5 Great Thanksgiving Marketing Campaigns

Thanksgiving is a great time for family, food, and memories. It’s also a time of year where people are beginning to think about shopping for everything the holiday season requires! However, it can be a difficult balancing act for companies to stick out from the crowd while also creating a holiday ad campaign that people will enjoy. Check out some of our favorite Thanksgiving marketing campaigns and see what these companies did right!

Pinterest, Allrecipes, and Better Homes & Gardens – “Best Thanksgiving Ever”. This social media campaign in 2012 offered participants the chance to win $5,000 if they posted five or more Thanksgiving recipes from Allrecipes or Better Homes & Gardens to their own “Best Thanksgiving Ever” board on Pinterest. This social media marketing campaign was interesting for a couple of reasons, the first one being that it successfully drove traffic across all the sponsoring websites. By offering people incentives to go find their favorite recipes and then create a board on Pinterest to showcase them, the campaign pushed a lot of visits. This Thanksgiving marketing campaign was also great because it understood the changing trends in the ways that people find recipes. People are less and less likely to call their moms for cooking ideas these days, instead picking up their smartphones or laptops and searching for new recipes online.
Publix – “Head of the Table”. Publix always comes out with sincere Thanksgiving commercials, and this one was no exception. Featuring three families with diverse ethnic backgrounds, this ad subtly embraces and celebrates the varied roots of this country. The yearly Publix commercials like these are also great because they rely on simple emotion. As the holidays like Thanksgiving become more hectic every year, this form of Thanksgiving marketing reminds everyone of simple, enjoyable moments and time spent with loved ones.
Oscar Mayer – “Carving Board – Giving Thanks”. This is a hilarious Thanksgiving commercial for people who are familiar with everything that can go wrong on the holiday. This campaign is smart because it reaches beyond the traditional holiday season, taking a product that’s typically associated with Thanksgiving and positioning it as a year-round item. The humor in this commercial is also great for anyone who’s a little worn out by the holidays.
Nike – “Turkey Bowl”. Nike’s 2013 Thanksgiving marketing campaign used mobile app advertising to boost its Hyperwarm line while engaging customers in a really creative way. When customers used apps in the SessionM mobile app network, the Nike campaign rewarded the in-app actions with points which could then be redeemed for prizes like gift cards. Once customers redeemed their points, the Nike Turkey Bowl ads would pop up. This is a brilliant marketing strategy because it actually rewards customers for interacting with an ad. While many mobile customers would be annoyed at a typical pop-up ad, this campaign offered something in exchange for their time. With mobile media taking off, companies that can creatively engage customers on this platform will see the rewards.
American Express – “Small Business Saturday”. We all know that Black Friday is one of the busiest shopping days of the year; but most of our money ends up going towards the big businesses in the US. In 2010, American Express launched their Small Business Saturday campaign in order to promote shopping at local small businesses. This year, AmEx is offering cardholders who participate in the campaign up to $30 back on their purchases. There are a few elements contributing to what makes this campaign work. Not only do they have eye-catching ads like the one pictured above, they’ve also used social media to their advantage with the #shopsmall hashtag. AmEx also did the extra work by creating a very clear and easy-to-use Small Business Saturday website that has generic marketing materials for small business owners, a history of the campaign, and clear directions for the audience they’re trying to reach. That combined with their #shopsmall commercial that focuses on small businesses and the people that make them happen, AmEx has created a cross-platform campaign that supports communities and builds an image of the company as one that’s invested in people.