Successful Holiday Campaigns & How You Can Run Them Too!
Jewelry is the perfect holiday gift to show someone how much they mean to you. It`s classic, it`s personal, and it`s perfect to show off to friends and family over a holiday meal. But jewelers, just like all other retailers, need to have a great holiday marketing plan in order to beat out the competition and engage holiday shoppers.
However, as it turns out, inspiration is everywhere. From small family jewelers using new technology to reach more customers to big box stores hoping to appeal to customers` emotions, jewelry retailers are truly shining during the holidays.
Here are a few ideas to take from small and large jewelers around the country:
Jeweler: Fred Meyer Jewelers
Campaign: Gifts that Delight / Holiday 2013
What They Did: The most technological campaign on this list, Fred Meyer reached out to a public relations agency and had them design a microsite (small and limited website from a brand with a unique link and content) devoted solely to their Gifts That Delight campaign. To support the microsite, they also used email, social, and display advertising to get their message across. The campaign allowed users to enter to win jewelry each week by pinning photos of items from the microsite.
What You Can Do: Encourage customers to pin photos of your products for a reward, whether you sell online or not. You may choose to do a contest like Fred Meyer, or simply give a coupon to anyone who shows their pinned item in-store. Not only does this get customers interacting with your brand, but it spreads your products and content on social media.
Jeweler: Cartier
Campaign: Winter`s Tale / Holiday 2011
What They Did: A well-recognized name in luxury jewelry, Cartier can thank its fine products and smart marketing campaigns for its success. In 2011, Cartier`s holiday campaign was centered around the Cartier mascot, the leopard. Their main attraction was a video of the leopard among their holiday collection, with customers given the ability to browse products featured in the video afterward.
What You Can Do: There are several takeaways from the Cartier campaign! First, play off of what your business is known for. Cartier had a leopard, perhaps you have a store pet that your customers are familiar with. Next, take advantage of video. Feature your products and make it short but impactful. And finally, make it easy for customers to shop items found in videos. This can simply be done by writing a blog post on the video with links to the items below.
Jeweler: Heirlume
Campaign: Holiday 2014
What They Did: Heirlume found holiday success in 2014 by appealing to the masses… just not all at the same time. They tailored half of their holiday email messages to men and half of their messages to women. The emails had similar topics. If the women`s email asked what bracelet they wanted for Christmas, the men`s email asked if they knew which bracelet their wife would want.
What You Can Do: If you ask email subscribers to give gender when they sign up for the list (while still leaving an option for those who do not want to disclose), you, too can tailor your email marketing by gender. Similarly, you can split the list in different ways, like parents and non-parents or those who shop online vs. those who shop in-store.
Jeweler: Park Place Jewelers
Campaign: Let It Snow and It`s Free / Holiday 2013
What They Did: Customers who purchased jewelry within a limited period of time prior to the holidays were given the opportunity to get their money back if it snowed more than an inch (in Ocean City, MD) on New Year`s Day.
What You Can Do: Think of a unique contest that would get customers excited. With so many good deals going on for the holidays, it`s smart to offer something for free, as deep discounts can get lost in the shuffle.
However you get customers in your doors this holiday season, remember what makes you unique and be sure to give them a one-of-a-kind experience. If you`re looking to learn more strategies on how to boost sales this holiday season, and access done-for-you social media posts and graphics, visit http://crystalmedia.co/holiday to learn more about the 2015 Holiday Marketing Bundle.
Social Edge members get the bundle for FREE.
Not a Social Edge member? Don`t worry!
Social Edge is also unique because jewelers can save 25%!
Just enter the promo code RDIDIAMONDS at checkout. RDI Diamonds pays for 25% of your membership, so you can join for just $747/year or $97/month by using the coupon code RDIDiamonds at http://socialedge.co.
Crystal Vilkaitis is the resident Social Media Expert at RDI Diamonds and owner of Crystal Media; a company dedicated to helping retailers integrate proven social media, mobile and email marketing strategies into their businesses. Crystal started Social Edge, an online membership group exclusive to retailers looking to gain an edge over competition using social media, who need direct access to what`s important and relevant when it comes to marketing their store and products online. For more information and to receive free bi-weekly social media tips to your email inbox, visit crystalmedia.co or socialedge.co. 
