Christmas in July: How Brands Can Tap into the Summer Sale Season

Amazon Prime Day, Like to Know It’s Annual Sale, and the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale are all pivotal mid-summer shopping moments — powered by creators. Every summer, consumers are ready to shop and open their wallets for unbeatable deals on their favorite products, especially as back-to-school season and the end-of-year holidays approach.

If you haven’t already hopped on the summer sale bandwagon, get ready to do so. Below, we'll tell you how to activate creators in a self-made brand holiday campaign to capitalize on the summer shopping frenzy. Let's get started.

Leveraging self-made brand holidays

While the summer months have a few minor holidays like Father’s Day and the 4th of July, these events don’t remotely compare to major retail holidays such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday in terms of driving sales and revenue. So, what’s the key to success during slower seasonal periods? 

Enter: self-made brand holidays.

Self-made brand holidays, such as Amazon Prime Day, Walmart+ Week, and the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale, often happen in the middle of the year for that summertime sales boost. None of these are actual holidays — they’re completely made up as a marketing event to increase revenue, drive customer engagement, and generate online buzz. Hosted by major retailers, these self-made brand holidays have proven to boost sales and strengthen brand loyalty during the slower months of the year. 

There are several key benefits of building your brand’s own holiday:

• Evoke urgency around major discounts to drive sales
• Drive membership subscriptions and website/app usage
• Attract new customers while rewarding loyal ones
• Gain valuable first-party data on behavior insights, customer acquisition, and more to inform your greater strategy, especially during important periods like BFCM

Whether it’s a Birthday Sale or simply a Mid-summer Deals event, tap into the summer shopping frenzy by hosting your very own self-made brand holiday. 

4 best practices for your brand holiday campaign

1. Provide promo codes for creator partners

Creators play a crucial role in the success of your self-made brand holiday campaign. Prior to the event, creators can spread the word about your upcoming sales across their social channels and get their followers excited about saving big on some of your top products. As the sale approaches, creators can showcase their favorite products from your collection to inspire their audience to purchase. Ensure you’re providing each creator with affiliate codes to incentivize sales. 

PRO TIP: If you’re asking influencers for multi-platform promotions, provide creators with promo codes over links, as codes are easier for customer adoption across channels.

Learn how Aspire can streamline your influencer-affiliate marketing efforts here.

2. Curate exclusive product bundles

Increase average order value (AOV) by curating speciality bundles and exclusive deals for your brand holiday. Selling product bundles offers brands a strategic advantage by increasing perceived value for customers, driving higher sales volumes, and enhancing overall customer satisfaction. 

Especially for brands with high profit margins, bundle best-selling or seasonal items. Or, perhaps work with one of your top creators to co-create a bundle of their favorite products. Ask creators to promote these bundles with specific messaging guidelines that highlight why this is a special opportunity.

3. Don’t neglect the post-purchase experience

A great post-purchase experience can turn one-time customers into loyal brand advocates.

So, tee up an after-purchase email sequence to get a product review, offer an affiliate code, or maybe a small discount on their next purchase. By delighting customers after the sale with personalized follow-ups, exclusive offers, and exceptional support, brands can foster stronger emotional connections and increase customer satisfaction. This not only encourages repeat business but also boosts word-of-mouth referrals, amplifying brand visibility and credibility.

4. Analyze sales trends. 

Use historical customer and buying data to carefully select your brand holiday dates. And make sure you’re paying attention to the market to ensure you’re not running your sale on the same day as a major competitor. 

As your brand holiday comes to an end, use data to inform your greater holiday strategies for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Ask yourself:

• What are people responding to? 
• Do they respond to urgency around an offer ending? 
• What type of sales/offers do they like? 
• Does scarcity motivate them? 
• What channels do shoppers respond to best?

Your brand holiday is your chance to test your messaging, offers, and more — so take advantage! 

Need help strategizing? Get in touch with us to chat with one of our in-house experts.