The Holiday Marketing Trap and How Smart Brands Avoid it

Every November (or earlier!), marketers everywhere feel it—that creeping pressure to do something big for the holidays. A splashy sale! A festive campaign! A rebrand of your logo in red and green just because everyone else is doing it! 

But the holidays shouldn’t be a time to abandon the hard work you’ve put into your brand, strategy, and understanding your customers’ needs. Feeds are cluttered around this time of year, making it hard to be noticed at all. It’s a sea of sameness out there—a lot of noise, not a lot of return.

So how do smart brands actually stand out? They don’t shout louder; they stick with their strategy. 

Why holiday marketing often fails

It’s not that brands lack creativity. It’s that they try to do everything at once: twelve campaigns, eight emails, four influencer partnerships, and a partridge in a pear tree. 

This result gets you an overwhelmed team and an overstimulated audience. According to Nielsen research, advertising wear-out happens faster during the holidays because consumers are exposed to more content in less time. When every brand says ‘look at me,’ very few messages actually land. 

The trap is mistaking activity for impact. More posts, more offers, more content don’t automatically mean more engagement or sales. 

The smarter way: focus, intentionality, and authenticity

The brands that cut through the noise aren’t necessarily the loudest or the flashiest. They’re the ones who know who they are and act accordingly. 

Take REI, for example. When everyone else was chasing Black Friday dollars, REI told shoppers to go outside. Their now-iconic #OptOutside campaign shut stores nationwide, encouraging people to spend the day outdoors. That single act of restraint was the message, and it resonated. REI’s brand affinity skyrocketed, its membership base grew, and they solidified their reputation as a purpose-driven brand.

Or look at Starbucks. Every year, their red holiday cup returns not with a major sale or new product push, but as a ritual. It’s about the experience, not the discount. Starbucks didn’t invent scarcity or festivity; they just owned the feeling of it. 

Then there’s Tiffany & Co. Their holiday campaign featuring Anya Taylor-Joy didn’t try to reinvent the wheel—no gimmicks, no doorbuster deals, just elegant storytelling that reaffirmed Tiffany’s timeless luxury. By staying true to its brand DNA, Tiffany’s quietly outshines louder competitors. 

Even Patagonia, perhaps the most famous anti-Black Friday brand, used the season to make a statement. Their ‘Don’t Buy This Jacket’ campaign discouraged unnecessary consumption, yet they experienced increased sales. Not the intended result, but a genius brand moment nonetheless. They turned restraint into relevance and consumers rewarded them for it. 

The real secret: strategy over seasonality

Holiday marketing shouldn’t feel like a sprint to outdo everyone else. It’s an opportunity to reinforce what makes your brand different. 

Before jumping into campaign mode, ask:

• What do our customers actually need during this time of year?

• How can we make their lives easier, not noisier?

• Does this campaign align with our broader business objectives, or is it just festive FOMO?

The smartest brands use the holidays to strengthen their brand story, not dilute it. 

The takeaway

More campaigns don’t equal more impact. 

The smartest holiday marketing isn’t about how many channels you use, or how much glitter you throw at ads. It’s about clarity, consistency, and conviction, showing up in a way that only your brand can. 

So this year, before you draft another ‘12 days of deals’ email, pause. Step back. Ask if it actually adds value, or just noise?