This document discusses 7 psychological marketing strategies that can be used during the holiday season to make marketing messages stand out. They are: curiosity, FOMO/urgency, loyalty, competition/user generated content, humor, sentiment, and being inspirational. For each strategy, the document provides examples of companies that have successfully used that strategy in their holiday campaigns. It encourages readers to try incorporating one or more of these strategies to better engage their audience during the upcoming holiday season.

1. Holiday
Marketing
Psychology
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2. It happens every holiday season.
Your email inbox becomes a battlefield of
competing headlines, each promising a deal better
than the last. The small percentage that catch your
attention earn your engagement, the rest fall by
the side, unopened and deleted.

3. How can you get your marketing
messages to stand out above the
clutter this holiday season?
With science on your side,
grabbing that attention is easy.

4. Here are 7 strategies that call
on different psychological
principles.

5. Give one, or all, of them a try this
coming season and see how you can
better control your audience.

6. Curiosity
Tempt with a secret gift.

7. Remember the days of your childhood when you
would eagerly grab a gift, shake it vigorously, and
try to guess what was inside? What made you do
that? Curiosity did. It works on adults too.

8. • Hide a portion of your message. People want
to know what lies at the end, and they will go
to some pretty extreme lengths to do so.
• Try teasing, sensory language that coaxes
users to interact with your brand.
How to use it in your next campaign:
Let’s look at some campaigns using curiosity...

9. PSD2HTML: Easter Egg Hunt
PSD2HTML uses curiosity in an Easter Egg Hunt email that asks
their audience to “Go Hunting!” to reveal their discount.

10. JCrew: Oh my Gourd
JCrew uses a play on words and curiosity to promote their secret fall sales. Their
audience must click through the email to see what “all the excitement is about.”

11. FOMO/Urgency
Feed the rush.

12. Create urgency with timed offers and feed into the
holiday frenzy with countdown timers. You can call on
our innate fear of missing opportunities and deadlines.

13. • Create time sensitive offers that play into your
customers’ habits. Count down timers also
add to the rush.
• You have got to give a little to get a lot. Try
running a time sensitive contest or giveaway.
How to do it:
Take a look at some FOMO examples…

14. Old Navy: #OneMillThrill
Old Navy’s #OneMillThrill campaign gave the first 100 people in line at each Old
Navy store a game card entering them for a chance to win $1 million. They also
coined the hashtag #OneMillThrill to spread the word.

15. Frank Body: Order now in time for Christmas
Frank Body reminded their customers to order now to get it in time for the holidays.

16. Loyalty
Say thanks.

17. The holidays are the perfect time to say thanks to your most
valued customers. Jump on the gift-giving bandwagon and
give your customers the love they deserve and expect during
this time of good cheer.

18. • It pays to know your audience. Understand
which holidays they celebrate and it becomes
easier to offer them appropriate gifts. New
Year’s Day is usually a safe bet.
• Send a special gift to only your most loyal
customers. This will make them value your brand
more and increase customer lifetime value.
How to do it:
Here are a couple of loyalty examples…

19. Best Buy: Black Friday in July for members only
Best Buy rewards their most loyal customer segment with early
access to their Black Friday in July sale.

20. Nordstrom: Private holiday shopping party
Nordstrom hosts an annual private holiday shopping party for
their loyal customers as a special thanks.

21. Competition/User
Generated Content
Create a sense of community with a contest.

22. People like competitions. We want the chance to be
unique, to stand out in the crowd and to leave our mark.
Use this to your marketing advantage.
Using competition as a theme in your holiday marketing
campaigns not only increases engagement, but it also
takes the hard work of content creation out of your hands.

23. • Create a holiday contest in which your customers must
participate and give them something for winning, even
if it is just recognition.
• Feature user generated content on your website or
social media and pick a hashtag that goes with your
brand and contest. This will unite your campaign across
channels and create a social sharing atmosphere.
How to do it:
Let’s look at some examples...

