While most brands rush straight from Halloween to Christmas (with a quick Black Friday pit stop), we’re here to give Thanksgiving, well, the gratitude it deserves!
After all, it’s more than turkey and pie, it’s the real kick-off to the holiday season. People are gathering, shopping, and looking for reasons to feel good about where they spend their money.
That’s why Thanksgiving is a golden opportunity for marketers to connect with customers in a genuine, heartfelt way, and maybe spark a few extra sales while they’re at it.
So before the sleigh bells start ringing, let’s talk turkey.
Here are 11 creative Thanksgiving marketing ideas to help you show gratitude, spread cheer, and keep your audience coming back for more.
Keep Exploring:
- Check out a few Q4 planning tips to help you wrap up the year with focus and momentum.
- Prepare for Black Friday with expert marketing tips from industry-leading brands.
Serve Up Success with These 11 Thanksgiving Marketing Ideas
Feast your eyes on these Thanksgiving marketing ideas that’ll have your brand serving up success all season long:
1. Launch Thanksgiving-Exclusive Items
Why should Christmas have all the fun?
Give your customers something to look forward to before the big Black Friday rush with limited-edition Thanksgiving-themed products, packaging, or bundles.
Think cozy fall colors, festive flavors, and autumn-inspired designs that make your brand feel part of the holiday season.
What’s more?
Limited-time drops create excitement, urgency, and that “I need this now” energy that turns browsers into buyers.
Example: Starbucks does this brilliantly every November with its Thanksgiving Blend and early holiday menu launch:
2. Offer Holiday Perks
The week of Thanksgiving is the perfect time to show gratitude to your loyal customers with exclusive holiday perks that drive engagement and your thanksgiving sale results.
Here are some festive ideas to make your brand stand out this season:
- Free Shipping: Nothing says “thanks” like removing a purchase barrier. Offer free shipping on all orders during Thanksgiving week to encourage quick conversions.
- Thanksgiving-Only Discounts: Create limited-time discounts available only during the holiday week to make your offers feel special and time-sensitive.
- Social Media Giveaway: Run a Thanksgiving-themed giveaway to engage followers and expand reach. Offer your product, branded goodies, or even a holiday meal prize to generate buzz.
- Friends & Family Promo: Encourage customers to share the love by giving them a unique code they can send to friends and family. This Thanksgiving promotion builds awareness and brings in new audiences.
Example: Brooks Brothers marked Thanksgiving with storewide discounts of up to 80%, turning holiday gratitude into a high-impact, sales-driving offer:
3. Launch “Thank You” Campaigns
Thanksgiving’s all about gratitude, so why not pass that feeling along to the people who keep your business thriving?
Run a heartfelt “Thank You” campaign that reminds your customers how much they mean to your brand.
Send a warm, genuine message to your email list and pair it with a little something extra, maybe a surprise discount or a small gift, to make them feel appreciated.
Want to go the extra mile? Slip a handwritten thank-you note into your November orders.
A small, personal touch like that can turn a simple purchase into a lasting impression.
Example: Everlywell thanked its customers with a heartfelt “We’re thankful for YOU” email and a 35% off sitewide deal using code THANKFUL:
4. Create Thanksgiving-Themed Content
In the chaos of Thanksgiving and Black Friday, stand out by being the brand that helps customers make sense of it all.
Here are a few content ideas to add real value this holiday season:
- Shopper’s Survival Guide: Share practical tips for navigating holiday shopping, finding the best deals, or managing budgets. Present it as a blog, carousel, or downloadable checklist your audience will actually use.
- Top Deals Roundup: Publish a quick guide or social series highlighting your best current offers to help customers find what they need faster.
- Thanksgiving Gift Guide: Feature thoughtful gift ideas for hosts, friends, or family, including your products, to make shopping simple and stress-free.
- Holiday Decor Inspiration: Post creative, affordable ways to decorate for Thanksgiving and subtly showcase your products in real-life settings.
- Thanksgiving Recipes or DIYs: Share easy, festive recipes or DIY crafts to inspire your audience and keep your brand top of mind in their holiday prep.
- Black Friday Prep Tips: Help followers plan ahead with advice on deal tracking, wishlist planning, and early access opportunities.
Example:
KFC’s cheeky “Thankfully, There’s KFC Delivery” billboard turned a Thanksgiving kitchen fail into a clever, relatable ad that entertained audiences:
5. (Pumpkin) Spice Up Your Socials
Bring the Thanksgiving energy to your social feeds with warm visuals, interactive posts, and festive ideas that keep your audience engaged all week long.
Here are some ways to make your socials feel as cozy as a Thanksgiving dinner:
- Thanksgiving Countdown: Build anticipation with a short daily countdown featuring fun facts, quick gratitude prompts, or small giveaways that get followers checking back.
- Holiday Product Spotlights: Share your products or services in Thanksgiving-inspired settings like table spreads, cozy corners, or seasonal flat lays to show them in use.
- Mini Thanksgiving Recipes: Post quick, shareable recipe reels or graphics that fit the theme, like a “5-Minute Pumpkin Dip” or “Leftover Turkey Sandwich.”
- Seasonal Deals in Motion: Promote limited-time Thanksgiving offers with animated or carousel graphics that highlight your specials in a visually fun way.
- Gratitude Posts: Feature customer stories or team shoutouts to give your followers something heartwarming between all the holiday promos.
Example: Walmart kept its socials festive with fun Thanksgiving polls like “Pumpkin or pecan?” that got followers talking:
6. Bundle Up Your Bestsellers
Make holiday shopping easy (and a little more fun) by turning your top products into ready-to-go gift sets.
