Many organizations celebrate the holidays as a show of community spirit or to promote a product, service or charity fundraising event. Organizations planning to distribute, discuss and promote this content often refer to it as holiday campaigns if it coincides with national events. To support these holiday campaigns, a combination of paid, earned, shared, and owned media strategies may boost the campaign's progress and ultimately accomplish the campaign's goal.

Specifically, public relations is a great tool to support these types of campaigns by focusing on varying strategies and tactics that can increase awareness and consideration and drive individuals to a specific (and measurable) call to action—such as participating in the campaign through donating, buying, attending or other designated options specified by the campaign goals.

Starting in November, the holiday rush begins. November and December are hectic times for businesses. To ensure that your business stands out from the competition, it's essential to have a solid public relations and marketing strategy in place. In this blog, TrizCom PR will walk you through how to execute a public relations holiday campaign and why brands, businesses and nonprofits should consider public relations.

What Constitutes Holiday Campaigns?

A campaign is an organized course of action that achieves a specific goal built into a brand's holiday marketing strategy. A campaign varies in length of time but most often only runs for a few weeks up to a few months. Most campaigns will require a goal and metrics to determine whether the run of the campaign successfully met the end goal after its completion. Campaigns vary in theme and may not be tied to a holiday event but instead may include a limited-time promotion, new product release, fundraising opportunities and more to boost holiday sales and awareness.

Holiday campaigns by public relations firms are a tried-and-true method to increase brand awareness and sales. They usually occur during nationally recognized days. These sentiment-driven holidays may include:

• New Year's Day (January 1)

• Valentine's Day (February 14)

• St. Patrick's Day (March 17)

• Mother's Day (the second Sunday in May)

• Memorial Day (the last Monday of May)

• Father's Day (the third Sunday in June)

• Independence Day (July 4)

• Labor Day (the first Monday in September)

• Halloween (October 31)

• Thanksgiving (the fourth Thursday in November)

• December holidays (Hanukkah, Christmas and Kwanzaa)

12 Holiday Marketing Ideas that Will Make Your Brand Stand Out

Are you looking to create some holiday buzz for your brand? Here are a few PR campaign ideas to get you started:

Early Bird Offers/VIP Access (Especially For Black Friday And Cyber Monday)

Partner With A Nonprofit: Donate To A Charity For Every Product Sold During the Christmas Season

Offer A By One Get One (BOGO) Coupon

Holiday-Themed Subscriptions

Daily Deals And Flash Sales

Create A Heartfelt/Emotional Campaign

Gift Guides

Offer A Holiday Only Product Or Service

Run Social Media Contests Or Giveaways

Partner With Influencers

Offer An Elevated Customer Experience

Use Gamification

How To Plan A Holiday PR Campaign:

A hypothetical example of a holiday campaign would be a new book release in September and the publishing house wanting to run a campaign during the December holiday season. This type of campaign focuses on raising awareness for the book and encouraging people to buy the book as a perfect holiday gift for friends and family.

1. Create the holiday campaign goal: Sell X number of books in December.

2. Identify the brand's audience: Parents of young children ages (10-16) located in the United States.

3. Set up your holiday campaign key performance indicators (KPIs): Sales, coupon redemptions, leads, etc.

4. Choose your marketing channels (newswire service, social media, media outlets, etc.)

5. Create one or two objectives with strategies:

   1. To generate sales with a trackable coupon code (Measurement: xx number of coupon codes redeemed)

   2. Launch a holiday influencer campaign to promote the book, demonstrate how their children use the book and provide their followers with the coupon code

   3. Use earned media to direct people to a holiday landing page

   4. Use paid media to power up influencers and earned media

   5. Use shared media to amplify influencers and earned media

6.    Create a holiday campaign timeline featuring the campaign components

Awesome Holiday Marketing Campaigns

Real-world examples of holiday campaigns that use earned, owned, paid and shared media include:

Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks that releases every fall

Each fall, Starbucks releases its popular Spice Latte, and people around the globe go crazy. While the coffee giant no doubt has great coffee beans and skilled baristas, there's more to its success than that. A big part of why the Spice Latte is so successful each year is its public relations campaign, which uses a mix of paid, earned, owned and shared media. Starbucks starts promoting the latte weeks in advance, creating a sense of anticipation and excitement online with social media posts, holiday ads and email marketing campaigns. It also cleverly ties the latte in with the autumn season, making it the perfect drink to cozy up with on a chilly day. As a result of its savvy marketing, the Spice Latte has become an annual tradition for many coffee lovers.

