1.  Santa Tracker- Google Maps

A CLASSIC holiday campaign. Santa Tracker is so synonymous with Christmas you may have never even realized it’s a well-disguised advertising campaign for Google Maps. Every Christmas Eve for as long as I can remember my family looks at the Santa Tracker website to get into the holiday spirit.  Santa Tracker appeals to kids and adults of all ages, and with new features added every year, continues to successfully evolve.

2.  #OptOutside- REI

I need to get something off my chest… for as much as I love Thanksgiving, I HATE Black Friday.  As a result, I love REI and its #OptOutside Black Friday campaign, for which they closed all their stores to encourage people to spend time outside and give back to Mother Earth. Customers used the hashtag #OptOutside to showcase their time in nature on social media, simultaneously providing UGC (user-generated content) for the REI brand. This campaign is unique and meaningful and continues to be a success year after year. 

3. #NZsecretsanta- New Zealand Post’s Secret Santa Gift Exchange

In 2013, the New Zealand Post decided to sponsor the online Secret Santa social media campaign started by twitter user @WebSam. #NZsecretsanta turned into a nation-wide celebration of generosity and togetherness where participants spend up to $10 sending a gift to a total stranger — connecting people all across the country. Even the Prime Minister participates! The success of this social media campaign continues to grow every year for the New Zealand Post, and everyone who participates receives a gift. It’s a win-win!

4. First Christmas- Alaska Milk

In this commercial, which perfectly touches on togetherness, emotion and memories, a daughter experiences her first Christmas without her mom. To bring her family joy during this tough time, she makes her mother’s special Filipino Sapin-Sapin Christmas recipe using Alaska Milk. This holiday commercial was a huge success because of the significance and global familiarity of sitting down for a meal with family transcends all cultures.

5. No Need to Fly/Around the World in Germany- Deutsche Bahn

A whopping 72% of Germans travel abroad for the holidays. In this innovative marketing campaign, Deutsche Bahn, a German rail line, encouraged Germans to stay home for the holidays instead. Each commercial compared foreign tourist spots to ones within their own country, and showed the money saved by choosing to ride a train instead of fly. Utilizing beautiful, “Instagram-able” imagery, Deutsche Bahn impressively compared the landmarks and countryside of Germany to ones all across the world. After airing this campaign, they saw a 6.61%. conversion rate and  a 24% YOY increase in revenue. Now that’s inspiring!

By Marley Niesz