March 12, 2026
Image Courtesy of Macy’s
Does Macy’s Own Celebrations?
Taking advantage of the 100th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and the 50th Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks in 2026, Macy’s launched a “Celebrations Start at Macy’s” campaign to champion “everyday celebrations to once-in-a-lifetime milestones” throughout the year.
The campaign starts with prom season with a marketing campaign featuring actress Priah Ferguson, known for “Stranger Things,” along with two social media influencers — PresLee Faith and Jackson Harvey — “celebrating individuality, self-expression and the excitement of planning to prom night.”
The celebration theme follows throughout the year with executions around Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and fall fashion, culminating in anniversaries for the company’s 4th of July Fireworks and Thanksgiving Day Parade events. Marketing pushes range from dedicated television spots to in-store storytelling.
Additional consumer touchpoints throughout the year include:
- Celebration Saturdays: Every Saturday this year will feature in-store events marking the season’s “big and small celebrations with energized shopping experiences.” For prom-goers, the upcoming campaign includes personal styling, live beauty demos, DJs, customization bars, and gift bags.
- Surprise and Delight: Starting in May and marking 50 days until the 50th Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks celebration, customers will be offered “surprise and delight moments throughout stores and online channels,” including a sweepstakes to attend the 100th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City.
- Cue the Confetti!: In-store events will be held to enable customers to create “customizing confetti” that will be dropped at the 100th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
“Macy’s has always been at the center of big and small moments and where people come together to celebrate life’s milestones,” said Sharon Otterman, chief marketing officer, Macy’s. “With ‘Celebrations Start at Macy’s,’ we’re turning retail into experience, bringing emotion, anticipation and joy into every occasion. From everyday celebrations to our most iconic traditions, Macy’s creates reasons to connect.”
The “Celebrations Start at Macy’s” campaign marks to first time Macy’s has looked to leverage its investments in both the Thanksgiving Day Parade and 4th of July Fireworks in a year-long push.
Both the 4th of July Fireworks and Thanksgiving Day Parade are often promoted by Macy’s as a “gift” to the city of New York and the nation, but Macy’s may now be making meaningful profits from the events. According to a Wall Street Journal article from November 2024, NBC agreed to pay more than $60 million annually to broadcast the Thanksgiving Day Parade and Fourth of July Fireworks, up from around $20 million under its former contract.
Viewership last year for the Thanksgiving Day Parade was a record of over 34 million, second only to the Super Bowl, while Macy’s Fourth of July fireworks drew 3.6 million.
Macy’s continues to decline to discuss the economics of its major events, including not responding to a query in 2024 from Freakonomics exploring whether the Thanksgiving Day Parade is Macy’s “most valuable asset.”
Tony Spring, Macy’s CEO, told “Freakonomics” at the time, “I would like to focus more on the fact that, you know, 100 years later, this thing is still relevant, and is a great example of — if we were still marching animals up and down the street, it wouldn’t be as relevant today. But the fact that it evolved over time and includes a level of modernity, includes a level of history. Floats that have been there over the years, floats that are new this year, balloons that are new this year. That is — just like the fireworks — I think what makes it such an amazing spectacular [sic].”
BrainTrust
Tom Ryan
Managing Editor, RetailWire
Recent Discussions
Discussion Questions
What do you think of the ‘Celebrations Start at Macy’s’ year-long campaign tied to the Thanksgiving Day Parade and the 4th of July Fireworks anniversaries?
Has Macy’s shortchanged its competitive advantage related to the broadcasted Thanksgiving Day Parade and 4th of July Fireworks events?
Poll
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Macy’s does a great job with events like the Thanksgiving Parade and the Fireworks Show. In the past, the business was not able to capitalize on these things, and the goodwill they created as the customer proposition was so poor. However, this is changing. Macy’s has put more investment into stores for occasions like Christmas and Valentine’s so that they look better and showcase a stronger assortment. This is helping the sales line. It’s a bit too strong to say that Macy’s owns occasions, but it is definitely becoming a bigger player in them.
I’ll concede it owns Thanksgiving morning – well, perhaps “long term lease” is more accurate – but the other 8,758 hours in the year…not so much. It doesn’t seem like much to building a competitive advantage on, unless you actually live in NYC (and even then…)
Macy’s has operated celebrations for what seems like a thousand years, but department stores today lack the same charisma or everyday recognition that they once had.
Everything in our world has changed so drastically, so fast, and in some cases over time, but in any case, street celebrations have been largely replaced by protests and politics, or worse.
Department store celebrations have also been negatively affected by the absence of law enforcement. The only exception is New Years Eve in Times Square, which is largely driven by corporations, especially by brands.
As a matter of fact, I do think Macy’s owns celebrations, and they have a 100 year tradition to prove it. I don’t remember a Thanksgiving day that Macy’s was not a part of.
They have been working hard to improve the customer experience, both in-store and online. The best part is that customers aren’t just going to watch the celebrations, they’ll be a part of them.
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Macy’s does a great job with events like the Thanksgiving Parade and the Fireworks Show. In the past, the business was not able to capitalize on these things, and the goodwill they created as the customer proposition was so poor. However, this is changing. Macy’s has put more investment into stores for occasions like Christmas and Valentine’s so that they look better and showcase a stronger assortment. This is helping the sales line. It’s a bit too strong to say that Macy’s owns occasions, but it is definitely becoming a bigger player in them.
I’ll concede it owns Thanksgiving morning – well, perhaps “long term lease” is more accurate – but the other 8,758 hours in the year…not so much. It doesn’t seem like much to building a competitive advantage on, unless you actually live in NYC (and even then…)
Macy’s has operated celebrations for what seems like a thousand years, but department stores today lack the same charisma or everyday recognition that they once had.
Everything in our world has changed so drastically, so fast, and in some cases over time, but in any case, street celebrations have been largely replaced by protests and politics, or worse.
Department store celebrations have also been negatively affected by the absence of law enforcement. The only exception is New Years Eve in Times Square, which is largely driven by corporations, especially by brands.
As a matter of fact, I do think Macy’s owns celebrations, and they have a 100 year tradition to prove it. I don’t remember a Thanksgiving day that Macy’s was not a part of.
They have been working hard to improve the customer experience, both in-store and online. The best part is that customers aren’t just going to watch the celebrations, they’ll be a part of them.