Dive Brief:

• Macy’s launched The Santa Project, a holiday campaign that asks consumers to share photos, messages and videos with the #SantaProject hashtag on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube that will be curated into a TV commercial scheduled to run in December, according to a company press release.
• The effort includes a short film of kids talking about what it means to believe in Santa, and a TV spot encouraging participation will run during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade.
• The idea for the campaign was based on a survey via Ipsos that found 66% of people with kids in the home think it is important to believe in Santa compared to 54% for all U.S. adults. 

Dive Insight:

The Santa Project campaign is an example of how a brand might approach marketing in this post-election period when so many consumers are feeling angry about the direction they see the country taking. Consumers are searching for things to feel positive about and Santa is certainly a figure known for instilling happy thoughts in children and adults. 

"When you look at the Internet right now, there is a lot of negativity out there," said Joe Feczko, senior vice president of brand marketing for Macy’s, in the press release. "We’re asking people to come together this Christmas to flood the Internet with a groundswell of positivity that preserves belief for kids everywhere.”

The Santa Project, part of Macy's larger annual Believe campaign, also provides another example of a major brand taking a social media first approach to holiday marketing, which we've already seen with a recent campaign from Febreze. In this case Macy’s is asking for user-generated content to be shared via social media to be harvested for a linear TV spot, but it illustrates the value brands see in social media outreach and engagement.

As part of the larger Believe campaign, every letter to Santa sent to Macy’s generates a $1 donation to Make-a-Wish up to $1,000,000.

This story is part of our ongoing coverage of the 2016 holiday shopping season. You can browse our holiday page for more stories.