How John Wanamaker Pioneered Modern Seasonal and Themed Marketing

John Wanamaker is often described as the father of modern retail advertising. When he converted a disused Pennsylvania Railroad freight station into Philadelphia’s first department store in 1875, he did more than pioneer the one-stop, value-driven retail format that remains familiar today. He recognised that shoppers responded to moments, moods, and cultural cues. From this, he built marketing around them.

Wanamaker reinvested a fixed share of his profits into customer acquisition, launched the first full-page newspaper advertisement in 1879, and developed transparent, information-rich copy that placed customer value at the centre of every message. By organising his own in-house Advertising Bureau and hiring the world’s first full-time copywriter, he created an early model for thematic and event-driven campaigns, from seasonal window displays to promotional cycles tied to the evolving urban calendar.

Nearly 150 years later, the foundations Wanamaker laid are visible across every sector that relies on thematic and seasonal marketing, whether in retail, hospitality, entertainment or digital services. His belief that advertising should align with customer expectations, cultural moments, and the wider environment resonates strongly in today’s era of theme-led promotions, from holiday overlays to limited-time digital experiences.

While modern marketers now rely on attribution models, real-time optimisation, and cross-channel data, the underlying principle remains unmistakably Wanamaker’s. Effective themed marketing works when it meets people where they already are, emotionally, culturally, and seasonally, and when it delivers genuine value rather than simply pushing product.

Seasonal Marketing

Coca-Cola remains the definitive case study in holiday-themed marketing, largely thanks to Haddon Sundblom’s 1930s illustrations. The campaign endures because it blends nostalgia, warmth, and anticipation with instantly recognisable brand cues that become part of the season rather than simply advertising within it.

This seamless fusion of product identity and festive emotion is why Coca-Cola’s “Holidays Are Coming” remains so culturally resonant, even ninety years after its earliest Christmas ads. The effectiveness of the campaign also lies in its careful evolution over time. While maintaining familiar core elements, the company adapts its creative execution to contemporary media, from television and print to digital and social platforms, ensuring relevance for new audiences.

This mirrors Wanamaker’s approach of continual reinvestment and optimisation: he meticulously crafted copy and promoted seasonal events that reflected the cultural and emotional context of his customers, aiming to maximise impact and loyalty. Other brands have since followed the blueprint, most notably John Lewis. Its annual Christmas adverts have become cultural events in their own right.

Elsewhere, in iGaming, slot games promotions like Fabulous Bingo’s 125,000 Prizes Each Week online event have been tied to seasonal titles like Sweet Holiday Chase and Christmas Carol. Similarly, games like White Witch have linked promotions to Halloween. Other examples include, in retail, Aldi’s Kevin the Carrot festive adverts; in food & drink, Starbucks’ “Share the Cheer” campaign; and in broadcasting, Sky Sports’ wintry trails and intros with festive iconography.  

The Legacy of John Wanamaker

Wanamaker’s pioneering work in retail and advertising laid the foundations for many principles that define modern marketing today. His investment in clear, transparent advertising copy and in-house creative talent anticipated today’s emphasis on content quality, brand storytelling, and audience engagement.

Beyond his stores, Wanamaker’s holistic approach, which combined product, presentation, and experience, echoes in modern seasonal campaigns. By embedding cultural and emotional cues into commerce, he created a blueprint for brands to connect with consumers on both transactional and experiential levels, a strategy still central to contemporary marketing practice.