The holiday season is a great time to be selling anything. But it can be hard to stand out from the crowd, with every brand and retailer under the sun pulling out all the stops to attract customers.
Online home products are on sale everywhere, consumers are being bombarded with advertisements, and the time for buying gifts is quickly slipping away. How can you attract attention in the hectic holiday marketplace? Let’s take a look at 3 ways to shine like the star on a Christmas tree.
Everyone has seen a million Christmas ads. We don’t need to see any more hammy actors playing some variation of Scrooge, animals coming in from the cold, or women opening jewelry boxes and staring lovingly at their partners. If you’re hoping to stand out from the crowd, it’s time to look for new themes and messages rather than the old familiar Christmas tropes.
A great example of a Christmas ad that offers a unique message in heartwarming fashion is this spot from Norwegian electronics retailer Elkjop. In the midst of a familiar living room tableaux, a transgendered teen sits awkwardly fidgeting with her sweater. She and her father briefly make eye contact before he offers her a present. She opens it and finds a 2-in-1 hair straightener and curling iron, and her face lights up with joy. The gift shows her that her father accepts her for who she is. Without any words spoken, the store’s slogan, “A gift can say it all” appears.
Another ad which went viral on social media was Iceland’s anti-palm oil Christmas campaign, which was banned from the UK airwaves for being overly political. The ad, which shows a young girl befriending an orangutan and learning about the environmental problems caused by the cultivation of palm oil, was widely shared on all social media platforms and has racked up millions of views on Youtube. Iceland has won the goodwill of millions (and saved a pile of money buying air-time) by thinking outside the (gift)box. Maybe you should too!
If you can’t find a revolutionary way to express a timeless and heartwarming sentiment, perhaps you’re better off showcasing the utility of your product rather than joining the indistinguishable muddle of uninspired Yuletide ads. During last year’s Super Bowl, Amazon made waves with their star-studded “Alexa Loses Her Voice” ad which showed people struggling to adapt as various celebrities took over Alexa’s digital duties to disastrous effect. The cameos and jokes grabbed our attention, but the spot did a wonderful job of showcasing the things Alexa does well, playing music, answering questions and setting moods. Letting people know how your product will improve their lives is more beneficial than another puppy in another stocking.
Rather than spend a huge portion of your marketing budget on another Santa-centric broadcast spot, perhaps it’s time to try the direct approach. Social media sites have overtaken TV and radio as the preferred media platform for millennials, and companies that are targeting younger consumers with connected home electronics would do well to invest in targeted shoppable ads on popular sites.
Snapchat launched shoppable ads in June of this year, and the early results have been extremely promising. eBay, Wish.com and Guess were early partners, and the data shows that when compared to similar, non-shoppable ads, consumer engagement was markedly higher (5x for eBay, 4.1x for Guess, and a whopping 17x for Wish.com). Instagram Stories also recently announced that it was rolling out in-app shopping globally, and the company has claimed that 90 million people click on shopping tags in buyable posts every month.
If you’re looking to sell online home products like smart speakers and digital assistants, you’re looking at a market that’s more tuned in to social media and online video than traditional broadcast networks. By incorporating shoppable marketing into streaming (and hopefully viral) videos and social media feeds, you’re far more likely to connect with your target audience and find them primed to buy.
People want connected home appliances and products because these devices allow them to easily complete tasks that used to take a lot more work. These consumers are looking to technology to simplify their daily errands, save their precious time, and make their lives more convenient. Can you guess what this demographic wants when they’re looking to buy these devices? Do they want to drive to a crowded big-box store, elbow their way through a crowd of holiday shoppers, and wait in line? Of course not. Even if the receipt says “Google Home” or “Amazon Echo”, what they are buying is CONVENIENCE!
If you can offer these customers a way to buy your product while avoiding the stress, wasted time, and potential violence of Black Friday and Boxing Day sales, you can win their hearts. If your product isn’t available through a voice command, a tap on an Instagram post or a click on a Youtube video, you are alienating a growing segment of consumers. If your eCommerce pages have lengthy log-ins, numerous forms that need to be completed, and a complicated path to checkout, you’re essentially asking potential customers to abandon their carts. If you aren’t offering fast, free shipping and a generous returns policy, you aren’t giving yourself a chance to succeed online.
Consumers are beginning to demand that you make their lives easier, and during one of the busiest times of year, they need your help to accomplish the multitude of tasks the holidays bring. If you aren’t willing to make it easy to buy your products, they’ll find a competitor who respects their needs and their time.
At Adimo we know the technology exists to make buying your products almost effortless. We know because we work with it every day. We also know that if you focus on making the journey to purchase as seamless and pleasant as your home products will make domestic life, you’ll have a very Merry Christmas this year.