Happy Black Friday, and welcome to the one email you’ll receive today that’s not trying to sell you something! Let’s jump into it.

• 5 marketing lessons from the Thanksgiving Day Parade. We break down a few of the reasons the Macy’s parade is a masterclass in marketing.

• What will spending look like in 2024? A deep dive into a recent consumer spending report and what B2B marketers should be prepared for next year.

🦃 5 marketing lessons from the Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Imagine this: Tens of millions of people gather to see your content marketing on their screen. And millions brave crowds and cold weather to see your content in real life.

Marketers would kill for that kind of engagement, right?

Well, that’s exactly what Macy’s has been able to achieve each year with their Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Since 1924, they’ve been putting on a content marketing masterclass. So this year, we decided to break it down and share five lessons we’ve learned from studying the history of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

1) Don't reinvent the wheel.

Macy’s wasn't the first department store to do a holiday parade. Gimbel’s did it first in 1920. But once Macy’s saw Gimbel’s success, they decided to give it a go.

It’s hard to come up with new ideas. So don’t spend all your energy there. Instead, be on the lookout for what others like you are doing. Look for inspiration and for content that’s not living up to its potential. Figure out how you could do it better. Then launch.

2) Test before you scale.

Macy’s first parade in 1924 only had 50 people in it. But that was all they needed to draw a crowd of onlookers.

That first year, they had no press coverage but were able to gather direct feedback from their audience and get people excited enough about the parade to bring it back for a year two.

Every year after that, it got a little bigger and more well-known. Until eventually, the parade had its TV debut, which skyrocketed its popularity and turned it into the spectacle we see today.

Just like Macy’s, you don’t have to go all the first time you try something. Start small and gather feedback. Then try again. Repeat this process many times, and growth happens naturally.

3) Iterate.

The first parade spanned over six miles long and included zoo animals, clowns, and nursery rhyme characters. Capped off by a float with reindeer pulling Santa on a sleigh.

Today, the parade is only 2.5 miles long and has new traditions like marching bands and the iconic giant balloons featuring all kinds of characters. But even today, nearly 100 years later, Santa and his sleigh are still the grand finale.

So what’s the lesson here?

Keep the parts that work and kill the parts that don’t. Wrangling zoo animals was a lot of work. So they quickly dropped that. But from the very beginning, Santa was a fan favorite, so they’ve kept him year after year.

Part of what keeps people coming back is curiosity. Who will be featured? What floats will there be? What new things will I see?

Ask yourself: What sort of annual content traditions could your company create? Or, what could you change up this year to spark curiosity and keep things fresh for your audience?

4) Partner up.

Macy’s involves all kinds of other brands in their parade. Every float is “sponsored content.” They sell ads and smaller sponsorship features. They offer product placement opportunities. The list goes on.

All the brands involved join forces and benefit from the common theme.

How can you partner up with other companies for mutually beneficial outcomes?

5) Shift the perspective.

Even though it’s called the Thanksgiving Day parade, it's really more about kicking off Christmas and the holiday shopping season.

As a company, Macy's doesn’t make money off Thanksgiving. But they make a ton off of Christmas and other gift-giving holidays. So, timing-wise, it makes sense for them to focus on Thanksgiving and getting people in the holiday spirit (and spending spirit) as early as possible.

What traditions or events are there in your industry? How can you create content that gets out in front of them? Find ways to get people to associate the event with your brand in their minds. And if you can start getting them excited a few weeks or months ahead of the event, even better.

📰 In the news this week.

🎨  Who chooses the world’s Color of the Year?

📝  Microsoft’s internal memo about the chaos at OpenAI.

📊  80+ Black Friday statistics you need to know.

🎄 Holiday campaigns embodying the seasonal spirit of 2023.

🏆  5 marketing automation quick wins.

💵 What will spending look like in 2024?

Today is Black Friday, and that means that the holiday spending season has officially kicked off.

Billions of dollars will change hands between now and the end of the year. But spending is going to look a little different this year.

Klaviyo and Qualtrics recently partnered up and published their 2023 Consumer Spending Report. In it, they outline how people feel about the economy, how it’s impacting their behavior, and how it will affect their holiday spending this year.

Even though the report looks at B2C spending, it’s still very valuable for those working in B2B. As we’ve said countless times before in this newsletter, B2B trends tend to follow behind B2C trends.

So, seeing how consumers feel about spending on B2C items in 2023 can help inform us about what behavior to expect for B2B spending into 2024.

Here are our key takeaways from the report.

1) People are pretty pessimistic about the economy

At 59%, most consumers currently feel negative about the economy.

And when asked about the direction in which they think things are moving, 53% said they expect things to get worse.

This means that marketers have our work cut out for us. Spending habits will be affected if people feel the economy will only go from bad to worse. Whether it's B2C or B2B spending, convincing people to hand over their hard-earned dollars won't be easy.

2) Large purchases are less likely.

People are kicking the can down the road regarding large purchases. 53% of people plan to delay large purchases, and 39% plan to postpone large purchases indefinitely.

We expect a similar trend in B2B purchasing, where most products/services are high-ticket items.

Be prepared for sales cycles to get longer. And to lose deals to people simply choosing to do nothing.

3) Consider giving discounts.

The report found that deals & discounts were the top drivers for convincing people to spend on larger ticket items.

So, if your sales cycle is getting longer and deals are dying due to inaction, you might want to consider offering a discount. It might make the difference in someone purchasing vs. deciding to walk away or postpone. Even if margins are lower, it’s better than getting nothing.

4) Email is still king.

Email marketing is still the preferred channel for buyers. Make sure your 2024 email strategy is up to snuff.

5) “Dupes” are popular.

Customer perception around brand names is shifting. 2023 has seen a massive rise in the popularity of “dupes.” Sort for duplicates.

“Dupes” are products of similar quality from lesser-known brands. They provide buyers with an affordable alternative to high-ticket items.

This year, 40% of consumers would consider buying a “dupe” as a gift.

And 40% also said they wouldn’t mind receiving a “dupe” as a gift.

This signals buyers are beginning to care less about brand names and the social capital that goes along with them. Instead, they care more about functionality and whether the product can do the job.

B2B marketers should bear this in mind. Relying too heavily on brand marketing or name recognition in 2024 will probably be a losing strategy. Instead, focus on communicating your value propositions and competitive advantages. Help people understand the practicalities of your product or service.

😂 Marketing meme of the week.

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