As the festive season draws nearer, brands across many different industries are embracing playful and reward-driven promotions to try and make their business stand out, as well as boosting engagement. Not only is this a highly successful strategy, it’s also a great way to build brand loyalty.
Interactive Holiday Campaigns are Surging in 2025
Interestingly, we are seeing a sharper rise in the number of brands who are embracing interactive holiday campaigns. Dominos are a prime example here. Not only have they launched a festive pizza, they have also sent customers a virtual stocking that they can scratch to reveal rewards. The scratchcard was sent via email, with rewards including free pizza, bonus points and numerous other perks.
Whole Foods Market has also launched their own festive-themed promotion. All purchases made in December will unlock a festive scratch card, with the chance to win a £500 voucher. It’s not just traditional businesses that are adopting holiday campaigns either. Last year, metal icons Sabaton launched their own 24-days of Christmas advent calendar. Every day, fans could check in with the website, with daily surprises to be had.
They changed from exclusive content to merch drops and more, showing how even music acts are embracing the holiday traditions. UK casino brands are also using the festive season as a way to further their offerings. With virtual advent calendars and a number of Christmas-themed releases, which range from Fishin’ Frenzy Christmas to Santa’s Slay and more, festive offerings, and festive campaigns are really helping to highlight important messages. Whether you’re selling pizza or making music, it’s very clear that gamification is a powerful seasonal tool that can return year after year.
Building Anticipation Across Years of Marketing
What’s interesting is that festive campaigns aren’t just big, they are essential. Across different verticals, the strategy can remain the same, whether it’s a scratchcard, advent calendar or a swipeable stocking. If the rewards are good or beneficial, then customers will remember them the next festive season, which helps to build loyalty as well as anticipation.
If brands can use this, then marketing becomes autonomous, in the fact that people will find themselves actively waiting for a campaign to launch. For brands, this means that the true rewards start before the campaign is finalised, which is an incredibly powerful way for brands who work in competitive spaces to stand out from the crowd.
With that said, for brands to capitalise on benefits such as this, the need has to be there, the rewards have to be good and the means of redeeming them has to be easy. Sending out scratch cards or having someone return to open an advent calendar are all foolproof ways to gain brand momentum around Christmas, but the brands who really think outside the box and who use this period as a way to further not only their offerings, but the impact they have on customers will find themselves standing head and shoulders above the rest, with the benefits lasting for years to come.
