Year-end “recap” campaigns have exploded in popularity since Spotify Wrapped proved how eager people are to celebrate their own data. More brands, especially U.S.-based ones across ecommerce, SaaS, and more are leveraging Year-in-Review campaigns to boost customer loyalty and re-engagement.

This guide offers fresh examples, actionable strategies, and best practices to help brands craft memorable campaigns, particularly those utilizing Braze for advanced CRM personalization.

Strategic Benefits of Year-in-Review Campaigns

A thoughtfully executed Year-in-Review campaign deepens customer connections by demonstrating recognition of their journey and accomplishments, building emotional loyalty and trust. It also effectively re-engages customers by reminding them of the unique value they’ve experienced, prompting them to return and reducing churn.

Additionally, personalized summaries naturally encourage social sharing and word-of-mouth referrals, organically extending your brand’s visibility and influence. These campaigns enhance overall customer satisfaction by celebrating individual achievements, reinforcing a positive association and boosting lifetime value.

Lastly, recaps help close the year positively while generating excitement and anticipation for the upcoming year, creating momentum for future engagement and reinforcing brand affinity.

Best Practices for Year-in-Review Campaigns

1. Plan Early: Coordinate data sources and team resources in advance.
2. Choose Meaningful Metrics: Focus on customer-centric data.
3. Tell a Compelling Story: Craft narratives that resonate personally.
4. Visualize Clearly: Use engaging visuals for easier consumption.
5. Leverage Multiple Channels: Email, in-app, push, SMS—coordinate strategically using Braze.
6. Include Interactivity: Engage users beyond static content.
7. Express Gratitude: Use campaigns to thank customers sincerely.
8. Include Relevant CTAs: Gently encourage further engagement.
9. Maintain Brand Voice and Accuracy: Ensure personalization is accurate and on-brand.
10. Measure Success: Track metrics and refine campaigns annually.

4 Year-in-Review Campaigns

Chess.com – “Year in Chess” Recap: The online chess platform sent users a year-end email highlighting their personal chess accomplishments (like best win or total games played) and then directed them to a dedicated stats page for a deep dive . This approach kept the email short but leveraged the website/app for rich interaction. It’s a smart way to handle data-heavy recaps – using email as a gateway to a personalized web experience.

Product Hunt – “Your Year in Review (Rewind)”: Product Hunt kept its year-end email extremely minimal with a bold headline and a single button: “See my Rewind.” The email’s job was simply to pique curiosity and drive users to log in for their full recap . This no-frills, one-CTA strategy was effective for an audience already engaged with the platform, and it ensured users went to the Product Hunt site where the recap could really shine.

Zappos – Anniversary Thank-You: Even brands without tons of user-specific data can partake. Zappos, for instance, marked customers’ account anniversaries around year-end with a cheerful message (“Cue the confetti! It’s your Zappos anniversary and we’re celebrating you”) . While not a detailed stats recap, it leveraged the year-end moment to make customers feel appreciated – showing that any brand can say “thank you” at year’s end as a simple retention touchpoint.

Starbucks – Personal Year-in-Review: Starbucks has experimented with emails showing users how many times they visited and how many reward points they earned in the year. It’s a neat loyalty recap idea, but use caution – some savvy customers did the math on dollars spent and quipped that seeing the cost might give them “more rea$on$ not to go as often” . This highlights the need to frame data in a positive light (focus on points earned or coffees enjoyed, not just money spent) – we’ll discuss more pitfalls later.

Each of these examples underlines that a Year-in-Review campaign can be adapted to different industries and data sets. The common thread is personalization and celebration: whether it’s a fitness app cheering you on for all those miles, a beauty brand awarding you a fun persona, or a SaaS tool highlighting the time you saved – the campaign is about the customer’s experience.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

• Avoid overly self-congratulatory content; keep the focus on customer achievements.
• Be sensitive with data; avoid highlighting potentially negative insights.
• Test extensively to prevent technical glitches and personalization errors.
• Keep content focused and concise; avoid overwhelming users.
• Ensure proper segmentation and relevance for different customer groups.

Technical Glitches and Data Accuracy

Recap campaigns live and die by their personalization. One wrong name, a broken image, or a stat like “You ran 5.678213 miles” instantly erodes trust. These emails pull from dynamic fields, so testing isn’t optional—it’s critical. Run internal tests, validate all tokens, and double-check formatting and units of measure.

Things can still go wrong at scale. Be prepared with a mitigation plan, whether that’s a follow-up apology or a silent correction behind the scenes. And don’t leave your customer support team in the dark—they need to be ready for messages like “My numbers look off” or “I didn’t get my recap.” If your platform supports it, stagger the rollout. Start with a small segment, monitor performance, then expand once it’s confirmed clean.

Overloading the Message

More isn’t always better. Trying to cram every stat, milestone, and fun fact into one message risks overwhelming the user. Instead, keep the focus tight. Prioritize the top insight or achievement, then offer a few supporting highlights. If you’ve got more to share, consider linking out to an interactive experience where users can explore on their own terms.

Also, watch your channel strategy. Sending the same recap via email, push, SMS, and more? That’s too much. Use channels in harmony—email might carry the main message, while push could deliver a quick teaser or follow-up. Don’t create fatigue by repeating yourself across every platform.

Lack of Segmentation or Relevance

Not every customer is on the same journey, so don’t send them the same recap. A user who joined in November shouldn’t receive a “Year in Review” with just a month of data. Instead, they should get a welcome-style message celebrating their first weeks, with a look ahead at what’s to come.

Long-time users or power users, on the other hand, should see a deeper breakdown—they’ve earned it. Use your CRM data to segment by tenure, engagement, or loyalty tier. Tailor the experience so it feels specific, not generic. Just make sure to test each version. A recap only works if it’s accurate, timely, and relevant to the person reading it.

Final Thoughts

A well-executed Year-in-Review campaign can transform customer data into meaningful celebrations of engagement, fostering deeper connections and driving sustained loyalty. Whether your brand operates in retail, SaaS, or any industry, leveraging sophisticated CRM platforms like Braze can amplify the effectiveness and personalization of your campaigns.

By following the strategic advice outlined here, your brand can craft compelling campaigns that delight customers, encourage advocacy, and set the stage for continued engagement into the next year.