In a crowded holiday marketing season, two campaigns stood out as prime examples of how brands can take advantage of the growing convergence between digital and e-commerce strategies, as well as media partnerships: Subaru’s “Share the Love” and Oreo’s branded gift website.
Subaru's effort, now in its eighth year, freshened up the mix in 2016 with musical Snapchat activations, heightening interactivity with the already-popular TV spots and signature "Put a Little Love in Your Heart" jingle. Oreo, for its part, combined festive, engaging digital content with an original product line that keyed into the holiday gift-giving spirit, joining other CPG brands like Cheetos in establishing buzzworthy e-commerce catalogs.
While these digital flourishes may seem like extra icing on top of a more traditional strategy cake, industry studies show they're increasingly at the center of attention and investment: Kantar Media reported in early December that retailers' ad spend dropped 9% in the first four weeks of the holiday season, in part because of a shift away from TV to less expensive digital tactics.
Part of what turns holiday marketing into such a high-stakes period in this field, in particular, is the higher average order value for shoppers. The season is so important, in fact, that brands like Subaru begin thinking about and planning next year’s campaigns while current ones are ongoing.
"We’re constantly trying to think of new ways to give back, to connect with new audiences and to cut through the clutter of holiday messaging," Brian Cavallucci, national advertising manager of Subaru of America Inc., told Marketing Dive.
Digital: The gift that keeps on giving
What made both Subaru and Oreo’s holiday campaigns so striking was not so much the presence of digital elements but instead how they were leveraged to fit into a larger brand strategy and pivot away from purely traditional messaging. Many are already familiar with Subaru’s “Share the Love” from TV — the effort is going nearly a decade strong — but, as a trend toward cord-cutting accelerates, linear television as a channel is no longer the advertising lock it once was.
Subaru was smart then to introduce Snapchat lenses and streaming music services on top of the more straightforward TV spots. The Snapchat lenses were especially clever, tapping the platform for musical activations that let consumers "share the love" in their own way, all at a time when music is showing to be a key method for strengthening emotional engagement.
Media partnerships also played an increasingly important role this year, both through digital-first players like Snap and more traditional outlets.
"We [...] had a radio takeover with iHeart Radio in key markets play our version of the song," Cavallucci said of "Put a Little Love in Your Heart." "[W]e had our first partnership with Snapchat and a custom filter for Subaru Share the Love, which was a huge success."
Third-party app partnerships via things like Snapchat can not only be a great way to increase the value for consumers already familiar with a brand but also reach an entirely new audience.
"These partnerships between brands can be highly effective [...] and can provide exposure to new users, complementary experiences for existing users and, at times, a revenue opportunity," Mike Dudas, the co-founder and CRO of Button, told Marketing Dive in November.
And Subaru’s latest iteration of "Share the Love" is already seeing tangible results when it comes to giving back. The brand expects to donate over $20 million to four national charities and more than 660 local hometown charities selected by Subaru retailers, per Cavallucci.
The omnichannel equation
The demand for truly omnichannel marketing strategies is higher than ever but recent surveys from the CMO Council show nearly half of marketers are still less than confident bridging digital and physical promotions, and 38% report digital strategies produce mixed results at best. Part of improving omnichannel marketing means simply offering more content in different places, and Oreo showed it could capably handle that task this season.
A key element of the Mondelez brand's overall holiday marketing plan was new 15- and 30-second video creative titled "Believe in Wonder," inspired by an Oreo commercial from the '80s, according to a company spokesperson. Both videos were produced to serve double duty as digital and TV spots. Oreo also featured seasonal recipes on Facebook and Pinterest, adding a neat social element to the rollout.
In other efforts similar to Oreo's and Subaru's, digital marketing really made its presence felt this holiday season, agreed Michael Berelian, managing director of Shop+ at Mindshare NA, who emphasized the importance of e-commerce, in particular. Mindshare has indeed seen continued growth in online shopping, pointing to how online and mobile have begun to overshadow in-store shopping at key holiday touch points.
"The Black Friday of 2016 was the first time in the event’s history where mobile shopping surpassed $1 billion — it hit $1.2 billion," Berelian said. "The move to omnichannel shopping for shoppers has made it easier for brands to market their products to prospective shoppers."
Berelain also echoed Cavallucci’s advice on planning early and added that thinking about search is also important.
"Be sure to incorporate e-commerce search as part of your go-to-market strategy," Berelian said.
As consumers continue to make purchases online, brands and retailers are reacting accordingly, per Berelian. A good example is what Amazon does with its "12 days of deals" promotion. The scheduling cycle has shifted so that there’s increased activity and interest with online retail, which means there’s a longer window for advertising.
Additionally, the line between shopper and brand marketing has become especially blurred during the holiday season this year, Berelian explained. Some brands have moved media from traditional digital display to Amazon to get as close to the sale as possible. And marketers are also recognizing Amazon's ability to drive brand and product awareness.
Getting a head start on 2017
Looking ahead, Berelian said to expect dynamic, personalized marketing to become more prominent throughout 2017 as consumers become more savvy and digitally inclined than ever.
While traditional channels like linear TV aren’t going away anytime soon, it’s important for marketers to keep up with their audience no matter where they are engaging.
In terms of emerging channels to keep an eye on, Berelian pointed to streaming services — both TV and music — which are proving to be a "big focus across brands and industries."
While planning and preparation for the 2017 holiday are already underway, Berelian said that once the season begins it’s important to stay focused during critical launch times, and that new vendors and partners "pop up daily and they all promise the latest and greatest."
"Innovation is critical to moving forward but marketers need to make sure they don’t fall victim to 'bright, shiny objects,'" he said. "Instead, have a formalized plan in place to vet and review innovation partners."