Top 7 Seasonal Campaigns to Inspire Creativity and Engagement

Email marketers are always looking for inspiration for their next campaign. 

Fortunately, seasonal events and holidays offer a wealth of opportunities.

They also offer the perfect way to connect with your customers whilst subtly promoting your products or services. All whilst having a little creative fun.

In this blog post, we will explore 7 of our favourite recent seasonal campaigns. From Valentine's Day to Singles Day, Christmas to Halloween, these examples offer inspiration to get creative and craft seasonal campaigns that make an impact in the inbox.

Alexander House - Christmas

Plum - New year

CitizenM - Valentine’s Day

Superdrug - Father’s Day

Hobbycraft - Halloween

ASOS - Singles day

Dune - Black Friday

Next steps

Alexander House - Christmas

A Christmas email in July? Are they mad?

No, just well prepared. 

For many businesses, particularly those in the travel and hospitality sector, it’s never too early to start planning for the festive rush.

We love this campaign by Alexander House as not only are they getting us organised early, but they are also rewarding their VIP email recipients with exclusive access to their Christmas bookings.

And if that wasn’t good enough, their email is also beautifully designed. So much so that we don’t mind thinking about Christmas a little early this year.

Plum - New year

Instead of the usual “Happy New Year” emails that fill our inboxes every January 1st, Plum takes the opportunity for a little self-promotion. 

For financial apps such as Plum, trust and credibility are integral to their business. And their new year email campaign has stacks of it. 

Using data to tell a story, Plum offers recipients interesting updates on their app usage throughout 2022. Complete with a dedicated #YearInPlum hashtag to encourage users to share their stories, as well as explore others.

CitizenM - Valentine’s Day

Think of Valentine's Day and you may be reminded of cheesy couples, teddy bears, and Barry White songs.

That’s exactly why we love this campaign from CitizenM. 

It’s a break from the norm.

The overall tone of this campaign in both design and copy takes a more cynical and lighthearted approach to Valentine’s Day. Even incorporating an animated GIF that kickboxes Valentine’s cliches out of the email.

But CitizenM doesn't ditch Valentine's Day completely. As well as using the opportunity to promote their hotels, they also offer handy guides to some of their most romantic destinations.

Superdrug - Father’s Day

Father’s Day isn’t for everyone. And for some, receiving a deluge of Father’s Day emails can be a painful experience.

That’s why Superdrug makes use of their preference centre by asking recipients if they would like to opt out of their Father’s Day campaign emails.

Yes, this does help to improve the relevancy of their campaigns to recipients. But it is also a very empathetic gesture to their subscriber base. Something which is mirrored in all aspects of their email; incorporating simple design and copy. 

Furthermore, Superdrug takes the opportunity to promote the services of their charity partner, Marie Curie, to remind recipients that support is out there for those who need it. A really thoughtful touch in our opinion.

Hobbycraft - Halloween

Who doesn’t love a Halloween party?

Pumpkins, cobwebs, grotesque-looking snacks.

Instead of a standard Halloween discount, Hobbycraft really gets into the spirit (get it?), not only to promote their product range, but also to offer some crafty inspiration.

Their Halloween email campaign is packed with product suggestions, ‘how-to’ guides, and even workshops to get the kids (and big kids) even more excited for this spooky season.

ASOS - Singles day

If you’ve read our blog post on Singles Day (LINK), you’ll be well aware that it’s the biggest shopping event globally, surpassing both Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined.

Single’s Day offers retailers an excuse to add a little fun and creativity to their campaigns. With interactive and gaming elements being particularly popular with shoppers.

ASOS cleverly uses these tactics in their Single’s Day campaign. Not only is their email bright, bold, and snappy in design and copy, but it also incorporates a fun countdown competition where their discount code reduces every hour. 

Not only is this particularly engaging, but also adds a sense of urgency to encourage shoppers to make their purchasing decisions without delay.

Dune - Black Friday

Does anyone else get overwhelmed by the Black Friday sales?

So many emails. So many offers. So little time.

And what’s worse than finally finding the perfect item in the sale, just to realise it’s sold out in your size?

Fortunately, Dune had our backs during the most recent Black Friday, by making bagging a bargain as simple as possible. They achieve this by doing the heavy lifting and sifting through their own offers to provide you with sale items that are in your specific size.

All it takes is some simple filtering. But by adding clear links directly in their email campaign, they reduce unnecessary steps and streamline the process for the customer.

Next steps

Whatever the time of year, there’s always an opportunity for a seasonal campaign.

If you’re stuck in identifying the right seasonal campaign opportunities, or struggling to stand out in the inbox during these busy periods, then we can help.

As email experts, we can offer a wealth of inspiration for seasonal campaigns. From perfect timing, through to making your emails as irresistible as possible.

Get in touch with our team of email experts to find out more.