Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Starbucks and Walmart seek to boost engagement for the holidays

For many brand managers, the holiday season comes early.

Though many festive products and decorations are in stores already, Starbucks and Walmart kicked off November by announcing their holiday campaigns.

Starbucks’ premiered its iconic holiday cup—which, in recent years, has been the target of a social media backlash against the global chain. This year, the company seems to be actively avoiding controversy:

AdAge reported:

There is a tree. It has a rendering of the red cups Starbucks is known for during the holidays, though the actual cup is largely white. It features the traditional Starbucks siren icon in green, surrounded by black line drawings of seasonal moments accented by pops of red. But the cup is intended for consumers to put their own stamp on it—it's more like a canvas to color than a completed design and it ncludes [sic] a tree, presents, and other holiday season imagery.

Though consumers also lashed out at Starbucks for its Unity cups last year, the company’s current offering is based on consumers’ behavior, rather than corporate social responsibility initiatives.

Heidi Peiper, Starbucks communications program manager, wrote in the company’s newsroom:

For years Starbucks customers have been decorating their cups (Starbucks held a contest to support this creativity). Taking a cue from customers who had been using their cups as a canvas, last year Starbucks red cups featured 13 different designs created by customers.

Jordan Kay from Starbucks Creative Studio was the illustrator for this year’s holiday cup design.

“I liked the idea of hands as the centering point, a symbol of connection, love and giving joy,” said Kay. “Whether it’s wrapping presents or decorating a tree, writing cards or enjoying a mug of cocoa.”

The season’s “cup sleeve” (for hot beverages) is red with an invitation to “Give Good,” which is the theme for this year’s holiday campaign.

“Giving good can be as small as someone opening the door for you, or recognizing the people that enrich your life – your child’s teacher, a caregiver, a family friend,” Fremar said. “The holidays are a time to celebrate all the good we give to each other and our community.”

It’s also a way for Starbucks to encourage consumers to post their creations to social media platforms such as Instagram:

“This year’s cup is intentionally designed to encourage our customers to add their own color and illustrations,” said Leanne Fremar, executive creative director for Starbucks. “We love the idea of everyone making this year’s cup their own.”

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Walmart entices consumers with festive gatherings

Walmart also hopes to encourage consumer engagement this holiday season—but instead of asking people to color, the retailer is throwing parties for its shoppers.

CNBC reported:

The big-box retailer plans to hold more than 20,000 parties at its stores over the next two months, with the first event, called "Toys That Rock," taking place nationwide this Saturday.

Wal-Mart's other events will include "Parties That Rock" and "Gifts That Rock," where attendees can receive curated gift guides and toy catalogs. Its overarching holiday marketing campaign this year is dubbed "Rock This Christmas," the company announced Wednesday.

Walmart announced in a press release:

The partying starts with Walmart’s “Toys that Rock” event. Customers will receive the retailer’s annual Toys catalog and sticker sheets for kids to mark their favorite toys. In the toy department, kids can play with hot holiday toys and take Selfies with Santa. This will mark the start of Santa’s visits to Walmart – he’ll make more than 24,000 visits across the entire season – to hear shoppers’ wish lists and pose with them for selfies. The “Parties that Rock” event will share tips and inspiration so that customers can entertain like a rockstar all season long, while “Gifts that Rock” will feature a curated assortment of the top gifts available at customers’ local Walmart Supercenter.

[…] To excite customers to shop Walmart this holiday season, the retailer is launching a new advertising campaign – “Rock This Christmas.” The campaign’s television ads feature some of life’s greatest hits – from rock songs to contemporary pop – that show shoppers rocking the holidays for their families at Walmart. In the retailer’s commercial for toys rollbacks, kids are seen celebrating as they unwrap their favorite toys on Christmas morning while parents celebrate over the deals they secured purchasing the toys to the tune of “Whoomp There It Is” by Tag Team.

It also shared the news in a tweet:

The move is meant to stand out against e-commerce rivals—and rise above struggling retailers such as Toys R Us.

USA Today reported:

Walmart, second only to Amazon when it comes to its share of the toy market, is trying to maintain that edge during a season when dolls, games and gadgets are top of mind, and in the wake of its rival Toys R Us filing for bankruptcy protection in September.

What do you think of the companies’ holiday campaigns, PR Daily readers?



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