With the advent of the shortened holiday shopping season, most businesses have already initiated their holiday campaigns. A number of those businesses are turning to mobile, and some of the work with that medium rises above the rest. It does so because it accomplishes two things: first, it attends to the informed customer. Second, it develops new content for a new medium.

Who are some of the businesses utilizing mobile? Some of our favorite holiday campaigns - from last year and this upcoming one - follow:

1. Starbucks. No list of mobile campaigns, the holidays notwithstanding, is complete without a nod to Starbucks. The app itself is easy to use, but Starbucks goes beyond creating a useful app. The company works hard on its mobile campaigns and announcements, such as the beloved red holiday cup. This year, the announcement of that cup was in conjunction with a new mobile and social initiative: tweet-a-coffee. It’s too soon to measure the initiative’s results, but it’s an interesting idea, and it complements the holiday season.
2. Rue La La unfolded an omni-channel campaign last Christmas. The business, an online store that sells discounted luxury products, used social channels and the blog to drive interest while captivating customers with a mobile game. The game was in keeping with the season; users opened a present every day, with each present containing a discount or other promotion that encouraged making a purchase.
3. Gilt Groupe, like Rue La La, sells discounted luxury products. Gilt Groupe partnered with the nonprofit RED to draw in a new customer base. When people donated to RED via their phones, they received a confirmation text that also linked to a Gilt Groupe page featuring RED products such as a FEED bag and an “inspi(red)” shirt.
4. Zynga, the creator of games like Farmville and Words with Friends, created an in-app donation capability during last year’s holiday season. People playing Farmville, for instance, could purchase a “cheer-ewe-up-horse” for $1. The purchase resulted in a toy going to Zynga’s charity of choice, Toys for Tots, and in the purchaser receiving some swag for his or her farm.
5. Macy’s. Macy’s actually has two apps of note: the Macy’s Day Parade app and the Macy’s store app. The first plays on the tradition of the parade and offers people the opportunity to follow and interact with the parade. The second is a recently new development, but it’s being promoted in advance of the holiday season through TV spots and other marketing and advertising channels.

Application

How do those campaigns succeed? Starbucks succeeds by focusing on their consumers. The business eases the purchasing of food and beverage and sends carefully crafted messages about seasonal offerings and other promotions.

Rue La La relies on the delight found in opening gifts while simultaneously driving sales. Gilt Groupe leverages people’s desire to help others, a desire often heightened during the holidays. Zynga does something similar to Gilt but accomplishes its goal by using games already in place.

Macy’s, like Starbucks, focuses on the consumer as well as its own brand. It celebrates its role with the parade through a parade-specific app. It then supplements that app with its store-focused one.

What are some of your favorite holiday mobile campaigns? Why?

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Erin Feldman is the founder of Write Right. She helps people and brands tell their stories through her editing and writing services. Her background is in marketing communications, creative writing, English, and graphic design.