Ho, Ho, Ho!

Hi all, It’s Christmas Thing/k.

4 Ideas. 4 campaigns. 4 Xmas offerings. 4 digital marketing strategies. 1 thing/k in common. Online.

Spend, Spend, Spend
US retailer Target created a holiday-themed “i-app” (=iPhone application), called the Target Gift Globe.
The decision came after Target realized* that the majority of traffic to its mobile site came from iPhones. (*If you’re thinking ‘a Web Analytics insight’ - Spot-on!)

The idea was to mimic the holiday tradition of the snow globe. Users download the snow globe and can then shake their iPhone to produce an on-screen snowfall that then clears to reveal a gift idea from the retailer. They can then tab through to visit Target’s website and buy the item or find a store nearby.

Target’s agency, AKQA, said that aim was one of “Utilitainment”, making the application both useful and fun.

Read Reviews (and then Spend, Spend, Spend)
Amazon.com is using some of its most zealous users to give customers - and reporters - the 411 on the best holiday gifts.
Amazon's "Holiday Customer Review Team" purports to help consumers make more informed buying decisions by "telling it like it is".
Users share top gift picks and give tips on how to cut costs on a dedicated review page.
(Users have contributed nearly 5,000 product reviews collectively; each member ranks within Amazon's top 100 reviewers)

Donate, Donate, Donate
As we know, charities rely heavily on the generosity (and discretionary income) of consumers this time of year.
These (economic) days consumers won't be nearly as quick to make a donation if their primary focus is scaling back their own family's holiday spending
Some charities are hoping that marketing themselves on social networks and online communities will boost the desire to give.

Child's Play, a global community of gamers that raises goods and funds for hospitalized children, adopted to promote its own cause this year.
The charity partnered with Makena Technologies, creator of virtual world and social site There, to devise a distinctive holiday-themed promotional campaign.
To raise funds for Child's Play, site users can adopt a holiday tree in a Charity Tree Park that was developed specifically for the cause. There members can bid on, purchase, and decorate virtual trees for the park, which other site users can view. Proceeds from the effort go to 45 hospitals that Child's Play works with in a fundraising capacity.

Save, Save, Save (or: Put That Wallet Away!)
ING Direct, the online-banking company, launched its "We the savers" campaign in October but relaunched its site for the holidays with a host of social-media tools, including message boards, polls and an iGoogle gadget.

In one example, e-commerce shoppers searching for holiday gifts on Google will notice an unusual offer showing up in the paid part of the Google results:
"Don't spend, save with ING Direct. Help lead America back to savings." The message stands out amid a bombardment of other messages touting superior discounts, door-buster deals and perfect holiday gifts. About 11,500 people have signed the "We the savers" declaration online in less than three weeks.

(Sources: CMD Global, marketingvox.com, ClickZ, AdAge.com)