Marketers have few options to market holiday videos. Sales people need to put aside their product-pushing agendas and concentrate on making a great video for the sake and enjoyment of making it. Holiday videos are some of the best examples of creative culture videos. They should be family-focused, funny out loud, and even edgy.
Relax if the idea of creating the perfect holiday video is making you feel crazed. We have compiled a list so great that you will want to be a Grinch and take them all. You can. You should actually bookmark this post so you can return to it year after year.
The holidays offer a chance to thank customers and contacts in big corporate commercials and personal email video greetings. It’s also a great opportunity to use your storytelling skills to create pure enjoyment and brand awareness.
You can turn up the holiday music and get some tissues, because things are about be merry and brighten up here.
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Blockbuster commercials: Holiday video ideas that go big
Let’s begin with the blue skies: Large companies, large budgets and high production values. You can make corporate holiday videos that are as memorable and quotable as your favorite holiday movies. It is important to put emphasis on brand awareness and entertainment value. There’s something for everyone, no matter how big or small.
1. Coca-Cola: “Chimney”
Surprisingly, this commercial features the Marry Poppins classic song Chim Chim Cheree. Coca-Cola’s Christmas message is heartfelt and emphasizes the importance of community spirit. Guess what? The campaign begins with a young boy who feels sad that he lives in an apartment without a chimney. Soon, he rallies his neighbors to create a cardboard chimney so that everyone can enjoy the holiday season. Remember that a magical Christmas is shared among our loved ones and the community.
Stealable Tip – Sometimes associating your products or services with a common theme is the best way for you to communicate a message to your target audience. Coca-Cola wants to link its beverage with food and social gatherings. Your potential customers will remember your brand if you create an association.
2. Ikea: “Assemble Together”
Ikea holiday ads are just as good as the commercials. The masterpiece begins by touring a typical South-Asian Canadian family. As Ikea intended, it seems like a family of different generations is “Assembling Together.” A traditional Christmas song does not follow this, however. Instead, you will find the famous Bollywood song “Chaiyya Chaiyya”, which can be recognised all over the globe. Ikea wanted to show that every family creates and loves celebrating traditions.
Stealable Tip – Creating warm and heartfelt messages is often the best way for your audience to connect. Ikea wanted to show the changes in traditions and how families celebrate. They added nostalgia to the Bollywood song and made their products part instead of the main focal point.
3. Amazon: Kindness is the Greatest Gift!
We all know about the difficulties presented by the pandemic and many people, even young adults, have experienced its effects. Amazon’s latest advert shows a story about kindness and offers a glimpse into a post pandemic world. The advert follows the struggle of a young man to deal with post-pandemic anxiety. After months of being apart, it can be difficult to re-enter a social setting after a long absence. A kind neighbor realizes her difficulties in rejoining the world, and she reaches out to her with subtle gestures. This creates a new friendship.
Stealable Tip – Storytelling is what keeps people wanting more. People are invested in the character’s development and want to see if they would feel better in a post-pandemic environment. Who doesn’t love a good story?
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Holiday Video Ideas with Personal Touch: Personalized Picks
We’ve now seen how professionals create holiday marketing videos. If you don’t have the budget for a million dollar TV commercial, there’s another way to impress viewers and increase engagement. It’s all about personalization.
Remember Elf Yourself? This internet sensation was created by Toy New York in 2006. It features your face dancing on an elf body. In its first year, it was receiving 200 hits per second. This just shows how much people love personalized content. Businesses can now create personalized videos that delight their customers in a professional way.
4. Axonify: Who Saved Learning in Whoville?
Personalized video can be sent via email. This allows you to address your audience as specific as possible. Axonify, a microlearning platform, chose the “choose you own adventure” approach when creating their personalized video. The intro video features video CTAs that let viewers choose the path of the grinch (featured prominently on the video).
Stealable Tip – Don’t be afraid of tapping into holiday traditions or pop culture to share your nostalgia with your audience. You’ll delight.
5. Vidyard: “Video was on Santa’s Naughty List.”
Vidyard has an ongoing tradition of making an annual holiday video. This video shows Santa trying to figure out how to use video, and making funny mistakes while adapting to remote working. It’s like when you realize that your top is not your bottom, but your fancy top.
Stealable Tip – Recognize common frustrations or issues that your audience can relate and have some fun. These are things that we can all laugh at right now, like accidentally having your Spongebob Squarepants pajamas seen on a Zoom call. You can show your customers that you care and create a bond with them.
Viral Videos: Holiday Video Ideas for the Masses
While personalization is great, if you don’t have a set list of recipients, or your primary channel for distribution is social media, then you might need something more general. A shareable holiday video can be a great option for those with limited budgets and little time to plan. These are some holiday videos that anyone can enjoy.
6. Hootsuite: Hootsuite Holiday Oriole
Two words: SO. CUTE! CUTE! One shot, one set. One owl. You can watch the whole thing from your couch, wrapped in a blanket. If you prefer a different style, Lagvulin Whiskey did the same thing with Nick Offerman. They also provided a bottle whiskey.
Fun fact: The owl came from a wildlife rehabilitation center. His name was Snoopy.
Stealable Tip – It’s amazing when your video creations can be reused year after year. This video was created by Hootsuite in 2014. It still ranks high on their holiday content each year because it’s great!
7. ADsmith: “Jingle Bell Rock – A Holiday Lip Dub”
It’s impossible to go wrong when you use a musical greeting, especially with James Corden and the teens of TikTok singing in cars. Your staff’s smiling faces can be captured on video for a personal touch. This is what ADsmith did with “Jingle Bell Rock,” which takes viewers on a tour of the office and showcases Adsmith’s culture.
Stealable Tip – “Silent Night”, the most popular holiday song on Spotify, has over 26,000 versions. Classics are timeless for a reason. You can tap into people’s nostalgia and make reference to pop culture from film and music.
8. Confirmit: Happy Holidays from Confirmit
Actors should not be allowed to work with children or animals. This is an old rule. This video required no actor! Confirmit, an insight and customer research software company created this heartwarming holiday video that featured a cute puppy and text. The video doesn’t have personalization technology but it feels very personal because the story is told through a text message between the viewer, and the dog. This short video can be shared on social media, email and text message.
Stealable Tip – Using your existing assets is key to creating a professional video with a tight budget, especially if it is a cute puppy.
Inspiration for Personal Holiday Videos
9. A Jolly Sales Follow Up Video
Vidyard’s 12 Gifts of SAASmas campaign was launched in 2021. It is packed with goodies that will help sales teams scale their efforts and increase their productivity. Video can be used to follow up on an inbound lead, or to have a conversation with a sales representative. It is a powerful way to connect with people in overcrowded inboxes. Davis, from Vidyard’s sales team, did exactly that with his follow up video for people interested in the SaaSmas campaign.
Stealable Tip – A festive background (virtual and otherwise) can add holiday cheer to user-generated follow up videos.
10. A Holiday Greeting for One
You have another option to make a memorable holiday video if the dog ate it or if you are running out of time (like with your shopping lists). A one-time webcam video, also known as a. a selfie video). It’s simple, easy, and about as personal as you can get.
Stealable Tip – No need to purchase expensive equipment or software. Download Vidyard today and get started with your personal video greetings.
You don’t have to make culture videos only in December. You can delight your audience all year with videos for every holiday.
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This article was first published November 15, 2019. This post was last updated on December 7, 2020.
10 Festive Holiday Video Ideas That You Will Want to Copy