Industrialization and urbanization have played a key role in the popularization of Christmas as a commercial holiday. As industrialization took place, people’s wealth and purchasing power increased, allowing them to buy gifts for family and friends. On the other hand, urbanization concentrated the population in cities, and the growth of small retail stores facilitated such purchases.
It was in 1880 when a new era of Christmas shopping started, with the American giant Macy’s opening its first department store in New York. The distinctive feature of these stores was that they offered a wide range of products, all in one place, making it much easier to find gifts of all kinds and for all audiences.
1890 was a key year: the U.S. retailer Montgomery Ward launched the first ever Christmas advertising campaign, which included a catalog of toys and other Christmas items, and was a resounding success. With this campaign, the tradition of buying gifts for Christmas was consolidated. And so, at the beginning of the 20th century, Christmas became a national holiday in the United States.
At the same time, the figure of Santa Claus grew towards the center of Christmas marketing, specially after 1831, when Coca-Cola used Santa for its, now still iconic, Christmas campaign.
In fact, the introduction of quintessential characters such as Santa Claus or the Grinch, proved helped very effective in advertising campaigns. Having Christmas symbols attracted more consumers.
Why is marketing so important during Christmas?
In the United States alone, annual spending on gifts, decorations and holiday items reaches 1 billion USD. It was thanks to the marketing and advertising campaigns started in 1890 that Christmas went from a christian celebration to the most important shopping season of the year.
It’s safe to say that these initiatives completely modified how we perceive and experience Christmas as a society.
Advertising campaigns have known how to fit the holiday message of joy and celebration with sales pitches, connecting with consumers’ emotional will to buy. They’ve promoted gift giving as a display of love and affection, associated with happiness and satisfaction, which has now made people feel even “morally obliged” to buy gifts for their loved ones during Christmas.
Brands, companies and businesses have created through marketing a sense of urgency around Christmas shopping, also thanks to offering sales and discounts, available for limited time. This tactic has led consumers to make impulse purchases, under the premise that they are taking advantage of unique opportunities that are only available during the holiday season.
Holiday Songs
Another element that has been used in most marketing strategies that has had a major, but maybe less perceptible, impact are Christmas carols. These songs give consumers the holiday spirit.
In fact, neuromarketing studies have corroborated that the use of Christmas songs in establishments and campaigns influences consumer mood and behavior. Thanks to Christmas music, which evokes positive feelings associated with the holiday, consumers are more likely to buy products and services related to the season.
Christmas advertising campaigns, moreover, are starting earlier and earlier. They are planned and anticipated to generate a festive atmosphere earlier to stimulate the desire to buy. With more and more competition, brands aim at starting earlier to get an advantage over the rest, trying to leave their mark before users are avalanched with advertisement. So, the “Christmas feeling” starts earlier every year. In fact, the shopping season for many retailers begins in Single’s Day, in November. But that’s a theme for another blog post. Stay tuned!
At Kimia, our companies can help you manage your Christmas campaigns as efficiently as possible. With Tidart, you can quickly implement SEM and Social Ads campaigns, while Biddeo focuses on video ad campaigns. With our ad network, Adport, advertisers take things into their own hands and manage their own ad formats. Check them out and maximize your holiday season profit.
