Rethinking Holiday Marketing To Win Customer Beyond Discount

Content Marketing, Marketing / By

Let’s be honest with ourselves – the old playbook of blasting a “50% OFF Black Friday” email and calling it holiday strategy is dead. Consumers are overwhelmed, fatigued, and increasingly tuning out the noise. Globally, 39% of shoppers say there are simply too many deals, and 25% have stopped paying attention to big sales events altogether. 

 

If you’re a marketer, ad professional, or SMB looking to thrive in 2025’s chaotic landscape, here’s the truth: the winners aren’t the ones who shout the loudest on Black Friday. They’re the ones who know how to turn every moment into a story, an opportunity, and an authentic connection. 

 

That’s what Mailchimp, Canvas8, and a lineup of sharp industry voices revealed in today’s webinar—and it’s what their reports (The New E-Commerce Calendar and Holiday Shopping Unwrapped) prove with data. So let’s break it down. 

The Holiday Season Is No Longer Just “Peak Season”

There was a time when marketers circled Q4 in red and built everything around Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday. But the data shows the season is now a marathon of moments: 

  • Early Lead-Up (October): Prime Big Deal Days, Halloween, Canadian Thanksgiving. 43% of shoppers already buy something tied to these early events. 
  • Pre-Peak (early November): Holiday cues start firing—Starbucks’ red cups, Christmas beers, holiday films. Enter the Joyful Shoppers, older buyers who spend less on impulse and more on meaningful gifts. 
  • Peak Sales (mid–late November): Black Friday and Cyber Monday still matter, but for Discount Devotees, it’s less about tradition and more about FOMO. 
  • Festive Phase (December): The Curators emerge—shoppers who aren’t just buying stuff, but seeking thoughtful gifts with a story. 
  • Last-Minute Sprint (mid-December): Last-Minute Listers rush to finish, and delivery fears push them back into physical stores. 
  • Betwixtmas (Dec 26–30): The rise of Self-Gifters, treating themselves in post-holiday indulgence. 
  • New Year: Self-Improvers focus on wellness, refreshes, and “new year, new me” purchases. 

Seven phases. Seven sets of motivations. Seven opportunities to stand out. 

What This Means for Marketers and Media Pros

Here’s the kicker: people aren’t just buying because it’s a sale. They’re buying because of emotions. 

  • 52% of global shoppers say their #1 reason for holiday gift-giving is to bring others joy. 
  • During the holidays, the importance of price drops by 35%. That’s right: even your most budget-conscious customers will loosen up if they believe in the story behind your product or campaign. 

For those of us in advertising and news media, this is huge. It means SMBs and brands need help telling stories that resonate—not just pushing discounts. That’s your opportunity to step in as a trusted partner who can craft, place, and amplify these narratives across channels. 

Three Marketing Truths That Matter More Than Ever
  1. Consistency Beats Flash-in-the-Pan Campaigns

One of today’s panelists nailed it: if your brand story isn’t consistent all year, no single holiday email is going to save you. Consistency builds equity with audiences. It’s how you become memorable before the holiday noise drowns everyone out. 

 

For media pros, this means advising clients to think long-term. Use every cultural and community moment—advocacy, local events, micro-holidays—as story arcs. News media outlets, in particular, are well-positioned to help SMBs engage in these “always-on” narratives because they know the pulse of the community. 

  1. Relevance > Reach

You don’t need to be everywhere. You need to be in the right places. That means: 

  • Don’t jump on every trend (consumers can smell bandwagon marketing a mile away). 
  • If a cultural moment doesn’t fit your brand, sit it out. Authenticity wins over ubiquity. 
  • Go regional. What resonates in the U.S. may not in the UK, and vice versa. Even inside a single country, regional moments—local festivals, sports events, community drives—can carry more weight than big global sales. 
  1. Reward Your VIPs Like Gold

The new reports are clear: loyalty is the currency of the future. Retaining and rewarding top customers is more valuable than chasing one-time buyers. That means: 

  • Exclusive first access to sales. 
  • Personalized offers based on browsing and purchase behavior. 
  • Fun, thoughtful post-purchase automations (think: a playful SMS check-in or VIP thank-you note). 

If you’re in the news media advertising space, this is a perfect opening: you can sell solutions that help SMBs identify, segment, and nurture these VIPs using email, SMS, and local media touchpoints. 

Tactical Moves to Dominate Holiday 2025

Want action steps you can implement now? Here are five: 

  1. Start Earlier Than Feels Comfortable 

If you wait until November to plan, you’ve already lost. The smart brands are locking in their October “Gift-Giving Lifers” before anyone else. 

 

2. Tell Stories That Resonate Emotionally 


Example: a pet food brand that ran a Valentine’s Day competition for pet owners. It wasn’t about discounts; it was about unconditional love. That campaign generated far more impact than “14% off for Valentine’s Day.” 

 

3. Use Omnichannel Intelligently 

Email is great for building momentum early with storytelling and guides. SMS and WhatsApp crush it in December when immediacy matters. Match the channel to the mindset. 

4. Segment Ruthlessly 

Don’t talk to all your customers the same way. Curators want meaningful product stories. Discount Devotees want urgency and exclusivity. Self-Gifters want indulgence. Your automation and data tools should reflect this. 

5. Make Local Media a Power Player 

Shoppers are craving authenticity and relevance. Partnering with local news media for targeted campaigns is a high-trust, high-ROI move that SMBs often overlook. Community-rooted storytelling outperforms generic digital noise every time. 

Why This Matters Now

The stakes are higher than ever. Consumers are more skeptical, more distracted, and less forgiving of inauthenticity. At the same time, they’re hungry for meaning, connection, and brands that align with their values. 

This is the perfect opening for marketers, advertising pros, and SMBs to step up—not just as sellers, but as storytellers. To shift from one-size-fits-all discounts to campaigns that feel human, authentic, and culturally aware. 

The brands that succeed in 2025 will be the ones who: 

  • Start planning in September (or earlier). 
  • Pick the right cultural and emotional “moments” to engage. 
  • Double down on storytelling, not just sales. 
  • Reward loyalty with personalization and exclusivity. 
  • Stay authentic, even if it means skipping “must-do” events like Black Friday. 

The choice is simple: keep treating the holiday season as a frantic sales sprint and risk being ignored… or embrace the new e-commerce calendar and become the brand that customers can’t wait to engage with. 


The holiday season is no longer a single event—it’s a layered journey. And if you’re a marketer, media professional, or SMB, the question you need to ask yourself is simple: Am I just another discount in someone’s inbox, or am I the story they’ll remember this season? 

The brands that answer that question with intention and care will not just survive this holiday season—they’ll own it.