The Year in Review Campaign: How to Run One Across Every Channel
One set of customer data, four layers: the story of everyone, a recap for each person, a thank-you for your best, and a reason to come back.
A year in review campaign is a brand's end of year look back, told from its customers' own data. The strongest ones run on more than one channel: an aggregate story for the public (press, social, out-of-home), a personalized recap for every customer (email, app and the shares that follow), a physical thank-you for the most loyal, and a next step for the new year. Each layer uses the same data at a different level of detail, so one data pull powers all of it.
Also called an end of year campaign or year-end recap. For the email on its own, see the year in review email.
Most brands think of a year in review as an email. The campaigns people remember are bigger than that. Spotify's personal recap lands in the app, but the same data has also turned up on billboards as jokes about how people listened. WHOOP publishes a community-wide story and hands each member off to their own review in the app. Strava releases a public trend report alongside every athlete's personal year.
None of those brands built four campaigns. They built one dataset and told it four ways. Here is the model.
Four layers, one dataset
That rule is what keeps a year in review feeling like a gift instead of surveillance. A customer is delighted to see their own year in their own inbox. They should never see it on a screen at the train station.
Layer 1: the aggregate story
Add up the year: total orders, miles, hours, meals, matches. Find the records, the surprising trends and the funny ones. Publish them as a short report or blog post, cut them into social posts, and pitch the best numbers to press. This is the layer that earns attention from people who aren't customers yet.
Digital out-of-home is where the aggregate story gets loud. Screens in the cities where your customers live, each carrying that city's numbers. Because DOOH screens are booked by location, the creative can change by location too: one design, a different version for every city.
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Layer 2: the personal recap
This is the heart of the campaign and the part people share. Each customer gets their own recap: three to five numbers they'd be proud of, a favourite, a first, a thank-you, and an asset to keep, whether that's a short video, a set of stills or a carousel sized for Stories.
Email is the delivery channel; the share is the distribution channel. Every customer who posts their recap puts your brand in front of their own followers, for free, with a personal endorsement attached. That is reach no media budget buys.
Layer 3: the thank-you
Pick your top 1% (or top 100, or every account over a threshold) and mail them a printed version of their year with a handwritten-style thank-you. A card on the fridge outlasts any email. For B2B, this is the piece an account manager hands over in the year-end check-in.
Physical mail costs more per person, which is exactly why it works for a short list. Use the data you already pulled to choose who gets it: longest tenure, highest spend, most referrals, biggest year.
Layer 4: the handoff
A year in review is a thank-you first, but it can still point forward. Close each recap with something relevant to that person's year: a renewal for members, a spring restock for one-time buyers, a goal for next year for athletes. Then follow up the people who opened, watched or shared; they've just told you they care.
The calendar
The layers work best in sequence: the public story builds curiosity, the personal recap lands, the thank-yous arrive before the holidays, and the handoff carries into January.
You don't need all four
Every layer adds reach, but the personal recap is the one that does the work. Start there and add layers as budget allows.
- Every customer's recap by email and app
- A shareable video, still or carousel
- A quiet next step at the end
- Everything in the recap
- An aggregate report, blog and social cutdowns
- A press pitch with your best numbers
- Recap, public story and press
- City-by-city DOOH creative
- Printed thank-yous for your top customers
How to measure the whole campaign
Measure each layer against the job it does. Aggregate: earned media, reach and branded search in December. Personal: opens, saves and downloads, and above all shares, since each one is free reach. Thank-you: retention and referrals from the mailed group against a similar group that didn't get mail. Handoff: repeat purchase or renewal within 90 days against a small holdout that received nothing. One dataset means one customer ID across all four, so you can see who moved.
What the personal layer did for real
Ditto built the first ever Spotify Songwriter Wrapped in 2022. Read the case study
FAQ
What is a year in review campaign?
A brand's end of year look back told from its customers' own data. Most include a personalized recap for each customer, sent by email and in the app, and the strongest add an aggregate story for the public, physical thank-yous for top customers, and a next step for the new year.
What channels should a year in review campaign use?
Start with the personalized recap by email and in your app, since that is the layer people share. Add an aggregate story for your blog, social and press, out-of-home screens with city-level numbers if you have the budget, and direct mail thank-yous for your most loyal customers.
Can a year in review run on billboards or DOOH?
Yes, with aggregate or place-level data: totals and trends for a city, store or region, never an individual's data. Because digital out-of-home is booked by location, the creative can change by location, so each city sees its own numbers.
Should we send direct mail as part of a year in review?
For a short list, yes. A printed recap with a thank-you is memorable precisely because it costs more, so reserve it for your top customers or key accounts, and use the same data to choose who gets it.
When should a year in review campaign launch?
The personal recap lands in the first two weeks of December, with the public story a few days before it. Plan in October, because personalized production, out-of-home bookings and print all need lead time.
Is a year in review campaign the same as an end of year campaign?
Yes. Brands use year in review, end of year campaign, end of year review and year-end recap for the same idea. Year in review is the name most customers recognize.
One dataset. Every channel.
Bring your data and the idea. Ditto renders a version for every customer, every city and every mailbox, video included, ready for December.
