Monday, November 18, 2019

What’s Your Favorite Thanksgiving Brand?

When you think of Thanksgiving, there are many brands that come to mind from the foods we eat to the activities before and after the large meal. But what brands are your favorites? Here are five of mine.

MACY’S THANKSGIVING DAY PARADE
Whether you live in New York City or anywhere else, there is a particular parade that, since 1924, has become a family ritual to watch in person or on television. The three-hour parade is held from 9am to 12noon Eastern time on Thanksgiving Day, and it has been televised nationally on NBC since 1952. A unique aspect of working at Macy’s is that Macy
s employees have the option of marching in the parade. Would you march? (There is a website dedicated to the parade at https://www.macys.com/social/parade.)
 

BUTTERBALL TURKEY
Have you ever tried to cook a 15-pound or 25-pound turkey and run into trouble? Have no fear, if the turkey is a Butterball. This brand has a help center called the Turkey Talk Line. This help center began in 1981 when six home economists worked the phones that holiday season to answer 11,000 turkey-cooking questions. Since then, the Turkey Talk Line has grown in both the number of calls answered and the number of experts who respond. The Turkey Talk Line is open November and December each year and is staffed with 50 experts who answer more than 100,000 questions, for thousands of households in the United States and Canada. And in today’s social era, cooks can connect with the Turkey Talk Line via social media, live chat, texting, and even Amazon Alexa.

BEST BUY
One of the most-well known technology stores has become synonymous with Thanksgiving due to its array of deals. Many people choose to miss their Thanksgiving meal in order to line up to be first in line (or second or third) to enter the store. Best Buy opens its doors at 5pm on Thanksgiving Day to accommodate shoppers who want to get a great deal on a big screen TV or other tech gadgets at ridiculously low prices.

FOOD NETWORK
Some people test their cooking skills during Thanksgiving meal preparations. This is why the Food Network comes in handy. Many shows feature specific Thanksgiving recipes, and many chefs who have their own programs focus on the annual holiday. Here’s just one example from the myriad of Thanksgiving promotions on the channel’s website:

“Is the thought of cooking Thanksgiving dinner stressing you out? Don’t worry. Food Network is here to help! The cast of #TheKitchen including Sunny Anderson, Alex Guarnaschelli, Katie Lee, Jeff Mauro and Geoffrey Zakarian, will be joined by special guest Alton Brown to answer your cooking questions LIVE in a totally-interactive #ThanksgivingLive TV special! Tune in on Saturday, November 23, from 11 am-1 pm EST and get ready for expert advice, time-saving tips, and our favorite tried-and-tested Thanksgiving recipes!”

RECREATION EQUIPMENT INC. (REI)

According to REI’s website, “For the fifth time this Black Friday, REI Co-op will close all its stores, process no online payments, and pay all 13,000 employees to #OptOutside with friends and family. But this year, under the leadership of a new CEO and facing a global environmental crisis, the co-op is going a step further: asking its 13,000 employees and 18 million members to join in the fight for life outdoors – and life on this planet. The co-op is asking members and employees to “opt to act” – joining a nationwide clean-up effort this November, leaving the outdoors better than they found it when they #OptOutside on Black Friday and signing up for an employee-sourced, 52-week action plan to take small steps throughout the year to reduce their environmental footprint.”

What brands stand out to you on Thanksgiving? Or, are you too tired from your turkey meal to pay attention to advertising?


Image Credit: Macy’s.