The Commercialization of the Holiday Season and What It Means for Modern Marketing
KEY TAKEAWAYS
The holiday season did not naturally become a commercial giant; it was strategically shaped.
The most impactful holiday campaigns succeed by shaping culture, not just driving sales.
Meaningful holiday marketing aligns with existing emotion rather than competing with it.
The holiday season is one of the most meaningful times of the year. We gather with friends and family, reflect on what we are grateful for, and exchange gifts as a symbol of connection and generosity. For many, these moments define what the season is meant to feel like.
In recent decades, however, this same season has also evolved into the most commercially concentrated period on the retail calendar. November through December now represents a critical window for brands, with the National Retail Federation projecting that U.S. holiday retail spending will surpass one trillion dollars for the first time ever. What was once shaped primarily by tradition now exists alongside strategically executed seasonal marketing.
So how did the holidays become one of the most powerful stages for brand influence, and what can we learn from the campaigns that helped shape this shift? This blog explores the evolution of holiday commercialization and highlights the marketing strategies that have successfully captured both attention and emotional connection during the most competitive season of the year.
How the Holidays Became a Commercial Powerhouse
By the late 1800s, Christmas had already begun shifting from a primarily religious observance to a consumer-driven season, with American retailers using newspaper advertising and illustrated catalogs to promote holiday gift buying as early as the 1870s, reflecting the rise of modern consumer culture during the Industrial Era and the evolution of Christmas and holiday traditions.
In 1924, department store marketing entered a new phase when Macy’s launched its first Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City. Designed to attract shoppers into the store, the parade featured floats, marching bands, and a Santa Claus finale, signaling the start of the Christmas shopping season and establishing one of the earliest large-scale examples of experiential holiday marketing.
The day after Thanksgiving took on commercial significance in the 1950s and 1960s when Philadelphia police coined the term Black Friday to describe the overwhelming congestion caused by post-holiday shoppers. By the 1980s, retailers rebranded the term to mark the moment stores moved from financial losses to profitability, positioning it as the symbolic kickoff of the holiday retail season, as documented by the National Retail Federation.
As retail competition increased in the 1990s and early 2000s, the holiday shopping season began to start earlier each year. Retailers moved promotions into early November, and by 2005 Cyber Monday had emerged as a key moment in online holiday shopping, signaling a clear shift toward a longer, more digitally driven season.
Through these developments, the holiday season became less defined by the calendar and more by coordinated brand strategy.
The Psychology Behind Holiday Marketing
Holiday shopping behavior looks different because emotions genuinely shift this time of year, and brands build a strategy around that reality. According to the American Psychological Association, the holidays heighten emotional sensitivity, making people more responsive to messaging centered on connection, memory, and comfort.
One of the most powerful drivers is nostalgia. A study highlighted by Harvard Business Review found that nostalgic content increases perceived meaning in products and leads consumers to assign higher emotional value to purchases, even when the product itself is unchanged. This helps explain why limited-edition holiday packaging and throwback campaigns tend to resonate more deeply than standard promotions.
Scarcity also plays a measurable role. Behavioral research from Psychology Today shows that perceived time pressure reduces rational evaluation and increases impulse decision-making, a pattern that peaks during countdown-driven holiday sales.
These behavioral shifts show up clearly in real-world holiday campaigns. Some of the most recognizable seasonal marketing efforts have tapped into emotion and familiarity to shape how people experience the holidays and how they remember the brands behind them.
Campaigns that have defined the season
There have been campaigns that have gone beyond driving short-term black friday sales to uniquely tying their brand to the season.
One of the strongest examples of a brand embedding itself into holiday culture is Coca-Cola’s holiday advertising. The brand did more than create a festive campaign. It helped shape how the modern world visually understands Santa Claus. Beginning in the 1930s, Coca-Cola commissioned illustrations that presented Santa as warm, approachable, and unmistakably dressed in bright red, a sharp contrast to the more whimsical and inconsistent depictions that came before. These campaigns solidified a consistent image of Santa as joyful and human, often paired with a bottle of Coca-Cola, reinforcing the brand as part of the holiday experience rather than simply a seasonal product.
Over time, this version of Santa became widely recognized, reinforcing Coca-Cola’s connection to the holidays year after year. By returning to the same imagery consistently, the brand positioned itself as part of the season’s visual identity rather than a temporary seasonal promotion.
Another example of a brand that’s reshaped our holiday season is Hallmark. Founded in 1910, the brand played a foundational role in normalizing the tradition of sending Christmas cards, turning what was once a niche custom into a mainstream tradition.
Through carefully crafted language and idealized imagery, Hallmark shaped what a holiday message was supposed to feel like and became a guiding voice for how people expressed emotion during the season. That influence later expanded through its holiday film programming, where made-for-TV Christmas movies reinforced a consistent vision of the season centered on connection and sentiment. Rather than simply participating in holiday culture, Hallmark helped define the emotional framework through which many people experience and imagine the holidays.
How to Make Holiday Marketing More Effective and Meaningful
The most effective holiday marketing is built on the same foundations that have shaped the season over time. History shows that the campaigns that endure are the ones that understand the emotional role the holidays already play in people’s lives. Coca-Cola succeeded by creating a consistent visual identity that felt familiar year after year. Hallmark built lasting influence by shaping how people express holiday emotion rather than simply selling another product.
Meaningful holiday marketing begins with alignment or brand messaging and the consumers experience of the holiday season.
The strongest campaigns recognize that people are already participating in traditions and moments of connection. Instead of interrupting those moments, thoughtful marketing complements them by reinforcing what already matters.
Final thoughts
Whether you are shopping the Black Friday sales or trying to see how you can tie your brand to the holiday season, take time to remember the things that matter most this holiday season!
If you are looking to build a seasonal marketing strategy that actually resonatesl, reach out to us!
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Over time, retailers and brands strategically expanded the holiday shopping window through events like the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday, turning what was once a tradition-driven season into the most significant retail period of the year.
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During the holidays, people experience heightened emotional sensitivity and nostalgia, making them more responsive to messaging that aligns with connection and personal meaning, which brands intentionally build into their campaigns.
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The most effective campaigns align with existing consumer traditions and emotional expectations, reinforcing what people already value instead of interrupting the season with overly aggressive or disconnected messaging.
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Brands can focus on authenticity, emotional alignment, and consistency, ensuring their seasonal messaging reflects their core identity while respecting the personal significance the holidays hold for consumers.