The 2023 holiday season saw plenty of in-store and online traffic despite still-present economic concerns. That provided brands and retailers a strong opportunity to appeal to consumers. Following the holidays, the marketing opportunity continued with New Year’s resolutions and Dry January, an increasingly popular occasion for consumers to partake in — particularly younger generations. On the following pages, we provide a glimpse at how some retailers and brands activated during this timeframe — online, in stores and beyond.
Target teamed up with British retailer Marks & Spencer to offer a holiday collection for the second year in a row, this time adding wine and refreshed packaging. In Target stores, the M&S London collection items, including boxes of chocolates and tea tins of shortbread cookies, were stocked near the packed food department on an eye-catching aisle display resembling a double-decker bus.
Revolution Beauty tied in to the 20th anniversary of Warner Bros.’ “Elf” by launching a cosmetics collection inspired by the Christmas film in November, first exclusively at Walmart. The I Heart Revolution x Elf line Revolution was stocked on a dedicated holiday-themed endcap in stores and promoted via influencer outreach on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.
Instacart ran a seven-week integrated and multifaceted campaign across the U.S. and Canada dubbed “Holiday Rescue App.” Multiple CPG brand partners, including McCormick, Kodiak, Diageo and Mars Wrigley, activated within the campaign to inspire shoppers as they prepared for holiday festivities, including New Year’s Eve. For Instacart’s retail co-marketing efforts, there was “Holiday Rescue App” messaging and creative showcasing the breadth of its retail banner assortment and selection with gifting options across beauty, sports, home improvement, pet care and spirits. Media ran across linear TV, OTT, search, YouTube, paid and organic social, influencer, audio and direct mail.
Hop Wtr, a healthier beverage alternative to booze, ran its second annual Dry January campaign, this time enlisting certified hypnotist Amy Koford to award sober-curious consumers with a 1-on-1 session to be hypnotized into staying dry all month and kickstart a healthier 2024. The campaign also came to life through organic social media promotions and a national social media giveaway, in which the brand partnered with other non-alcoholic beverage brands to award booze-free bar cart essentials to one winner.
Albertsons Cos.’ Jewel-Osco used an interior “Give Dry January a Try” ad in its weekly circular to highlight multiple non-alcoholic beverages from Molson Coors, Mark Anthony Brands’ White Claw, Revolution Brewing and Heineken’s Lagunitas, which was particularly elevated with a $5 manufacturer’s rebate that could be claimed after scanning a QR code.
McIlhenny Co.’s Tabasco addressed the Sriracha shortage of 2023 in its holiday efforts with a “12 Days of Sriracha” Instagram sweeps from Dec. 12-24, awarding 12 winners a one-year supply of Sriracha daily. Tabasco commissioned popular content creator Keegan Evans (@keeganevansphoto) to help bring Santa’s struggle to life and showcase how he was coping with the high demand through a comical video shared to both Tabasco and the creator’s massive Instagram following.
Coca-Cola offered +One loyalty members a slew of holiday-themed experiences, including a way to create AI-generated Christmas cards and artwork inspired from nostalgic Coca-Cola images, via its brand website. Additionally, a sweepstakes awarded a grand-prize trip to Santa Claus Village amusement park in Finland.
Famous Mineral Water Co.’s Crazy Water ran a cheeky campaign encouraging consumers to kick off the new year, as well as what it’s dubbed “Crazy Dry January,” healthier. The brand deployed massive billboards in Texas as well as a series of videos and social posts with humorous taglines like “Let’s Get Undrunk” and “Get Zero Sheets to the Wind.”
Walmart tapped singer John Legend, influencer Emma Chamberlin and fictional Christmas anti-hero The Grinch to promote their favorite products found at Walmart ahead of the holidays. A slew of promotional materials, such as email blasts, social media posts/videos and a dedicated Walmart.com brand shop supported the campaign and highlighted each person’s festive favs, such as The Grinch’s “awfully good” stocking stuffers.
