Not So Joyous Realities to Consider for Your Thanksgiving Marketing Efforts

November 10, 2021
11:45 am

Posted by Jessica Schneider

Many people claim Thanksgiving to be one of the best holidays of the year, but is it the best day of the year for everyone? The holiday can actually be quite overwhelming for some. In this post, I’m elevating the “not so joyous realities” for you to consider when you’re in the home stretch of marketing activities for your brand.

As marketers, we should be conscious of all sides of the equation, and that means understanding that some people may not find joy in 100% of Thanksgiving-themed content. With this knowledge, we can shape our marketing efforts around the holidays with a bit of empathy to ensure we’re engaging with more people, regardless of their stance. To get started, here are 5 realities of Thanksgiving to take into consideration and a few ways you can help.

Not So Joyous Realities of Thanksgiving

Travel Nightmares

The pandemic kept many families across the country from celebrating this holiday together in 2020. This year, travel over the holidays is expected to reach 2019 levels according to this story shared by Forbes. In tandem with this, travelers are sure to experience higher gas prices, flight delays, crowds, and fewer employees present to passengers whether visiting a gas station or airport.

Solution: This might be a stretch, but why not take the stressful situation and make it punny? Everyone understands this time of year can be so stressful, so try to use that to your advantage in content to entertain folks and just be along for the ride in an empathetic way.

Grocery Store Crowds

Why does it seem like everyone waits until the last minute to go to the store and buy a turkey and ingredients for the big day? This year all of our planning efforts must step up a notch due to logistical challenges we’re facing getting food from point A to point B.

Solution: Consider posting tips ahead of time to get people to the store BEFORE the holiday rolls around to help alleviate some of the stress that last-minute planning can bring. Pair this with recipes that will help shoppers and Thanksgiving dish makers prep smarter and serve flavor-filled dishes this holiday.

Too Much Food / Food Waste

This holiday includes everything from turkey, stuffing, pies, and everything in between! Thanksgiving is the day of feasting, and with that comes a lot of food which can easily turn into food waste. Most consumers over-plan when accounting for the amount of food needed to feed the family and guests at Thanksgiving dinner. This can lead to stress about wasting food and not knowing what to do with all the leftovers.

Solution: Offer content showcasing different ways to utilize leftover food in dishes over the weekend and even the following week after the holiday. Highlighting dishes that can easily be frozen for enjoying at a different time is even better as many consumers have Thanksgiving food fatigue after the bid day ends.

Diet Restrictions

Many people dread the Thanksgiving holiday simply because they are unable to enjoy the food due to diet restrictions that keep them from enjoying the staples that the holiday typically has to offer.

Solution: Keep this in mind when sharing content promoting content for the holiday. Consider being a bit more inclusive by offering a variety of recipes or recommended suggestions to existing content to help make it more palatable for those with diet restrictions.

Interested in brainstorming ways to include a bit of empathy in your holiday marketing plans? Reach out and schedule a call with our team!