One of the reasons we always look forward to winter is to see the different kinds of email marketing campaigns brands would surprise us with. Winter is the season with the maximum number of holidays — Christmas, New Year, Valentine’s Day, and even the Super Bowl — which makes it the season with the maximum number of opportunities for brands to present special offers to its customers. This manifests as an intense competition for your attention in your inbox.
In this article, we examine 10 winter email campaigns that helped brands stand out from their competition and gave me the WOW factor.
Personalization is king, and not only in emails
Look closely at the examples below and you will see that personalization — recognized as a growing email marketing trend in 2024 — is applicable not only in a brand's emails but also in its products and services.
Subject line: Order Today for Delivery by Christmas
Sender: BaubleBar
(Source: Email from BaubleBar)
BaubleBar's email welcomes its subscribers to celebrate Christmas by ordering special personalized gifts that bear the recipients' names. The images used — festive symbols, such as stars and gifts, in festive colors, such as red, blue, and gold — bring us closer to the spirit of Christmas.
Subject line: Alina, thank Mum with a personalized gift
Sender: Pandora
(Source: Email from Pandora)
In this email, Pandora suggests you start preparing for Mother's Day in winter and order a personalized gift.
In the email's subject line and copy, Pandora has actively used personalization, which can make you feel that this email was written specifically for you. The brand has also skillfully employed GIFs, which draw attention to the products on the hero banner and clearly demonstrate the process of making a customized gift — it is hard to take your eyes off this process.
Email series with common idea: Read emails like you're watching a TV series
Inspired by the winter holidays, some brands crafted email campaigns that involved sending a series of emails centered on a single idea. These campaigns reminded me of eagerly looking forward to the episodes of exciting TV shows. Below are some fascinating examples.
Vans' email series using an advent calendar
Subject line: 12 DAYS OF DEALS: DAY 1!
Sender: Vans
(Source: Email from Vans)
Here is an example of a Christmas email marketing idea: an advent calendar. Vans sent this email on December 1, claiming that it would offer different discounts on one of their products every day. All you had to was follow the emails to ensure that you didn't miss the product you had been dreaming about for a long time.
Subject line: LAST DAY OF DEALS!!
Sender: Vans
(Source: Email from Vans)
This last email of Vans' series, which shows all the revealed deals, offers customers one last chance to take advantage of the 12th days special offer. This draws readers into the game as they wait and open each email. And it helps sell — after all, there is only one day to decide.
Email series after Super Bowl from NYX
This is perhaps the most provocative email series I received this winter. However, it must be said that NYX emails are exactly the ones I go to when I want examples of bold promotional campaigns. See for yourself what they prepared for the big game.
Subject line: WHAT THE DUCK? Cardi B is joining us at the Big Game!
Sender: NYX
(Source: Email from NYX)
Here, the provocation first appears in the subject line, which hints at the product and the emotional expression simultaneously. The provocation continues with an effective use of the image of a superstar — Cardi B. I also really liked the dynamics of the GIF animation — the image does not just flash but simply draws you in.
Bright colors complete the impression. Also, I could not ignore the advertising appeal — NYX is not trying to sell a product but encouraging you to watch their advertisement that would appear during the Big Game.
The last email of this series, made in the same recognizable style as the email received on the Super Bowl day, was like this:
Subject line: Are you ducking ready for Cardi B at the Big Game?
Sender: NYX
(Source: Email from NYX)
Creating a festive mood by all means
In holiday email campaigns, I always pay special attention to the tools brands use to create a festive mood.
Some of these tools are as follows:
- special holiday colors;
- symbols: Christmas trees and decorations, snowflakes and stars, hearts for Valentine's Day, and more;
- special holiday letter ideas: gift cards, gift guides, and more;
- special interactive and game mechanics.
Combining several approaches innovatively is a special skill that inspires me. Here are some striking examples from my inbox.