24. LG: “My Better Life with LG G2!”
LG asks for reviews in exchange for prizes. This is one way a brand can get
recognition for their great products and create a digital community.

25. Tasty Burger: “12 Days of Ugly Sweater” contest
Tasty Burger started a contest called “12 Days of Ugly Sweaters” contest to
increase brand engagement. They asked their audience to post pictures of their
ugliest sweaters on social media using their hashtag and then rewarded the
winners.

26. Humor
Be real.

27. Using humor in marketing has proven itself to be one of
the most successful tactics. Most of us don’t have perfect
families with spotless white table cloths. We are messy,
loud, flawed and human. Your customers will relate best
to, and remember, what is real to them. Sometimes that
means depicting life, (and the holidays) as broken, messy,
and funny as they actually are.

28. • It’s okay to poke fun at the absurdities of the
holidays. Jokes about awkward or imperfect
families, travel, and gift giving work well.
• Video is a great place to show off your humor.
Tell a funny story with a clever video. Many great
brands that manage to do this correctly also end
up going viral.
How to do it:
Take a look at some campaigns using humor…

29. Dollar Shave Club: Has a Face
Dollar Shave Club used clever graphics to show their audience who
would be a perfect recipient for a subscription to dollar shave club.

30. Hallmark: #KeepsakeIt Together
Hallmark goes against their typical grain with these life-like videos. They show their
audience the real and humorous side of the holiday gatherings we all have.

31. Sentiment
Partner with a cause.

32. There is no better time to get all touchy-feely, mushy-gushy,
than the holidays. Pick a cause your brand feels passionate
about and run with it.
By picking a “bigger than you” cause, your brand will gain
the best kind of recognition. People will connect your
brand with sentimental feelings of giving and generosity.

33. • Pick a cause that resonates well with your brand and
audience and take action. This could be in the form
of an event, a fundraiser, or a donation.
• Bonus: Partner with a nonprofit or charity
organization. Co-market with your organization of
choice to expand both of your audiences.
• Display emotions like kindness and empathy to
relate to your audience and strike a chord with them
during the holiday season.
How to do it:
Let’s take a look at some sentimental examples…

34. Macy’s: #MacysBelieve
Macy’s partnered with the Make a Wish Foundation to spread holiday cheer.
Macy’s customers were invited to write a letter to santa and drop it off or submit
online. For every letter, $1 was donated to the foundation.

35. UPS: Your Wishes Delivered
UPS invited their customers to share their wishes on their website or on social
media using a special hashtag. In exchange, UPS donated $1 to selected charities.
This was a great way to stay top of mind and reinforce a warm company culture
during a time of the year when shipping isn’t always the most pleasant experience.

36. Inspirational
Take a stance.

37. We all want to be inspired. We look for people or organizations
that get us going and make us want to be better people. Your
brand could be that inspiration to your audience.
A good way to inspire your audience is by taking a stance for
or against something. Be a shining example of what your
customers wish they were and you will be actively sought after.

38. • Pick an issue that speaks to your company culture or
motto. This will make it easy for your audience to draw
the connection between you and your cause.
• Get social! Post about what you are doing. Invent a
hashtag and ask your customers to use it when they
post about what you are doing to create a community.
How to do it:
Take a look at some inspirational examples…

39. REI: #optoutside
REI took a big chance with their #optoutside campaign. By taking a stance against
Black Friday and closing their doors on the most profitable shopping day of the
year, REI was able to truly practice what they preach. Now, the hashtag and
campaign have gone viral and become synonymous with the brand.

40. Cards Against Humanity: Black Friday
Cards Against Humanity took a similar risk by taking their entire site offline
for Black Friday. They left a portal where people were invited to pay $5 for
literally nothing. The humorous stint got them lots of attention. What’s even
better is they donated that money to charity.

41. Want to see more examples of these
psychological principals in action?
VIEW OUR HOLIDAY USE CASES
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