Pair your most popular or complementary items together and offer them at a slight discount, or throw in festive packaging to make them stand out.
It’s a simple way to add value while saving your customers time and effort.
Even better?
Sneak in one of your underrated products to help shoppers discover more of what your brand offers.
Bundles like these boost your average order value and make gift-giving a no-brainer for busy holiday shoppers.
Example: Wine Connection’s 3-for-$99 Thanksgiving Bundle hits the sweet spot — limited-time savings, free delivery, and a festive trio that makes gifting (or sipping) effortless:
7. Launch a “Season of Giving” Referral Program
Sharing is caring, especially during Thanksgiving!
Turn that holiday spirit into a festive referral program that rewards your biggest fans for spreading the love.
Give both the referrer and their friends something to be thankful for, like a cozy discount, a surprise gift, or early access to your Black Friday deals.
Frame it as part of your “Season of Giving” campaign to keep the message heartfelt and on-brand.
It’s the perfect recipe for growing your audience while showing loyal customers just how much you appreciate them.
Example: Ibotta’s Friendsgiving promo captured the Thanksgiving spirit by giving users $50 for inviting five friends:
8. Stir Up Some Use-Generated Content (UGC) Frenzy
Don’t let your brand have all the fun this Thanksgiving; encourage your followers to get in on the action too!
How?
Ask followers to share their favorite recipes, cozy table spreads, or family photos featuring your products (extra points for creative use of gravy boats).
Create a fun branded hashtag like #ThankfulWith[YourBrand] and maybe a downloadable photo frame to keep things on theme.
Repost the best ones on your socials, giving credit where it’s due, of course.
It’s a clever way to cook up community vibes, add authenticity to your feed, and keep your brand conversation sizzling long after the leftovers are gone.
Example: Coca-Cola encouraged fans to turn empty bottles into turkey-themed crafts and share their creations online, creating a fun, Thanksgiving-inspired UGC moment:
9. Cook Up Some Email Marketing Magic
Thanksgiving tables aren’t the only things overflowing this season; inboxes are too. So make sure your emails stand out for all the right reasons.
Send timely, engaging campaigns that share your best Thanksgiving content, exclusive deals, and curated gift guides to help subscribers get a head start on their holiday shopping.
What’s more?
You can add a little extra treat, like free shipping or a subscriber-only discount, to make it worth their click.
But remember to keep the design festive and warm, and write subject lines that spark curiosity instead of blending in.
Think of it as the email equivalent of a perfect pumpkin pie, inviting, satisfying, and impossible to ignore!
Example: Uber’s Thanksgiving email used the witty line “That’s gravy” to remind travelers to pre-book rides, blending festive humor with practical timing for a campaign that stood out in busy holiday inboxes:
10. Offer Early Black Friday Deals to Loyal Customers
Black Friday may be the ultimate shopping showdown, but your customers don’t need to camp out or elbow through crowds to score great deals.
Thank your loyal customers by giving them early access to your best Black Friday offers. It’s a little Thanksgiving “thank you” that makes them feel appreciated.
Share the news through a Thanksgiving email or social post and label it as a VIP exclusive to make it feel extra special.
A simple perk like this not only builds loyalty but also gets you ahead of the holiday rush.
Example: Target’s early Black Friday campaign perfectly captures the Thanksgiving spirit, a “thank you” to loyal customers with exclusive early access that makes them feel appreciated while beating the holiday rush:
11. And Last but Definitely Not Least: Give Back
In a season built on gratitude and generosity, it’s the perfect time for your brand to give back, too.
Support a cause that aligns with your values, whether that’s donating a portion of your holiday sales, organizing a local food drive, or partnering with a local charity.
Share your efforts on your website and social channels, and invite your audience to take part.
A cause-driven campaign not only does good but also strengthens your connection with current and potential customers who appreciate brands that care about more than just sales.
Example: McDonald’s perfectly captured the spirit of giving back by offering free “Thank You Meals” to first responders and healthcare workers:
5 Reasons Why Thanksgiving Marketing Deserves a Seat at Your Strategy Table
Here are five benefits of thanksgiving marketing:
- Builds Customer Loyalty Through Gratitude: Thanksgiving is the perfect time to show appreciation. Loyal customers who feel valued are 64% more likely to buy more often and 31% more willing to pay a premium, making gratitude one of your best marketing tools.
- Warms Up Audiences Before Black Friday: A Thanksgiving day campaign keeps your brand top of mind and sets the tone before your Black Friday and Cyber Monday promos roll in, making customers more likely to engage when the deals drop.
- Reinforces Your Brand Values: Use Thanksgiving to spotlight what your brand stands for, generosity, community, and gratitude, and create a genuine connection beyond sales.
- Helps Your Brand Stand Out: While most companies skip straight to Christmas, leaning into Thanksgiving helps your brand cut through the noise and capture attention during a less competitive moment.
- Boosts Engagement and Word of Mouth: Thanksgiving-themed content like gratitude posts, appreciation campaigns, or family-focused stories naturally encourages likes, shares, and organic buzz around your brand.
Stuff Your Marketing Strategy With Designity’s Creative Power
As the season of gratitude rolls in, the brands that shine brightest are the ones that give back, offering creativity, authenticity, and campaigns that truly connect with their audiences.
At Designity, we help you do exactly that.
Our Creative-as-a-Service platform pairs you with the top 3% of vetted US creatives and experienced Creative Directors who turn your holiday ideas into high-impact campaigns, from festive landing pages and email designs to full-scale seasonal rebrands.
Because while your customers are gathering around the table, your brand should be top of mind, not lost in the holiday noise.
Book a demo call to start your two-week free trial and give thanks for 100+ creative and marketing services at your fingertips.
