Wake up and smell the stuffing! It’s time to start thinking about your brand’s Turkey 5 marketing. We know you’ve already got holiday marketing strategies on your mind, and we’re here to help. Do you find yourself asking:
- Why is Black Friday important for marketers?
- How can brands use Small Business Saturday to boost sales?
- What marketing strategies work best during Cyber Monday?
- What’s up with holiday shopping behavior?
- Or even, what the heck is The Turkey 5?
Well then, you’re in the right place. We answer all those questions and more in this very article. We’ll cover holiday shopping behavior that spans the five days of The Turkey 5 frenzy. And we’ll go in-depth on how to optimize your Turkey 5 marketing, from the best Black Friday marketing strategies to how to run sales-boosting Cyber Monday campaigns. We discuss consumer sentiment during the holidays and how you can use influencer marketing to reach your customers where they’re at.
There’s a strong helping of marketing magic in this Turkey 5 marketing post, so let’s dig in before you want to come back for seconds.
What is The Turkey 5 and Why Does It Matter for Brands?
Okay, first thing’s first. What is The Turkey 5? No, it’s not the five dark-meat piece limit my grandma enforces on each plate so there’s enough to go around. The Turkey 5 actually refers to the five-day shopping frenzy that kicks off with Thanksgiving and extends through Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday, ending with Giving Tuesday.
This five-day period is one of the most profitable times of the year for brands. If you want to capture consumer attention and drive sales, this is the time to do it. That’s why Turkey 5 marketing is so important to incorporate into your holiday marketing strategies.
Each day of The Turkey 5 features unique holiday shopping behavior. While it’s important to capitalize on each holiday’s consumer sentiment, we believe the best approach to make the most out of this jam-packed shopping period is to devise a cohesive and powerful marketing strategy that will help you reach, and even exceed, your brand goals.
Shoppers Are Primed to Buy During the Turkey 5
One thing is definitely true about consumer sentiment during the holidays: Shoppers are primed to buy. Holiday shopping is expected to grow anywhere from 2.5 to 3.5 percent from last year’s numbers. Winter holiday spending is inching toward a trillion dollars. And it’s expected to land between $979.5 billion and $989 billion this year, up from $955.6 billion in 2023.
Because Thanksgiving will be celebrated later in November this year, there is a shorter shopping window for families shopping between Thanksgiving and Christmas. There are just 26 days between the two major holidays this year, making the purchasing period five days shorter than in 2023. This makes the impact of The Turkey 5, and all the deals that come with it, that much more impactful.
Of course, shoppers are motivated by deals, savings, and sales. And The Turkey 5 is stuffed full of them. It may not come as a surprise to you that Amazon coined The Turkey 5 to officially name the extended period of deals. A significant 40 percent of American shoppers planned to shop Prime Days this year. And 36 percent say they plan to shop on Black Friday. While another 34 percent plan to shop Cyber Monday deals. And that doesn’t even include the other three days of sales.
The Turkey 5 offers the best deals of the holiday season. Last year, discounts rose to 27 percent globally and to 29 percent in the U.S. Shoppers simply can’t beat Turkey 5 prices. And deals matter to shoppers. In fact, 67 percent say it’s important to them to get the lowest price possible on their purchases. And 44 percent say deal days like The Turkey 5 prompt them to shop more than they normally would.
Breaking Down the Turkey 5: Strategies for Each Day
Okay, you get it. Shoppers will be shopping during The Turkey 5. Now you just need them to be purchasing from your brand. Let’s talk Turkey 5 marketing strategies.
In order to get the most out of your Turkey 5 marketing, it’s best to cater your holiday marketing strategies to each of the five days. Your Black Friday marketing and Small Business Saturday marketing might look a little different than your Cyber Monday campaigns. But don’t fret. There’s plenty of overlap during the Turkey 5. We’ve broken down the best strategies for each day so you can understand holiday shopping behavior and create winning campaigns with all the right fixings.
THANKSGIVING DAY
Gone are the days when shopping started the Friday after our Thanksgiving food comas. But the holiday sentiments still remain. For your Thanksgiving content, focus on messaging that aligns with family gatherings, food-related themes, and gratitude. You can utilize influencer partnerships to share family-centered activities and recipes using your products.
Check out this example from a recent campaign we ran for Lenox china. Creator May Pham created gorgeous holiday tablescapes for her Friends and Family Event featuring the Lenox Global Tapestry Collection. She was able to capture the themes of family and friends, food, and gratitude all while highlighting the products in a beautiful, sophisticated way. You can check out the full Lenox case study here.
Source: @mayandtravel on Instagram
BLACK FRIDAY
Black Friday is every deal-doorbuster’s dream. These promotions should be exciting! Think early-bird promotions and flash sales. Grab shoppers’ attention and reward them with savings. And don’t forget to take an omnichannel approach to this holiday marketing. Last year, Black Friday was the most popular day for in-store shopping of the year. And yet, 68 percent of shoppers plan to make their purchases online this year. The point is, you need to be marketing across channels and touchpoints in order to reach all those shoppers.
SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY
Small Business Saturday is all about turning to our communities after a day of big box store shopping. The themes of the day are hyper local and focused on community support. Make sure to appeal specifically to your area — your neighborhood, city, or state. And highlight what makes your small business special. Everyone loves a little hometown pride. It feels good to support small businesses in your area. Tug on those heartstrings and create content that prioritizes community.