Subject line: Need gifts? Our holiday gift guide delivers adventure
Sender: Decathlon
(Source: Email from Decathlon)
Decathlon prepared a convenient guide to help its subscribers choose gifts according to different tastes and budgets. The email hero banner features an attractive animated GIF with a CTA button that makes you want to click it.
Subject line: Time’s Running Out: 40% Off EVERYTHING
Sender: VS PINK
(Source: Email from VS Pink)
In this email, Victoria's Secret masterfully combined everything that creates a joyful Christmas mood — a rich red color, sparkling gold, snowflakes, and a laughing girl. And, of course, they didn’t forget to present a special offer and the promotional code for it.
Subject line: Just In: NEW Corset Tops
Sender: Victoria’s Secret
(Source: Email from Victoria’s Secret)
Since my inbox was filled with emails filled with images of hearts and cupids on Valentine's Day and in the weeks leading up to it, it was difficult to choose one email for this article.
In this email, another one from Victoria's Secret, look how they successfully combined everything that girls dream of Valentine's Day — a heart full of love, a chic bouquet of roses, a bright scarlet color that attracts attention, and… a corset.
Another important point for creating a holiday mood is to not go overboard when it comes to colors and symbols
Tell me a festive story
Storytelling is another current trend in email marketing. It is difficult to tell big stories in emails, but brands often do it creatively by hinting at interesting bigger stories or showing it using images.
Here are some exciting winter emails that landed in my inbox.
Subject line: The UO Love Shop is open ❤️
Sender: Urban Outfitters
(Source: Email from Urban Outfitters)
This email from Urban Outfitters demonstrates through images the love stories of several couples warming up and calling for gifts before Valentine's Day. Perhaps I would add some more text to these stories, though they still remain quite appealing.
Subject line: “I’d buy an ocean liner of this stuff”
Sender: Harry's
(Source: Email from Harry's)
In this email, you see three short stories from real people about… choosing deodorants depending on the type of sweater. This immediately engages the subscribers and inspires them to think, “What kind of sweater do I have?”
Here, I would have added an interactivity block that would allow readers to vote "What sweater are you wearing?" and thus involve them in the action. Doing this using the interactive modules in the Stripo editor is quite simple.
Make me smile with funny wordplay
Many winter emails featured excellent wordplays in their subject lines and main slogans. The example below got my prize for successfully using the occasion of Valentine's Day to promote an unsuspecting product.
Subject line: The smoothest love affair
Sender: Harry's
(Source: Email from Harry's)
The slogan “Love is in the (h)air” will definitely end up in my copywriter's swap file for its original play on words. If you can make your readers smile, they will remember you and click on your next email.
The 10 winter email subject lines that make you open the email
The following subject lines feature all the techniques I have discussed above: personalization, mood, wordplay, attracting attention, and drawing readers to a story.
- Affordable gifts for the whole family — Decathlon America.
- Need. This. Whole. Outfit. — Free People.
- "The perfect gift under $100" — BaubleBar.
- Love yourself first, Alina — Pandora.
- Time to celebrate all things you love — Nike.
- Happy Mac-entine’s Day! — MacPaw.
- What’s your New Year's razor-lution? — Harry's.
- Your closet needs these $15 sweaters + the cutest Valentine's looks — Old Navy.
- Alina, spend Valentine's Day your way — Pandora.
- Our NFL Playoffs Sale Is Coming… — BaubleBar.
By the way, in the Stripo editor, you can use AI to write subject lines and preheaders and find inspiration to make the catchiest variants.
Wrapping up
We compiled these winter newsletter ideas so that you can have some fun inspiration for creative email ideas. Continue to amaze your followers, engage them in communication with interactivity, and, finally, make them smile. Your email strategy is then sure to lead you to success.
Check out our email marketing calendar, where you will find a list of holidays in different countries, a selection of ideas for email campaigns, and several ready-made email templates for each holiday.
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