Here’s a question that should keep every global marketer up at night: Why are you throwing away a massive chunk of your holiday marketing budget? Because that’s exactly what happens when you take your domestic campaign, run it through a translator, and release it into global markets.
While you’re still running a Christmas campaign, your competitors are making bank off Singles’ Day in China and Diwali celebrations in India.
We’ll give you the brutal truth: most brands treat holiday marketing like they’re ticking off a compliance list. Instead, you need to start treating it like what it really is: a trillion-dollar opportunity. According to Salesforce, global online holiday sales hit $1.2 trillion in 2024.
But here’s where things get interesting. Companies that captured the most money with their holiday marketing campaigns aren’t actually the ones with the biggest ad budgets. They just figured out what works in different countries – faster than you did.
Here are eight solid holiday marketing tips so you can finally stop leaving billions on the table and turn your festive marketing into a revenue-generating machine.
Key Global Marketing Holidays
Before we dive into strategies, let’s talk about some holidays you may not have thought of for your holiday marketing campaigns. And no – it’s not just Christmas everywhere.
Singles’ Day (Nov 11 – China)
Singles’ Day generates more sales than Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined in China. In fact, Alibaba’s gross merchandise volume in 2023 was roughly $84.5 billion, which was almost 10 times what consumers in the U.S spent online during Black Friday. So while Singles’ Day is considered an unofficial holiday, it’s quickly become the largest shopping event across the globe. If you’re missing out on it, you’re missing out on a huge chunk of your revenue.
Diwali (Oct–Nov – India)
Diwali is a widely celebrated holiday in India. And it’s no surprise that it drives massive consumer spending. In the past year, overall sales during Diwali in India grew by 14% compared to the previous year. This festival is a massive opportunity since it spans everything, from electronics to gold jewelry.
Eid al-Fitr (Dates vary – MENA & Asia)
Another widely celebrated Islamic festival, which is observed across the Middle East, North Africa, and Asia, is Eid al-Fitr. According to research, a staggering 76.3% increase in consumer purchases was reported. Since consumer behavior tends to shift dramatically during this holy celebration (which, by the way, comes twice in a year), there’s a surge in shopping and gift-giving traditions.
Christmas(Dec 25 – Western markets)
Christmas is the happiest season in the Western markets, and the holiday spirits are at an all-time high. In 2024, it was reported that U.S. consumers spent a record $902 per person on average for gifts and seasonal items. The National Retail Federation reported that core retail sales during the 2024 holiday season grew by 4%. But even here, the approach varies between countries.
The point? Your marketing holiday calendar needs to go far beyond the holidays you grew up with.
8 Strategies to Drive International Holiday Sales
1. Research Local Holidays and Cultural Norms
Here’s what most marketers fail to understand about holiday marketing. It’s not just knowing the holiday exists, but actually understanding what it means. What is the cultural significance behind it? What are consumers’ spending patterns, and what do they expect around each holiday?
Do your due research and study the emotional triggers, family dynamics, and social expectations that drive buying decisions.
2. Localize Holiday Campaign Messaging
Let’s get one thing out of the way: translation isn’t localization. It’s merely a starting point.
Real localization is adapting your marketing message to fit local cultural contexts, values, and communication styles. What seems inspiring in English could come off as presumptuous in Japanese. What works for individualistic cultures might not work in collectivist societies.
Take gift-giving, for example. In some cultures, the price tag matters; in others, it’s rude to even think about the cost.
All these are very real things you need to think about. Instead of pushing the same hooks everywhere, come up with holiday marketing campaigns that speak to local motivations.
3. Adapt Promotions to Regional Shopping Behaviors
Pricing and promotions are viewed completely differently by different markets.
While some consumers expect a good deal during holiday periods in certain markets, others view constant sales negatively. Where limited-time offers work well in one region, bundle deals or loyalty rewards might outperform in others.
Before coming up with holiday marketing strategies, make sure you’ve studied your target markets’ shopping behaviors during holiday seasons.
4. Use Region-Specific Channels and Influencers
Next up on our holiday marketing tips is matching your local media consumption habits to your marketing channels. While WeChat dominates the Chinese market, WhatsApp Business reigns supreme in India and Latin America. Similarly, Western markets rely on Instagram and TikTok shops.
The same applies to influencer partnerships. Micro-influencers might drive sales in mature markets, whereas mega-influencers still dominate emerging ones. The rule is to stop assuming your home market strategy will work anywhere else. A recent study found that almost ¾ of consumers have made a purchase based on an influencer’s recommendation. The influence here is unimaginable.
5. Offer Multilingual Customer Support
Nothing kills holiday marketing campaigns faster than annoyed customers who can’t get help in their language. Multilingual customer support means not only are you speaking their language, but you’re also well aware of cultural communication styles and local business practices.
Holiday shopping is a high-stress time for customer service teams. Add language barriers and cultural misunderstandings to the mix, and you’ve got a recipe for disaster.
6. Ensure Local Compliance and Payment Preferences
Legal requirements and tax implications are unique to every market. What might be a straightforward holiday marketing campaign in one market may violate advertising standards or cultural sensitivity guidelines in another.
Not to mention, payment preferences vary dramatically as well. Credit cards are the norm in the United States; however, most Asian markets prefer mobile payments or cash-on-delivery options.
Don’t wait until launch day to figure out compliance issues. Work with local legal advisors early in your planning process.
7. Customize Visuals and Cultural Symbols
Visual elements, colors, religious and cultural symbols – all these factors need extremely careful consideration. While red is considered to be lucky in China, it signifies danger in the West. White is a pure color to wear at a Western wedding; some Asians, on the other hand, would think of it as mourning and wear it to a funeral.
This is why it’s so important for your imagery to reflect the diversity of your audience and not just your internal team. The most effective holiday marketing campaigns use locally relevant imagery that feels authentic to each market.
8. Test and Optimize for Each Market
If there’s one thing you take away today, let it be this: what works in one market might completely fail in another, even within the same cultural region.
Smart companies are running small-scale holiday marketing tests before they launch full campaigns. They’re testing messaging, visuals, channels, and promotional strategies on limited audiences before committing major budgets.
A/B testing takes on new importance in international markets because your assumptions about consumer behavior might be completely wrong.
Are You Ready to Transform Your Global Holiday Marketing Strategies?
Here’s the truth: holiday marketing is a massive global potential. But the only way you can crack it is by treating each market as unique instead of translating your home strategy and hoping for the best.
The brands that are making waves in international markets are the ones that are smart about adapting to different cultures, local partnerships, and optimizing for specific markets. With $1.2 trillion in global online holiday sales up for grabs, the question isn’t whether you can afford to invest in proper localization. It’s whether you can afford not to.
Stop letting another holiday season pass while watching your competitors capture international markets you should be winning.
At EC Innovations, our 28+ years of expertise in marketing translation and localization help global brands execute holiday marketing campaigns that actually resonate with local audiences.
If you’re ready to transform your international holiday marketing from an overhead expense to a competitive advantage, contact our team to discover how proper localization can multiply your global market effectiveness.
Our expertise in marketing translation and cultural adaptation can help you build holiday marketing campaigns that don’t just translate – they resonate.
