for targeted offering for customers value-shopping for different types of Gift recipients.

Hallmark Entertainment Channel’s Countdown To Christmas

Hallmark Entertainment Channel’s Countdown to Christmas features a movie premiere every Saturday night bringing new movies every Saturday night, with engaging posts for Christmas.

Key Takeaway: Hallmark Entertainment Channel’s Countdown to Christmas brings singularity of the brand value proposition of Family entertainment up-front, making it the channel of choice for the time when families are most likely to be looking for family entertainment options.

Walmart’s Retailtainment

Walmart has followed a retailtainment strategy  introducing Musical scores for Christmas by Craig Robinson that features number of videos  with gifts targeted at different audience segments.

Key Takeaway: As important as it is to have gifting ideas for a valued shopper, it is equally important to present the ideas in a context audiences find engaging and relatable.

 

Hallmark’s Keepsake It 

Hallmark’s online video campaign has a humorous take on Christmas with three spots titled Family Potrait, Vegan Christmas and Perfectionist Mom. The video has funny takes on situations that are characterized by quirky characters, playing on uniqueness of every family, and how Hallmark makes holidays memorable despite odd situations.

Key Takeaway: Hallmark’s Keepsake campaign infuses realism with humor where quirky characters are used in the creative for better ad recall. With an interactive digital experience it makes for one-of-a-kind user engagement. 

Oreo’s Wonderfilled Christmas

Oreo takes a Wonderfilled spin on some storied Christmas traditions, taking a look into all the things that make the holidays feel like the holidays.

Key Takeaway: Oreo’s Wonderfilled theme campaign extends the Wonderfilled campaign to feature the Christmas traditions while weaving in the brand’s proposition of cream filled cookies in the video creative.

Kohl’s All Together Now

Kohl’s All Together Now campaign features gifts that are right for the whole family, with exclusive deals featured on Social Media Channels.

Key Takeaway: Kohl’s All Together Now Campaign sets the tone for entertaining during Holiday Season where the positioning of “Everything for Entertaining Everyone” makes holiday season gift shopping and entertaining seem stress-free. Kohl’s has successfully used All Together Now to position the discounts it has on offer for the season.

Apple’s Someday At Christmas

Singer Andra Day joins the legendary Stevie Wonder to sing his classic 1967 holiday song “Someday at Christmas.” Without a band, Wonder sets up his Apple computer to record both the piano he plays and the vocal track. As Day and Wonder sing together, their family plays games, makes crafts and spends time together. To bring the song to a close, the youngest member adds her voice to the mix and then the rest of the family joins in.

Key Takeaway: Apple’s Video brings out the creative power of the products in an engaging way while showing how technology can help you free your time for family. Using musicians and a music score associated with the season, Apple has ushered the Christmas spirit bringing out the holiday moments that matter.