I think Christmas might be stalking me.
I know I’m not alone; we’ve all become accustomed to the so-called “Christmas Creep” that seems to start earlier with each passing year. But now that it’s part of my professional life as well as my personal life, “the creep” has started to seem less like a verb and more like a noun—as if it’s become an actual thing I have to avoid, like fruitcake.
It was with unfathomable delight, then, that I encountered this sign at the Nordstrom at the Cherry Creek Shopping Center.
Spooky, isn’t it? No Midnight Madness promotional message in screaming 220-point type…nary a mention of Black Friday…not even a single percent sign. Just a simple snowy scene with a cute bird and the very thought we’d all been thinking. Does this mean Nordstrom isn’t having a day-after-Thanksgiving sale? I have no idea. What I do know, though, is that this campaign is equal parts holiday cheer and marketing genius.
The Nordstrom brand—both in its marketing and its in-center ethos—has always been about superlative customer experience. They invented the “Personal Shopper”, and were the first department store to take their close-out merchandise off-site, into an outlet setting. So before you go thinking that Nordstrom has lost its commercialist edge, consider that this campaign might be perfectly aligned with their brand…and speaking directly to a specific slice of their target audience.
Because, let’s face it: not everybody likes their midnight with a side of madness. Despite the widespread economic challenges shoppers are facing this year, there’s also a patent refusal to engage in unnecessary stress, particularly around the holidays. I may get cashmere and cologne at 75% off, a growing segment of concerned shoppers seems to be saying, but I’ll never get those hours of my life back.
And slowly, the retail world is responding. There are a handful of others following Nordstrom’s example, including Target, whose current radio campaign pits two sisters against one another: a classic “mean girl” who has to be first in line for the Black Friday sales, and a more rational sibling who feels very strongly that sleep outranks lower prices and free tote bag.
Like the Nordstrom campaign, the Target spots leave the door cracked for anyone who happens to enjoy the mad dash to the sale table. But it also creates a wonderful gray area for shoppers like me, who try to wrap up their shopping while our Thanksgiving turkeys are still frozen—so we can avoid the turkeys who are willing to freeze in Midnight Madness lines. We’re happy to pay for the privilege, even if that just means paying regular retail prices.
And we’re happy for places like Nordstrom, who give us the opportunity to do just that.
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