CYBER MONDAY
Listen, Cyber Monday can get a little crazy. The internet is a loopy place on any given day. Add thousands of digital deals to the mix, and it’s practically the Wild West. So how do you stand out? The best Cyber Monday campaigns feature dynamic content. Think personalized email marketing and creative influencer campaigns that cut through the noise. UGC campaigns and referral programs could also be impactful for marketing to this digital deal day. Our advice? Focus on engagement and the sales will flow in.
GIVING TUESDAY
After four days of shopping and celebrating, Giving Tuesday is the time to give back. This is a good day to lean on your brand values. Connect with your customers through philanthropy-focused campaigns. Show shoppers who you are and show up authentically. Embrace the spirit of the season!
How to Reach Shoppers with Relevant Messaging
Here’s where we introduce the holiday interest graph content and why it matters. First, what’s an interest graph? I’m glad you asked. An interest graph is an algorithm that builds users’ feeds based on their interests, preferences, and behaviors — rather than on who they know. TikTok’s algorithm is an unmatched example of an interest graph. It’s so hyper-personalized it’s uncanny. We wrote a whole post breaking down the interest graph vs. the social graph, and it’s worth a gander. But for now we’re focused on the holiday interest graph specifically.
Leveraging interest graphs is all about boosting brand lift and optimizing for engagement. And when you’re offering the best deals of the holiday season, we imagine you want all the relevant eyeballs possible on your products.
You need to identify who you’re targeting. Are your Turkey 5 deals for the foodies or the fashion girls? Are you offering savings for homemakers or techies? Beauty lovers or outdoorsy folks? And how do all of these demos celebrate the holiday season? The beauty is, most of these categories aren’t either/or. They’re both/and. You’re looking for the overlap within your target audience so you can market to that niche.
Working with smaller influencers (think micro and nano creators) can help you really hone in on your niche demographics. The goal when influencer marketing this holiday season is to show up on as many potential shoppers’ feeds as possible. And to convert as many of those scrollers into customers as you can. Influencers know how to work with the interest graph algorithm. It’s literally their job. Find good ones and you should be able to trust them with your holiday interest graph content.
The Role of Influencer Marketing and UGC During the Turkey 5
We’re an influencer marketing publication. You didn’t think you’d get to the end of this article without a little something on the benefits of influencer marketing for the holidays did you? Influencer marketing and user-generated content (UGC) are excellent strategies to leverage in your Turkey 5 marketing.
Influencers provide gorgeous, engaging creative content and they come with attuned audiences who love to see their stuff. It’s a win-win! Especially for the holiday season. Your Turkey 5 marketing is a great time to enlist influencers to share product reviews, gift guides, holiday recipes, and more.
Take our campaign with Feit Electric for example. The family-owned brand wanted influencers to showcase their smart-tech light company and show how their products make customers’ homes more comforting, functional, and beautiful for the holidays.
Source: @blankslatereno on Instagram
Here’s another example of influencer content from the same campaign. Your influencer partners can showcase a range of holiday inspiration and aesthetics so your customers feel seen and inspired to use your products in a way that fits into their lives and helps them celebrate their way.
Source: @staybycorisamuel on Instagram
Not everyone has the skills to capture gorgeous photos like these influencers. But that’s okay! UGC can also be used to build social proof and build community around your brand. Incentivize your followers to create their own holiday-themed content using your products. You can reward them with discounts, referral codes, or giveaways.
It’s the holiday season. Everyone celebrates differently. And shoppers want to see themselves reflected in the holiday marketing they consume. A great way to ensure all different types of consumers are represented is to open the floor to anyone who loves your brand to create content.
Creating a Seamless Shopping Experience
Before we go, let’s dig into omnichannel marketing strategies. We’ve already discussed optimizing your campaigns for all five Turkey 5 days. But the power of cross-functional marketing doesn’t end there. You also need to strategize how you’re going to roll out content across platforms and touchpoints. It’s time to get festive with omnichannel holiday marketing.
Make sure your marketing meets your customers where they’re shopping. Here’s how experts expect those shopping channels to break down for The Turkey 5:
- 68 percent plan to shop online
- 48 percent of shoppers plan to make purchases from their smartphones
- 42 percent plan to shop in-store
- 13 percent plan to make purchases on social media
Successful omnichannel holiday marketing reaches customers across touchpoints. From social media ads to in-store specials and online deals. Find the right mix for your target audience to make the most of your holiday marketing campaigns.
Prep Your Brand for Delicious Turkey 5 Marketing
Now you have all the latest tips and tricks to make the most of your Turkey 5 marketing. We hope you feel inspired to create holiday marketing campaigns worth celebrating. Now you can:
- Get to know your target demo’s holiday shopping behavior
- Find the channels they’re shopping through
- Cater to their holiday shopping needs
- Get creative with the themes and trends of each holiday
- And deliver deals that make your shoppers excited to buy!
Still hungry for more Turkey 5 marketing and holiday marketing tips? We’d love to help you build successful campaigns like the ones featured in this article. Schedule a strategy call with one of our experts today, and we’ll get started strategizing.
