The holidays present a feast of opportunities to warm spirits, please palates and boost profits. ‘Tis the season when food and beverage brands step up to the plate with a festive marketing mix to maximize the moment.
There’s a lot at stake, especially during the months of November and December when the industry takes comfort and joy in the feeding frenzy of consumer spending. In 2022, Thanksgiving served up more than $2.8 billion in sales to U.S. food retailers — and Christmas added even more jingle than that to the coffers.1
As a result, promotions that bring glad tidings to shoppers early in the season provide a needed nudge to jump-start the holiday shopping spirit. Bear in mind that last year 50% of holiday shopping began in October or earlier, and another 40% began their shopping in November, with the rest starting in December.1
“The earlier brands publicize holiday-themed campaigns and limited-time offers on social and other channels, the greater the likelihood that consumers will choose them before the marketing rush reaches critical mass,” explained Meghan Flynn, director of public relations for The Food Group. “Also, getting a jump on the season helps shoppers remember your brand in the blur of offers at the height of the holidays. It’s just good for recall.”
Deck the Digital Halls2
Talk Turkey on Social
Brands with engagement strategies that leverage social media and influencer collaborations are sure to amplify reach.
“Sharing recipes, cooking tips and holiday meal how-to videos all feed into the festive spirit of the season,” said Hays Formella, social media director at The Food Group. “Partnerships with influencers to showcase holiday cooking or entertaining ideas and encourage user-generated content can increase engagement exponentially.” (For insights into influencer marketing, refer to our post “How to Maximize Influencers for Food and Beverage Brands.”)
Coca-Cola promoted its “Create Real Magic” holiday campaign heavily on social media, where followers were invited to use an AI-powered platform to create personalized digital greeting cards featuring brand imagery. The holiday activation built on the success of the launch, and fans generated more than 120,000 pieces of original artwork with Coca-Cola brand assets.
Last year, to help raise donations to Feeding America, The Food Group launched its Holiday Sweater Generator, which enabled users to create their own holiday sweaters out of their favorite foods with an interactive AI platform. For every sweater created, TFG donated 10 meals to the nonprofit. The campaign resulted in 1,687 sweaters shared, 16,870 meals donated and coverage in Ad Age, Nosh, MarTech and other media outlets.
Unwrap Palate-Pleasing Promotions
The holiday hunger for limited-time offers makes them a reliable revenue-driver. Datassential reports that winter is the season consumers associate most with special flavors, dishes, beverages and LTOs.3
Yet in winter 2023, only 21% of all launches consisted of LTOs, new items and returning items.3
Holiday Hankerings3
Sixty-two percent of consumers are interested in purchasing limited-edition retail items or restaurant LTOs during the winter.3 As a result, there’s ample opportunity to promote products with fresh takes on seasonal flavor profiles like maple, pumpkin and peppermint.
Consumers are most interested in limited-edition restaurant or retail specials for the Christmas holiday — 68% overall, of which Gen X is the highest at 72%.3 It’s important to note that 68% of consumers are likely to prepare food and beverages at home for Christmas.3 With budgets stretched by holiday spending, bundling heat-and-eat meal items can satisfy consumers’ appetite for saving time and money. Promoted in store and across marketing channels, the annual meal deal from Cracker Barrel feeds a need for value, variety and convenience.
In the end, the right mix of promotional products and marketing merrymaking makes the holidays happier — and more profitable.
During the holidays and every day, The Food Group is here to serve up solutions customized to meet your marketing needs. Reach out anytime to learn about all we bring to the table.
1 Wilkening, Marc, “‘Holiday Creep’ Is Here to Stay. Here’s How Retailers & Suppliers Can Get a Jump on a Successful Season Ahead,” CMA/SIMA, August 28, 2024
2 McKinney, John, “Holiday 2023 guide: Seasonal trends to build your marketing strategy,” Food Dive, August 21, 2023
3 Datassential, Winter Trends 2024