When The Landmark Project set out to compete in the 2025 holiday gift guide landscape, the objective was clear: secure coverage in the outlets that matter—both outdoor and lifestyle—and turn that coverage into actual sales during the year’s most competitive retail window.
Gift guide season doesn’t start in November. It starts in July, when long-lead editors are planning their December issues. So that’s when we got to work aligning editorial timelines, affiliate incentives, and brand storytelling months before peak holiday noise.
From July through December, we focused on two phases: get The Landmark Project into the curated print and digital gift guides being planned over the summer, then capitalize on the commerce-heavy roundups and affiliate opportunities that surface closer to the holidays. We started pitching long-lead editors in Q3 so the brand would be locked into those early placements, while remaining proactive on last-minute gift guides and affiliate-driven features as they came up in Q4.
To support that outreach, we partnered closely with The Landmark Project team to design and distribute custom press kits tailored for key media. These kits told The Landmark Project’s story, celebrating and protecting public lands, in a way editors could see and feel. Rather than sending standard samples, we created an experience that reflected the brand’s values and showcased why these products make great gifts.
Alongside editorial pitching, we leveraged The Landmark Project’s affiliate program as a sales driver, turning coverage into trackable revenue. We worked with media partners to boost commission rates during the holiday window, increasing the incentive to feature the brand in their gift guides and shopping content. This kept The Landmark Project competitive in a heavily monetized space while maintaining the brand’s positioning.
The results demonstrated the power of aligning editorial relationships with smart commerce tactics, resulting in nearly 30 pieces of earned coverage across target audiences, 532+ million impressions, and features in high-authority shopping guides like The New York Times Wirecutter. These efforts drove hundreds of attributable sales and resulted in a highly successful holiday shopping season for the brand.
By starting early, investing in quality editorial storytelling, and leveraging affiliate relationships with intention, our team made sure The Landmark Project capitalized on the holiday gift guide season through earned media efforts. This campaign proved that when mission-driven products are paired with a disciplined seasonal strategy, gift-guide placements can deliver both brand elevation and measurable revenue impact.
