Three Major Brands Doing the Holidays Right
How being inclusive and creating an experience that is a one-stop shop
can help brands connect with holiday shoppers this season.
As the holidays have commenced, brands everywhere are scrambling to gather the best deals and ways to attract shoppers. Whether it’s preparing for Black Friday, taking pictures with Santa or decorating the house, the holidays are a busy time for all — and even more so for brands.
Brands everywhere anticipate the excitement people feel during this time, and yearn to create spaces where they can hone in on the myriad of different bargains and new loyalty options for consumers. Due to consumer behavior being at an all time high during this season, brands are examining how to elevate their products in the best light for consumers to spend their dollars. This year, according to the National Retail Federation, more than 165 million people plan to shop during holiday related sales and specials. These numbers would make any brand jump to capitalize on them, as shopping patterns during this time are always going to be a reliable time for any brand to increase their sales.
As a frequent shopper myself (and one who loves a holiday sale), I looked into three of my favorite brands — Fenty Beauty, Target and Starbucks — to see how they are using the holidays to leverage their products and attract new customers. Each of these brands are doing something specific and unique to stay within their brand guidelines, while trying to switch things up from years past, and their competitors.
Fenty Beauty (stylized as FEИTY BEAUTY) is a cosmetics brand that launched in September 2017 by singer Rihanna. The brand is popular for its broad inclusivity across skin tones and gender, especially its Pro Filt’R foundation. The original foundation launch included 40 shades, and has since expanded to 50. This brand is known for its unique approach on branding through pop culture references and social media influencer collaborations. As the two-year mark has passed, Fenty Beauty only has become better with impressive lineups and collections to keep fans and consumers on the edge of their seats, as no two products and collections are the same. After taking this year by storm in other business ventures (fashion and lingerie), Rihanna still had time to create a new limited edition Holiday collection. Many brands have limited editions during the holidays as an approach to get consumers to act fast and get their hands on something exclusive that they may never be able to buy again (even though they usually re-release during other bargain periods during the year). This collection was released far in advance — October 11, 2019 — to give shoppers plenty of time to purchase. The collection consists of mini products as well as packaging that can double as ornaments for the tree.
From beauty brand to national retailer, Target is a brand to keep an eye on this holiday season. While they are in competition with other large-scale brands like Walmart and Amazon, their approach is to be the best place to get everything you need during the holiday season — a one-stop shop. With the drop of their holiday marketing push beginning on November 1, 2019, Target has created 20 English spots and 18 Spanish spots to attract a wide range of customers. With Multi-Grammy-Award-winning artist, Sam Smith, recording a new version of the 1970s classic I Feel Love, and Mexican singer and actress, Danna Paola, lending a Latin vibe for the Spanish spot, the unintentional sing-along is bound to happen. Additionally, Target has created an extremely diverse and inclusive commercial with people from all backgrounds and enjoying multiple seasonal moments, which showcases everything that Target is offering this season. With so much dedication — and money — spent on developing ways to get consumers excited about the holidays, Target is a brand to watch out for this holiday season.
As the weather continues to get colder, people are ready to indulge in holiday drinks. Starbucks has taken the cake with providing a unique consumer experience for the holidays. With the largest and final roastery now open in Chicago, they have capitalized on the experience of what ordering a coffee looks like. With coffee and cocktail bars, as well as multiple different kinds of snacks and foods to choose from, this activation has completely put Starbucks on the map for being a game changer in the coffee business.
This year, their annual holiday cups went with a typography design to highlight different messages and holiday greetings. The concepts are illustrative and give consumers a traditional holiday feel, while not straying away too much from their original brand guidelines. They capitalized on these cups by also creating a version that is reusable for purchase so consumers are encouraged to come back again — and save money. With holiday snacks and treats also being available, Starbucks is providing a one-stop shop for consumers to fuel up for their holiday shopping.
By being inclusive to all and creating a shopping experience that is a one-stop shop, these three brands are making it easier for consumers to get their holiday shopping done, as we all know it can be a stressful time. Three different examples, yet all find a way to put their consumers first in hopes of continuous success. As a person in this industry, we can all take something away from how these brands are taking holiday marketing to the next level.
Happy Holidays!
By: Gabri Mays, Havas Sports & Entertainment
