Planning Christmas campaigns? 3 things to consider this year

Peak retail season is approaching. Yep, we know the summer isn’t over yet, but the preparations need to begin months in advance, otherwise you won’t see the kind of sales that your brand wants or needs in this tough climate.  

Historically, the UK is the biggest Christmas spending nation in Europe – and the typical holiday shopping season is no longer limited to the festive period, with events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday enticing consumers to part with their pennies.

But, if you want to take a sizable slice of the spending pie, you need to be warming your customers up today. Set against the backdrop of rising inflation and the cost-of-living crisis, it’s likely to be even more challenging for marketers this year.

You’ll need to know your audience better than ever, including how and where best to target them. It’s not quite ‘rip up the rule book’, but you’ll need to look at marketing through fresh eyes, that’s for sure.

Here’s three things to consider for Christmas 2022…

Invest in brand awareness

YouGov Custom Research shows that 41% of Christmas shoppers are in the festive buying mood at least a month before the big day with almost two thirds (65%) planning their purchases at least two to three weeks in advance.

However, that’s the point at which they’re prepared to make a purchase. When they get to that point, you want your brand or product to be front of mind.

So, now is the time to invest in your upper funnel activities to put your brand in prime position to curry favour with consumers. When your peak advertising campaign kicks in, it should be a case converting leads into customers, rather than just raising brand awareness at the wrong time.

We know that the average customer journey is quite long, particularly for high-value purchases, so constantly being in front of consumers allows them to start their research and learn about your brand. If you don’t do enough now to attract their attention, they’ll simply go with the brands they already know and trust.

Does TV still own Christmas?

TV ads have been the go-to marketing creative during the festive period (and Halloween season that precedes it). But with the rise of streaming services and video platforms such as TikTok, is the traditional TV advert in decline?

John Lewis has become synonymous with the Christmas season, thanks in no small part to their brilliant TV ads. But even they have seen engagement drop off in recent years. In 2013, they garnered a whopping 44 million YouTube views for their ‘Somewhere Only We Know’ – compare that to last year's ‘Unexpected Guest’ ad which, to date, has less than three million YouTube views.

Christmas ads will always have a special place in people’s hearts, and big brands will continue to use them, at least in the short term, to make a statement.

So, even though the Coca-Cola truck won’t be parked up anytime soon, the simple fact is – as we highlighted in our previous blog on push and pull marketing – people don’t find traditional advertising as interesting as they once did.

They’re favouring advertising that is more native, such as influencers on social media or branded articles in a publisher environment.

So, this year, get creative with your long-form content, reaching and catching consumers in an environment where they are happy seeing a relevant ad which aligns the activity that they are undertaking.

As our research shows - get creative in this environment and you’ll see dramatic results - we’ve learnt a lot recently from experimenting with GIF and video CTAs.

Acknowledge the tough climate

Remember the times that we’re in. Many consumers may wait until Black Friday and Cyber Monday to take advantage of the deals – with the current period of economic uncertainty we’re in, it’s likely to be bigger than ever this year.

Think about the language you use – people will want to treat themselves and their families, but perhaps this year it might be appropriate to include some value messaging that would have been absent in previous years.

But it’s a fine line and you need to ensure you remain on the right side of it. People will want to celebrate without having to be constantly reminded about the cost-of-living crisis. We’ve covered how to adapt your messaging as costs rise in a previous blog.

Make it a Q4 to remember

The key is to go into retail season with confidence – assert your strategy and have all your ducks in a row early, ready to knock them down.

Whatever advertising strategy you decide to pursue, make sure branded content forms a part of it. Executed effectively, long-form content gives consumers insight into your brand and what you believe in, in a publisher environment they actively chose to engage with.

Beyond reaching the consumer, it is also an environment that allows creativity to flow, encouraging interesting storytelling which can include captivating imagery and other highly engaging assets.