Holiday Marketing Guide: 5 Ready-Made Scenarios and a Checklist

Holiday campaigns are a marathon of discounts and special offers, as well as a good chance to remind customers about your brand and say “thank you.” Beyond creativity, they need precise setup so every part works together smoothly.

Here’s a set of Christmas campaign scenarios and a technical checklist to plan your December communications.

5 Christmas Marketing Scenarios

Gift-Guide Recommendation

Keep the email light and friendly: “Still not sure what to get? Here are a few ideas.” Add curated picks by category: for family, friends, coworkers, and options for any budget.

If the customer skips the email or views it without ordering, send a follow-up in 1–2 days with a nudge like “Your perfect gift is still waiting” plus a link to a “You Might Like” section.

• Complicated navigation. Skip extra steps or anything that makes picking and ordering harder. The simpler the path from idea to purchase, the higher the chance of conversion.
• Too many reminders. One follow-up is enough. More frequent messaging risks annoying recipients.

Abandoned Cart During the Holidays

• first after one hour;

• second after 24 hours;

• third after 3–4 days if there’s still no activity.

Include a dynamic product grid and a “Go to Cart” button to create a clear visual anchor and guide the customer back to checkout faster.

• Uncertain timing. Don’t promise delivery by the holidays or on a specific date unless you can guarantee it. If delays are possible, warn customers in advance.
• Poor timing for sends. A message in the middle of the night will be ignored at best, and at worst will trigger an unsubscribe.

Reactivation of Inactive Subscribers

After the subscriber completes the target action, move them to the active segment and add them back into your regular flows. Once they’re reactivated, adjust send frequency so they don’t get overloaded in the first weeks. If they don’t click, follow up in 3–4 days with a short reminder: “Don’t forget your holiday bonus.”

• Pushy wording. Lines like “Hurry! Last chance to come back!” feel intrusive and aggressive.
• Too many repeats. If a subscriber ignores every message, pause communication so you don’t hurt your sender reputation.

Unread Emails

Still no engagement? After 1–2 days, follow up with a short push or SMS (“Gift ideas for family, friends, and coworkers. Delivery by December 23”). If there’s zero response, pause further messages. Move these users to a “Passive Audience” segment and reach out later through a reactivation flow.

• Repeated content. Similar messages lose appeal fast and drag down click-throughs and engagement.
• Sending too soon. A reminder just a few hours after the main email is likely to be ignored.

Post-Holiday Engagement

If the email stays unopened for 48–72 hours, send one short reminder through another channel. Stop there to avoid irritation.

Two to four days after a customer redeems the offer, send a follow-up with something extra—invite them to join your rewards club for more perks or subscribe to updates to get early access to new arrivals and promos.

• Token rewards. The offer should feel real and valuable, with a clear promo or discount mechanic and no extra conditions.
• A cold tone. After warm, emotional December messaging, a dry, formal email feels jarring.

Holiday Checklist: Your Pre-Launch Checkpoint

This checklist covers the key steps to prep and launch holiday campaigns without chaos.

Set a Clear Goal

Your goal defines the direction of your holiday messaging. Ask, “What do we want from the holiday season?”

• Increase Sales. A classic holiday objective. Shoppers are hunting for gifts, and the brand steps in with ready-made ideas and fast shipping.
• Attract New Customers. A strong offer and easy experience create a low-risk reason to try something new. A smooth onboarding flow or welcome discount nudges first-time buyers to jump in.
• Build Loyalty. The goal doesn’t have to be direct sales. A warm holiday message from the company strengthens the relationship and keeps your brand top of mind.

Build Your Marketing Strategy

Your strategy acts as a filter for new ideas. If something doesn’t move you toward the goal or fit the plan, drop it and protect your resources. Start by mapping out the timing and phases of your holiday campaign:

• Launch. Most brands in the U.S. kick off holiday messaging right after Thanksgiving. If you want a softer start, aim for early December. For early-bird shoppers, late November works even better.
• Peak Activity. U.S. shoppers are most active from Cyber Week through mid-December, with another spike right before shipping cutoffs. During this period, make sure your systems, logistics, and support teams can handle the volume.
• January Follow-Up. Decide when and how you’ll pull customers back into regular communication once the holiday rush ends.

For a cohesive campaign, all channels need to work together:

• Email. The main channel for richer messages: holiday greetings, curated product picks, AMP-based interactive elements, and personalized offers.
• SMS and messaging apps. Channels for quick, targeted touches. Ideal for urgent alerts and reminders (for example, sale deadlines or delivery status).
• Push notifications. Effective for short nudges, especially when you need to prompt action: “Sale ends today,” “One day left.”

For effective marketing management, account for each audience segment:

• New customers value clarity and simplicity. Clear benefits and quick wins work well, such as a promo code for a first purchase.
• Active subscribers are already engaged. Advent-style sequences, interactive campaigns, and other interest-driven emails fit this group.
• Inactive users can be brought back with emotional messaging and a small bonus on their next order.

Check the Technical Details

High volume and heavy competition leave almost no room for quick fixes. A thorough technical check reduces the risk of last-minute issues:

• Adaptiveness. Over 40% of emails are opened on mobile. Test templates across screens and devices in advance so you don’t lose a large share of engagement.
• Correct links and UTM tags. Before launching the holiday campaign, check every button and link across all marketing channels. Broken URLs ruin both metrics and user experience.
• List quality. Sending to invalid or outdated addresses drags down engagement and hurts domain reputation. Run a subscriber list validation before sending.
• Load speed. Slow landing pages or product grids push customers away. Run a stress test: simulate high traffic and fix weak spots earlier.

Automate Your Marketing Communication Flows

Here’s what else Altcraft offers:

• Unified customer view. Data from all touchpoints is combined into a single customer profile, enabling detailed segmentation and high-level personalization.
• Omnichannel ecosystem. Boost your chances of grabbing attention with a coordinated multichannel approach. Email, SMS, messengers, and push notifications work together in sync.
• Flexible automation rules. Set specific conditions for when to send a message, which bonus to offer, or which trigger to activate. For example: if a customer views a product, they get a recommendation email; if they don’t open it in two days, they get an SMS reminder.
• Real-time analytics. Instantly see which channels and messages are performing best — and where you need to adjust.

Conclusion

The holiday season is a great moment to show real care for your customers. When actions are planned in advance and arranged in a clear sequence, each step strengthens the next and builds trust in your brand.

Two to four days after a customer redeems the offer, send a follow-up with something extra—invite them to join your rewards club for more perks or subscribe to updates to get early access to new arrivals and promos.