The sheer volume of recent marketing emails illustrates the massive push that brands make during the holiday season as they compete for customers. During cyber week, 17.5 billion emails were sent from the Salesforce Marketing Cloud, compared to only 12 billion during the same week last year. That represents a considerable 41.6% year-over-year increase. So reports MediaPost.
Marketers, of course, also turn to other channels such as social media and their own websites to court customers. Among marketing campaigns, outdoor equipment retailer REI’s #OptOutside social search engine has received favorable reviews, including by writers at RetailDive.
The website allows users to search for images with the #OptOutside hashtag, search for hiking trails, and find inspiration for the outdoors. The feature reflects the culture of REI, with the company having already gained favorable press by closing its stores on Black Friday so that its employees could have the day off.
The campaign is also an example of providing user-generated content to build brand loyalty. By not pushing product, furthermore, #OptOutside seeks to build long-term brand strength rather than simply increasing sales during the start of the holiday season.
Among email initiatives, Amazon’s campaign that pitched deals before Black Friday is another holiday program that has received favorable reviews. The subject line “Explore deals before Black Friday” is part of a time honored tactic of discounting products prior to the holiday shopping season, reports VerticalResponse.
Dell has also garnered attention for a similar email strategy that promoted limited-time offers that were available prior to Black Friday. Cookware retailer Williams Sonoma has also generated favorable reviews with an email campaign that promotes a wide range of discounted products and also directs readers to its “Guide to Pie” content that seeks to teach readers how to bake the perfect pie for the holiday season.
With the large volume of marketing initiatives that have been launched for the holiday season, it isn’t surprising that a few blunders have occurred. Australian lingerie brand Honey Birdette is fighting off criticism for its Instagram “Office Party” video that featured models in lingerie dancing at a holiday company party, reports AdAge.
Many viewers posted comments that the company’s campaign was sexualizing women in the workplace at a time of heightened concerns over harassment of female workers. Honey Birdette’s founder has responded that the criticism is ridiculous.
Also noteworthy is McDonald’s posting a blank tweet and Wendy’s harsh criticism of the mistake, reports Bustle. On the day after Thanksgiving, McDonald’s posted a tweet that read “Black Friday ****Need Copy****,” notes Bustle. Twitter users tend to quickly retweet mistakes, so the McDonald’s blunder went viral before the company could fix it.
On one hand, the mistake could be viewed as an embarrassing oversight, although some observers suggest it may have been a deliberate attempt to generate attention while suggesting that certain McDonald’s employees had the day off. The saga continued, however, when Wendy’s responded to the mistake by tweeting “when the tweets are as broken as the ice cream machines.” The tweet is being viewed by many as harsh and somewhat petty move by a competitor.