Marketing the Ugly Christmas Sweater Craze

The Ugly Christmas Sweater craze is far from over. It's gone from a grassroots movement to mainstream marketing, as shown above in an Instagram post by Madame Tussauds. Here, the aim was to promote a fundraiser, Save the Children's Christmas Jumper Day (the British "jumper" translates as "sweater" for Americans). Note the over-the-top couples sweater worn by the wax versions of Prince William and his beautiful bride Kate.

Now a holiday tradition, ugly Christmas sweaters are everywhere. Making waves in Vermont, serving as the theme for pub crawls and beer tastings in Chicago, making fundraising fun through celeb-designed sweaters (see sweater at right, by Shaquille O'Neal). 

One enterprising company invites customers to "design your own" ugly sweater. Click to Ugly Christmas Sweater and see for yourself.

There are a LOT of really interesting, really ugly sweaters out there. Pop culture influences customer behavior and gets woven into the fabric of marketing! Pun intended.

Shoppers Boost the Local Economy on Small Business Saturday

#ShopSmall

American Express launched Small Business Saturday in 2010 to encourage holiday shoppers to patronize local/small businesses on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

This is the seventh year and every year, merchant participation and public response have been bigger and better than the previous year. In 2015, 95 million US consumers purchased something as part of Small Business Saturday, for a total estimated financial impact of $16 billion.

This year, the official FB page has 3.5 million likes...the Twitter account has 56.5k followers...the Instagram account has 22.5k followers.

Not only does Amex provide downloadable marketing materials for small businesses, it also has a lookup function to find participating businesses in the local area, wherever you are.

A Google search for "Small Business Saturday" returned 45 million+ results today. The majority are local media outlets publicizing participants (this year and previous years). So if you have gifts to buy or want to enjoy a meal out, Small Business Saturday is a good opportunity to vote with your wallet and make a difference to the local economy.

Retailers Choose: Open or Closed on Thanksgiving?

Retailers are again navigating the pros and cons of whether to open or close on Thanksgiving. From a consumer behavior standpoint, some shoppers like to get an early jump on holiday shopping and Black Friday bargains. Others want an activity in addition to or instead of a big Thanksgiving meal. That's why the Los Angeles Auto Show is open on Thanksgiving, and it usually draws a good crowd.

Mall of America has already announced it will be closed on Thanksgiving, although individual stores may choose to open for all or part of the day. Costco is traditionally closed on Thanksgiving, Nordstrom will be closed, and Staples has announced it will be closed. Some major retailers will reportedly be open, as the list here shows.

On Thanksgiving Thursday and Black Friday 2015, the outdoor retailer REI famously chose to be closed and urged everybody to enjoy the outdoors instead of shopping. Its marketing campaign #OptOutside won awards and lots of publicity. Will REI repeat its decision in 2016? Expect an announcement soon.

Toy Fair Time: First Look at 2015's Newest Toys

Want to know what you'll see on store shelves come November? The wholesale Toy Fair (which just completed its NYC run) offers an early look at what 13,000 toy retailers from around the globe are buying for the holiday season.

Lots and lots of dinosaurs, for a start, thanks to the upcoming release of the new Jurassic World movie, one of the sequels to the wildly popular classic film Jurassic Park. And, as Fortune notes, generic dinosaur toys can be produced without being licensed from Jurassic Park's owner, Universal Studios. At the same time, LEGO licensed dinos for its new Jurassic World brick set, introduced at the Toy Fair.

All the usual suspects had exhibits at the fair, including Mattel and Hasbro, plus many up-and-coming firms. In addition to new Barbies and Furbys, watch for new Marvel comics superhero toys, drone-type playthings, Star Wars tie-ins, even fake snow. Really.

For more news, follow Toy Fair on Facebook or Twitter.

Virgin Sets Sail with a Cruise Line Marketing Plan

Virgin Group--the UK-based company which has its brand on all kinds of products, from airlines to trains to financial services and more--has a long-term strategic plan for entering the cruise industry.

Virgin's brand is internationally recognized for its youthful energy, value, entertainment, and (watch out, competitors) industry disruption.

Because of the lead time in planning and building cruise ships to meet Virgin's specifications, the new venture won't be introduced until the end of this decade. The new line will be headquartered in Florida.

But as always, Virgin's marketing plan calls for disruption. Sir Richard Branson, founder, says:

"We plan to shake up the cruise industry and deliver a holiday that customers will absolutely love. They’ll be sailing on the latest ships offering a great quality, a real sense of fun and many exciting activities all delivered with the famed Virgin service."

Given widespread consumer perceptions of cruising as a vacation for older people, and perhaps a passive holiday at that, Virgin's marketing plan is likely to focus on younger target markets, highlighting the "sense of fun" for which Virgin is well known. 

Meanwhile, the three major cruise companies--Carnival Corp., Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian Cruise Line--are prepping their own marketing plans to attract Millennials and defend market share. In 5 or 6 years, the cruise industry will be making marketing waves with many more choices and price points for consumers of all ages and interests.

Hot Holiday Toys 2014

Those "hot holiday toy" lists have been out for weeks. There are some obvious selections (Frozen merchandise) and some not so obvious, ready for gift-givers to browse and buy. Promotions and publicity now--the bigger, the better--will build brand awareness and recognition, even preference and early purchasing, in advance of the holiday shopping season that accelerates in late November.

Toy review site TTPM says: Disney Frozen dolls, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles figures, and Doc McStuffins (at left) will be hot this year, among others.


Walmart says Frozen plus: Air Hogs RC Zero Gravity Laser Racer, Airstorm Firetech Bow (think Hunger Games), Barbie, Hot Wheels, and others, including the Vtech smartwatch (at right) for kids.

Toys 'R' Us toy list includes Legos, Little Live Pets Bird Cage with "live" birds, FurReal Friends toy pets, and Transformers, among others.

And if you're shopping in the UK, Hamleys has the My Friend Cayla doll (which looks things up on Google for your children), Doh Vinci modeling set (a la 3D printing), and the Xeno the Cheeky Interactive Baby Monster (at left).

Amazon categorizes its top holiday picks, including "retro," "Mom picks," "classic brands," and "in the movies." 

Get 'em while they're hot! Or at least while they're in stock.

Christmas or Holiday Marketing?

Brandweek notes that no matter which way brands turn, they may very well be criticized for wishing buyers a hearty "Merry Christmas" or a neutral "Happy Holidays" or whatever.

The Gap is being especially inclusive with its Gap Cheer Factory, where you can click to personalize an e-mail card for Happywhateveryouwannakah. A little humor might go a long way, but of course what makes me smile might make someone else frown or boycott.

A few years ago, Walmart began to reinsert the word "Christmas" back into its year-end holiday marketing. I just checked its web site and I notice that "holiday" is as prominent as "Christmas" on many pages, such as here. Kmart has a "Christmas Countdown" and the phrase "Bring Home the Holidays with Kmart" on its site. Costco offers "Toys for the Holidays" as shown in the graphic above, but no mention of Christmas on its home page (as of today). Target, on the other hand, features a "Christmas Delivered" tag line and graphics on its home page.

It's beginning to feel a lot like . . . holiday time. Hanukkah starts this weekend, and Christmas is coming up quickly. Will shoppers make buying decisions based on holiday slogans or will price and convenience win out?