eBay is urging people to be on the lookout for early mentions of holiday shopping, known as “holiday creep,” as part of its new marketing campaign. With its Holiday Jargon Jar, it will donate a dollar every time a retailer “overuses seasonal buzzwords” on Twitter.
“We’re scanning big brands on Twitter far and wide—and every time one of our friends use any jargon from our list of 100 overused holiday words, we’ll put a dollar in the jar (up to $50,000). At the end of the season, we’ll add it up and donate it. Oh, and if we miss something along the way, tag us, and we’ll count it as well.”
eBay will donate the proceeds to SCORE “to help small businesses thrive.” SCORE helps aspiring entrepreneurs by providing business free small-business mentoring sessions, workshops and educational services nationwide.
According to Mobile Marketer, cause-driven campaigns align well with the values of young adults and teens who show greater affinity for socially conscious brands. In an article about eBay’s campaign, it wrote, “The efforts need to come across as an authentic representation of a brand’s values, which eBay is trying to accomplish supporting small businesses and entrepreneurs, who are among its sellers and buyers.”
Press release follows:
Last month, eBay committed to some much needed holiday chill to give shoppers a break from the stress-inducing creep that starts as soon as a hint of fall is in the air.
To strengthen our stand against the holiday creep and madness – which becomes more over the top every year – eBay is introducing the “Holiday Jargon Jar,” which turns incessant chatter into meaningful charity. Last year, there were tens of thousands of mentions of holiday-related words and phrases in October and November alone. From merry and mistletoe to ‘tis and ‘twas, the virtual jar donates a dollar every time a retailer overuses seasonal buzzwords on Twitter.
How it Works: eBay will scan Twitter for the top 100 holiday buzzwords from 2,000 major brands, using a combination of algorithms and the human eye. Each time a retailer uses one of these predetermined words, $1 will be added to the Jargon Jar (up to $50,000). Consumers can join in, too, by tagging instances of #HolidayJargon IRL, and following @HolidayJargon on Twitter.
Giving for Good: Running through Giving Tuesday (December 3), Jargon Jar will culminate in eBay donating all of the money in the jar to SCORE, the nation’s largest network of volunteer, expert business mentors who help small businesses achieve their goals. The organization drives a range of programming, such as its Startup Success Virtual Conference on Oct. 24 giving entrepreneurs free training and resources. The donated funds will benefit nearly 150 small businesses, a cause that is central to eBay’s purpose to empower entrepreneurs.
Keeping Chill: Shoppers are already seeing early Black Friday promotions and it’s not even Halloween yet! The Holiday Jargon Jar follows eBay’s commitment to “Holiday Chill” – even if it means keeping ourselves in check and adding dollars to the jar. In the meantime, we’ll help our shoppers and sellers prepare for their busiest season.
Follow the Holiday Jargon Jar on Twitter at @HolidayJargon to see how much chatter we’re turning into cha-ching for charity. For more information, check out ebayinc.com/HolidayJargonJar.
SOURCE: eBay Announcement
Not whipping out family of 10 into anything. We have dropped Ebay like a hot potato. Prefer to just shop on QVC or Amazon. At least there we know we will get our things unlike on Ebay where its iffy.
Only ebay could think that “creep” is a good word for the holidays. How morbid is that… Only ebay could disrupt their site with both the Item Specifics nightmare and badly Managed Payments 2 months before Christmas. Their stupidity never shocks me anymore tho, because every year they come up with something worse. And their stock and 3rd quarter earnings reflect it. SMH