We hope you’ve been enjoying our articles on holiday-related email marketing ideas, and that each one gives you valuable ideas you can use in your ongoing email marketing efforts. We enjoy providing specific tips and real-world examples, so stay tuned for additional updates, or you can always download our Holiday Email Personalization LookBook for more illustrated examples all in one place.

It’s time to focus on the next big holiday coming up: Father’s Day Email Marketing (June 16 for 2019).

By some measures, Father’s Day isn’t as big as it could be. According to research from the National Retail Federation, Americans spent a total of $23.1 billion on Mother’s Day in 2018. Yet for Father’s Day, that figure reached just $15.3 billion. Similarly, NRF found that where 86% of Americans celebrate Mother’s Day, only 77% do the same for Father’s Day.

To help make a bigger splash for Dad this year, here are 15 ways you can use advanced real-time personalization experiences in your Father’s Day email marketing campaigns this year (or for any holiday)!

15 Tips for Using Real-Time Personalization in Father’s Day Campaigns

1. Use a timer to count down to the big day. Actually, there are two recommendations here: First, you can use a timer to show exactly how much time is left before Father’s Day, or, you can be a little more creative by counting down to a special sale. Both create urgency and encourage shopping.
2. Put important dates on the calendar. Similarly, you can use a calendar function to put a Father’s Day event on an official calendar or call attention to the final deadline when someone can buy a gift and still receive it in time. Make sure you include critical information and links directly in the meeting invite.
3. Include shipping details in the email itself. Now, marketers can add tracking information directly with a order-confirmation email. This saves time and doesn’t require recipients to visit third-party shipping sites for that information. They’ll be impressed…and more likely to buy more!
4. Engage them in a new way—a fun poll: Come up with a fun, creative way to ask a poll question. (Maybe“What type of gift don’t Dads like to get?”) Recipients can see the total responses in the email itself, or you can encourage them to visit a dedicated landing page complete with gifts any Dad would love.
5. Get social. Personalize emails with images and updates from your company’s social media sites. For example, pull in images from last year’s Father’s Day celebrations or other events.
6. Use real images to show great gift options. Offer website images based on their past interests and behaviors to make purchase decisions a no brainer.
7. Combine images with personalization. Consider adding their first name or other personalization to become part of the image. It will definitely catch their attention and increase your credibility and allure.
8. Use images with time-based targeting. This may take a creative approach but dream up an email campaign with different offers that expire, but only to reveal other attractive offer. For example, a restaurant could display different promotions related to Father’s Day breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and have the email dynamically change to show the most appropriate offer based on the time.
9. Use images in creative new ways. If you have the data, you could offer gift recommendations from a wife, the kids, or anyone else in Dad’s life. Get creative!
10. Reveal something special. Use our LiveReveal capability to build excitement around a special offer, discount or promotion. These emails always encourage action, whether recipients should scratch off an offer, open a gift, or click a spinning wheel. They’ll love the experience—and the ultimate “prize.”
11. Animate your email! Use images as animated gifs to create interest and engagement.
12. Take it up a notch with video.The idea of adding video in email still has a tough reputation—many marketers think it’s harder than it actually is—but embedding videos can make your email shine.
13. Use slides to show range of products he may be interested in. Golf clubs, clothes, tools, sunglasses—all will look better in a dynamic slideshow view.
14. Map it! You can use geo targeting to create a map to your store or special Father’s Day destination.
15. Offer real-time information. If appealing, scrape real-time information off of your website, including updating pricing information or special promotions, and serve it all up in a personalized, meaningful way.

Finally, become an email personalization ninja by combining many of these real-time advanced email experiences into one campaign or customer experience. You’re bound to create memorable, engaging, simply-can’t-resist types of email experiences any father will appreciate.