When clients ask me about marketing at any time of the year, I ask  what their best competition is doing. A great tip from the marketing playbook is to research what your competitors are up to. This includes local competition as well as the biggest names in your industry.

Know your brand and your customers, and tailor your marketing accordingly. Don’t “copy” what others are doing, personalize your messaging and make it your own, but be inspired by what you see successful others do.

Understand the trends, what your consumers will likely buy during this time of year, and through what channels, then use this data to drive sales.

Be inspired by the following creative big brand strategies:

“12 Days Of Donuts” by Krispy Kreme
This holiday-themed campaign ties the brand and seasonal elements into a nice package.

“Red Cups” by Starbucks
The appearance of red cups signifies the arrival of Starbucks holiday drinks, and the #redcupcontest makes good use of the tradition by inviting customers to share and tag their photos of their Starbucks’ red cups for a chance to win one of five huge prizes.

“Cookies of the World” by Food52
During the holidays, Food 52 celebrates diversity and delicious  cookies with this campaign that features mouthwatering cookie recipes from 32 different countries.

“12 Days Of HBO Now”
HBO promoted its content through this popular media sharing program. Subscribers can gift 12 episodes to a non-subscriber.

“Santa Tracker” by Google
With Santa Tracker, Google manages to market its map service in a way that is both fun and interactive.

Offer seasonal and year-round perks such as:

• Free shipping
• Discounts on special shipping
• Create an easy and flexible returns policy
• Open early, close late
• Offer to match competitor prices
• Free layaway is a highly demanded perk

Here are a few clever holiday tag lines for your emails

• Treat yo’ elf!
• Welcome to the holidays!
• Merry everything!
• 12 Days Of _____ (fill in the blank)
• Tinsel in a tangle?
• Yule love our holiday sale!
• Elf Yourself
• Mewwy Chwistmas
• Yappy Holidays
• Jolly holly-days to you
• Merry Kiss-mas!

Everyone is inspired by the spirit of the holiday season and hopeful prospects for the new year. Let’s all work to share the joy and be the joy. We wish you blessings and peace always.