Dollar Shave Club's "Relationship Saver"

One public relations strategy that the Dollar Shave Club, the subscription razor service, used to great effect was "The Relationship Saver" holiday campaign in 2021, right before the holidays. Kyle Iwamoto, Dollar Shave Club's vice president of member growth and global digital merchandising, told Retina, "Because [subscription-based businesses] have this ecosystem of repeat purchasers and numbers, there are two unique behaviors that are happening: Your evergreen, day-to-day purchase…, and you have these funny off-cycle moments of gifting, so maybe Valentine's Day, maybe Father's Day. So, one thing we typically will do is try to understand, of our membership, who is likely to make that incremental purchase? And where are they sending it to?"

In a December 15, 2021 press release, the company said, "Great razors like ours get borrowed even if you don't realize it…by significant others, roommates, friends, family, you name it," said Kerry Sullivan, Chief Marketing Officer at Dollar Shave Club. "There's no better time to get your loved ones their very own quality razor than during the holiday season, which is why we're making it easier than ever by bringing back our two-razor deal."

The limited-time promotion offered new members two of the club's metal razor handles and a six-blade razor cartridge for $10 (normally $24).

Why are Holiday Campaigns Successful?

Campaigns do not have to be associated with the holidays, but holiday campaigns, in theory, can be more successful. Holiday campaigns work because it's the holiday shopping season. New product launches can be tied to great holiday gifts. Plus, there are multiple holidays that the public and media focus on—like Thanksgiving, the holidays and New Year's—which means a greater likelihood that their coverage will be topical.

The holiday season is crucial for businesses, as consumers are more likely to spend money on gifts and other items during this time of year. As such, brands need to focus on holiday campaigns to maximize sales.

There are several reasons why holiday campaigns are so effective:

1. Holiday campaigns allow brands to reach a wider audience, as people are generally more open to seeing marketing messages during the holidays.

2. Holiday campaigns often create a sense of urgency, encouraging people to buy items sooner rather than later.

3. Holiday campaigns can help build goodwill and brand loyalty, as people are in the holiday spirit and are more likely to remember and appreciate brands that try to connect with them during this special time of year.

Ultimately, there are many good reasons for brands to focus on holiday campaigns and doing so can lead to increased sales and brand awareness.

Two Examples of TrizCom PR's 2022 Holiday Campaigns

Focusing on our partner's holiday campaigns each year, TrizCom PR is familiar with short-term and long-term public relations strategies and tactics that drive campaign success.

TrizCom PR has several partners each year that focus intensely on holiday campaigns. The details and planning of each campaign start around June, with implementation beginning as soon as the partner approves the campaign plans. We work with our partners to find creative ways to amplify their voices and target the audiences they want to speak to during the holiday season and accomplish their goals.

Two of our most significant holiday campaign projects for 2022 include Veterans Day for True REST Float Spa and Yellow Ribbon Fund. Both are focusing on Veterans Day but with very different approaches to the holiday, especially when it comes to the goals of their holiday campaigns.

True REST Float Spa Celebrates Veterans Day

This Veterans Day, 1,700 veterans and active-duty military members will experience float therapy at one of True REST Float Spa's 43 locations across the nation thanks to one man – retired navy seal John Rhimer. 

True REST Float Spa, the largest float therapy brand in the world, became a franchising brand because of CEO Jim Rowe's conversation with Rhimer. Having been shot in the calf during his last deployment, Rhimer required six pints of blood and 15 surgeries over four years to recover. However, because of the extensive surgeries and the necessity for pain medications and antidepressants, Rhimer did not feel like himself.

During his recovery, he discovered float therapy and shared his journey with Rowe. The next day, Rowe was on a plane to meet with the founders of True REST Float Spa to discuss franchising opportunities in the hopes he could share the holistic practice with more veterans and civilians alike.

