THE GIFT GUIDE GAZETTE
A TOLD BY THOMAS SPECIAL REPORT
The Secret Sauce to A Holiday Gift Guide Recipe
“18 Passive-Aggressive Gifts for Your Terrible Roommate”
“If your photographer/loved one tends to travel or go out into the wilderness when they shoot, a backup solution is a must. ”
EDITOR’S NOTE
Holiday gift guides are never guaranteed, but they truly are the gift that keeps on giving. Once a product lands on an editor’s radar, it often gets revisited for other seasonal stories— from Valentine’s Day to Father’s Day, summer roundups, and beyond.
Unwrapping
Success:
The Art (and Science) of Holiday Gift Guide PR
Holiday gift guides are one of the most competitive (and rewarding) arenas in PR. With the right timing, pitch, angle, AND RELATIONSHIP, a single placement can drive massive visibility, sell-through, and long-term credibility for a brand.
Over the past several years, Told By Thomas has established a track record of helping brands and products break through the noise and secure coveted spots in top-tier, editorial roundups.
Early & Organized → Starting outreach months in advance for long-lead (July & August) publications while preparing short-lead pitches for digital and local media.
Editorial Angles → Tailoring storylines around affordability, design, sustainability, or unique use cases to fit different media verticals and cultural trends/relevancy
Making Editors’ Lives Easy → Concise pitches, ready-to-use images, and quick/frictionless access to samples.
Layered Outreach → Leveraging editorial relationships of lifestyle, outdoor, and niche editors to maximize coverage opportunities.
Late July / Early August: Relationship Building
Host an intimate in-person experience (dinner or brand-aligned activity) with deputy, executive, market, and senior commerce editors.
Focus on quality over quantity—the goal is to build early relationships and establish intent for inclusion.
September: Product Seeding
Begin gifting product to key editors and influencers so they can experience it firsthand.
Prioritize regional media, broadcast, and print to lock in long-lead opportunities.
Target all priority markets.
October: Digital Outreach Ramp-Up
Launch widespread pitching to every commerce editor, including those focused on social-first shopping content.
Shift toward a quantity strategy while maintaining tailored outreach.
Expand beyond lifestyle to niche verticals (tech, outdoor, wellness, etc.) where relevant.
November: Peak Pitching
Secure broadcast segments and push for heavy digital coverage — placements should begin going live.
Prioritize affiliate-driven outlets (CNN Underscored, The Strategist, NBC Select, USA Today Reviewed) to maximize Black Friday / Cyber Monday visibility.
Collaborate internally with PR and sales teams to ensure press hits are leveraged for direct sales impact.
Early December: Last-Minute Gifting Push
Target all media one final time with messaging around “lazy” and “last-minute” gift shopping.
Drive urgency and capitalize on holiday deadlines.
Mid-December: Reporting
Deliver a comprehensive report highlighting placements, affiliate performance, and impact on sales/SEO.
Provide recommendations for improvements in the following year’s campaign.
