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Holiday Marketing Tips With Melissa

Too often businesses overcomplicate their strategy. Here’s how we plan.

Hero image for Issue #21: Planning for the Holidays

Ok, maybe I love more than 2 things, but! Those 2 things are the focus of this email. Specifically, planning for the holidays.

I decided at some point to make marketing strategies my life’s work, and Freddie and Co. has presented yet another glorious opportunity. As Meg pointed out in What’s in Store #16, we completed our holiday collections for Freddie and Co. in July, which means we started planning them all the way back in April. I know what you’re thinking: “Is that really necessary, or is she just obsessive compulsive?” Well… Lead times are no joke, my friends, and the best way to plan for them is to allow time for all the unforeseen mishaps that always seem to occur — production errors, shipping delays, alien abductions, spontaneous combustion, etc.

Melissa is excited when the lights on her desk turn on

But holiday planning doesn’t end with product. We knew it was just as important to plan out Freddie and Co.’s seasonal narrative in advance, too. We’re launching our holiday collections in mid-October (sorry, no spoilers today!), so we made it a point to consider our story and start plotting holiday content on the calendar about 2 months in advance. That way we had plenty of time for a) creative execution and b) to change our minds if something didn’t work out.

With Freddie and Co., simplicity has always been our motto (we’re a startup after all), and the holiday season is no different. This year, we’ll focus primarily on brand storytelling (so people know who we are) and product storytelling (so people know what we sell). The brand side relates to a company’s efforts to build and maintain an image or identity — think of Nike’s iconic “Just Do It” ads. Whereas the product side is all about promoting a specific thing you sell — like our recent pins email, for instance.

Melissa pouring candy into the halloween bucket
  1. Offering discounted gift sets to boost sales
  2. Running social media contests and giveaways to increase customer engagement
  3. Partaking in the ancient, lucrative traditions of Black Friday and Cyber Monday

Speaking of which, did you know about Super Saturday? There are so many made up retail holidays! (We will not be participating in that one.)

Meanwhile, we’re renewing another holiday tradition: tips! Stay tuned for expert advice on how you can make the most of the season for your business with Mailchimp’s 2016 holiday marketing tips. They’re coming soon to an internet near you.

Hope Melissa didn’t scare any procrastinators who haven’t prepped for their store’s holiday plans yet! 😉 She’s a planning overachiever and it’s been amazing having her around to keep us all on target. Let’s be honest, though. Nothing is ever fully prepped! There’s always more to do and more to learn.

I wish I could give out a big spoiler right now and tell you all about our holiday collection, but, alas, I’m having a hard enough time not telling everyone about our third collection that launches NEXT WEEK. So pumped for this one, you guys. Make sure you’re subscribed to Freddie and Co.’s list to get the first peek at it.

See you then!

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