To honor active-duty military and veterans like Rhimer for their service and support their healing journeys after deployment, True REST Float Spa implemented its Veterans Day program in 2015 to offer free float therapy sessions annually. For the therapeutic brand, Veterans Day is one of its most extensive campaigns, emphasizing the profound benefits of sensory deprivation and a zero-gravity environment—essentially, guests float in a pod filled with water and Epsom salts.

Float therapy is scientifically proven to address mental and physical health conditions such as anxiety, depression, stress, insomnia, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and chronic pain. The practice of floating is known to support military personnel and veterans who may be struggling with these issues, especially given that research suggests about 14-16% of service members have depression or PTSD from combat, let alone anxiety or insomnia.

True REST Float Spa's commitment to the U.S. military runs deep since its benefits are particularly impactful to those in the military. Float therapy is scientifically proven to help treat and manage chronic pain, anxiety, depression, and PTSD symptoms and downregulate the nervous system safely and holistically. Since 2015, True REST Float Spa has designated the 11th month of every month as U.S. Military Appreciation Day, where active-duty military and veterans can book a free float therapy appointment. The brand has given away almost 20,000 complimentary 60-minute float sessions to current and former military members.

For the eighth year in a row, on November 11, True REST Float Spa will close every location to the public and invite active-duty and retired military service members to float for 60-minutes, free of charge. True REST Float Spa hopes to serve more than 1,700 current and former service members this Veterans Day.

Additionally, True REST Float Spa dedicates its time and services to active-duty military and veterans by implementing support opportunities. In 2020, the national franchise began a partnership with the Yellow Ribbon Fund, a nonprofit veteran service organization dedicated to serving wounded, ill and injured post-9/11 service members and their families from every branch of the United States Military following unexpected medical crises. 

Together with True REST Float Spa, TrizCom PR works with the brand to find calendars, gift guides and media opportunities to help raise awareness for their Veterans Day offer, get people interested in trying flotation therapy and help book Veterans Day float sessions.

Learn more about True REST Float Spa's Veterans Day holiday deal.

Yellow Ribbon Fund Encourages PTSD Education for Veterans Day

Yellow Ribbon Fund, a nonprofit organization that supports wounded veterans, their caregivers and their families, is focusing on PTSD education for Veterans Day. With nearly 36% of post-9/11 veterans who have PTSD or other mental health issues, Veterans Day may be an emotional trigger for individuals who have seen deployment or been in combat.

Generally, Yellow Ribbon Fund provides resources for military caregivers but recognizes the importance of educating individuals on mental health issues like PTSD because of how impactful it can be on those who have served our country. Additionally, it supports civilians to be more empathetic of the sacrifices that veterans and military members made. Understanding wounded veterans' and military families' experiences, and struggles can help enhance their lives and benefit communities.

Yellow Ribbon Fund and TrizCom PR have collaborated to highlight stories from caregivers and veterans with PTSD. There is nothing more profound than hearing the personal, authentic and lived experiences of individuals with PTSD than directly from them.

Read more about Yellow Ribbon Fund's effort to raise PTSD awareness in their press release here.

Can TrizCom PR Support Your Holiday Campaigns?

As a full-fledged public relations agency, TrizCom PR and its team are no strangers to working with brands and nonprofits to achieve their media relations goals. While we do a little bit of everything—and we mean just about everything—we have extensive success supporting limited-time campaigns.

From the strategic planning with our partners down to the implementation, execution and finalized report, TrizCom PR focuses on generating success and finding the right strategies and tactics to achieve precisely what you're looking for. We focus on determining the goals long before we create a campaign plan to ensure that every step of the process is intentional and achieves the desired outcome.

Are you looking to execute an excellent campaign plan? We've got you covered. Call us at 972-247-1369 or email us at TrizCom@TrizCom.com for a free consultation about your public relations goals. You can also contact us through our website at www.TrizCom.com/Contact.

Learn more about our expertise:

• What is Digital PR and How Do You Measure Success?

• Nine Reasons Your Press Release Fails

• Media Spokesperson for Companies and Brands