There are 12 days of Christmas, as the old song goes. So, in this spirit, we’ve compiled a list of 12 things you should keep in mind when using Christmas marketing.

From handy tips, insightful statistics, and things to avoid – if you following these rules, you’re sure to end up on Santa’s nice list.
But, firstly, what is Christmas marketing?

Christmas marketing is using the holidays to change your marketing campaigns for the festive season, and use everyone’s favourite day of the year to push your products.

No matter your business – whether you’re a clothing store, a law firm, a homeware shop, or even a teaching school – you can benefit from Christmas marketing.

1. Start Early

38% of shoppers in the UK start their Christmas shopping in October, rising to 70% by December 1st, according to RCS UK.
Meaning, Christmas is on our minds earlier than we think!

Make the most of this and launch your Christmas marketing campaign sooner rather than later.

Not only does this give you more time to use your Christmas tips, but it also means you catch the attention of all the eager shoppers out there.

2. Customise Packaging

If you’re the type of business that sends physical packaging out, then you should really maximise special packaging for your Christmas marketing campaign.

Not only does this make it more desirable, but, given how much people spend for the season, you’ll likely be able to charge that little bit more for special packaging.

What’s more, if your Christmas packaging is that good, it may end up on social media.
As soon as one person sees it, 10,000 people see it.

It’s a great way to establish a Christmas brand identity.
And, leading on from this…

3. Create Christmas Bundle Items

One of the best Christmas marketing campaign ideas you can utilise for your business is to create Christmas bundles or gift guides.
Consumers love it when the hard job is done for them – so if you’re marketing your products as “perfect for Dad” or “requiring no gift wrap”, you’re bound to see an increase in sales.

According to WooCommerce, consumer perception of the prices they’re paying are a lot better if they’re paying for a package/bundle, rather than using a discount code.

Even if the price difference isn’t that big!

4. Deck Your Website With Boughs Of Holly

Christmas is the one time when you, as a business, can really flex your design skills.
And the best way to do this? With your website.

Once you’ve created your Christmas marketing campaign, it’s time to change your website. Website themes geared towards Christmas and the festive period seem a lot more compelling for consumers, compared to ones that are the same in December as they are in March.

Whether it’s festive plugins, Christmas colours, a holiday theme, or anything else – turning your website into Santa’s grotto is a great way to maximise your Christmas marketing scheme.

Just be sure that in doing this, your website is still clean, clear, and user friendly.

Try not to overdo it. Falling snow on your web pages may sound like a good idea, but when your cursor gets lost in the digital flurry, it may be a bit annoying.

5. Use Seasonal Hashtags

When it comes to marketing, you’ve likely already been told the benefits of hashtags and keywords. I won’t bore you by explaining anymore.
But, the one thing you should also know, is how to maximise seasonal trends too.

People’s search history changes in the Christmas period, as consumers search for more specific items which they normally wouldn’t outside of the festive period.

But how do you find out which hashtags and keywords are best?

There are lots of different websites which demonstrate the popularity of certain keywords and terms. But, a personal favourite is UberSuggest. (No, not that Uber.)

Their website allows you to search a keyword or term and find others like it, as well as analyse its popularity and ROI.

That way, you can make sure you’re using the best search terms for your Christmas marketing campaign.

6. Make The Most Of Social Media

You’re a fool if you’re not using social media to boost your business’s online presence, let alone during the Christmas period.

According to the Digital Marketing Magazine, 26% of consumers report that they use social media to become more familiar with new brands.
And this number only increases during the festive season.

Desperately searching for inspiration, consumers turn to social media to see if they can find a gift perfect for that difficult-to-buy person in their life.

When, suddenly, they happen across your ad. It’s just what they’ve been looking for.

When it comes to Christmas marketing, social media is one of the best ways to shout about your brand. Don’t underestimate it.

7. Get Punny With It!

Humour is one of the best tools to use when it comes to Christmas marketing campaigns.

Whether it was Kevin the Carrot, or John Lewis’s Buster the Boxer, Christmas is a great time to use humour and comedy to boost your business’ reach.

But how do you do this?

Slogans and phrases, of course!

When you’re creating your Christmas marketing campaign, a funny phrase or slogan is a great way to create a sense of brand identity and attract consumers.

What’s more, if you repeat this slogan in your Christmas social media ads and on your website, it creates cohesiveness around your marketing campaign and lets the consumers know they’re in the right place.

Humour is the key to virality. A funny ad, whether it’s Christmas themed or not, is a great way to blow up on social media and have people talking about your business.

8. Don’t Be Generic

On the heels of being funny, you also have to be careful that you’re not being generic.

Humour is a great way to catch your consumer’s attention, but if it’s a joke they’ve heard before, it’s likely to fall flat.

As well as this, you have to be careful when it comes to social media too. Using hashtags like #christmasgifts, #christmasgiftguide, or, Heaven forbid, #christmas is not a good way to get seen.

Your post is likely to fall into the sea of thousands of other posts and not get seen. So, try to be original.

An example of this?

Marks and Spencer’s 2016 Christmas campaign, with the ensuing hashtag #loveMrsClaus, blew up on social media. It was a unique take on the Christmas period (focussing on Mrs Claus rather than the big man himself) and got people talking.

9. A Countdown To Christmas

Who doesn’t love a Christmas countdown? Consumers certainly do.

A great tip for Christmas marketing is to create a Christmas countdown, with each day offering something special. Whether it’s a 10% off code, free shipping, or a free gift if you spend over a certain amount. You can create a countdown that offers something exciting every day leading up to the big day, valid only for 24 hours.

However, if your business doesn’t have the budget for this. A weekly countdown works too!

Creating something special to entice the consumer and compel them to purchase is a great way to increase sales, especially when it’s so festive.

10. Be The Solution Your Consumer’s Need

With this in mind, no special offer on your website is as attractive as speedy shipping.
Think of how many last-minute Christmas presents people have had to buy!

We’ve all been there.

Checking to see if Amazon still does next day delivery, running into the local supermarket to buy a generic gift… we’ve forgotten to buy the secret Santa present for tomorrow!

So, be the solution your consumer needs.

Offering speedy shipping, even free speedy shipping, is a great way to attract consumers during Christmas. Not only does it motivate buyers, but sets you apart too.

Who doesn’t love next day delivery?

11. Christmas Content

Content marketing is King, and this sentiment doesn’t lose any truth when it comes to Christmas.

So, when it comes to Christmas, try to gear some (not all!) of your website content towards something festive. Don’t flood your website with Christmas themed topics, but include a few shows that you’re on-trend and capitalising on current ideas.

All good Christmas marketing strategies have related content. Using the aforementioned keyword tools, and doing a little bit of research, find out what’s hot this Christmas period.

It could be recyclable and environmentally friendly packaging, or ethically made gifts… either way, make sure you switch things up a little this Christmas time.

12. Don’t Be Afraid To Get Emotional

If it’s one thing that Christmas evokes, it’s emotions.

The good, the bad, the sad, the nostalgic… good Christmas marketing strategies include emotional and wholesome content.
After all, consumers are emotional buyers. We make emotional connections to the brands we love.

How many of us can’t wait to catch this year’s John Lewis Christmas advert?

It’s bound to make us cry, in a good way, and each year we love to guess what it is.

Christmas is a very nostalgic and wholesome time of year. So, creating a Christmas marketing strategy that utilises this and provokes an emotional response in your audience is a great way to drive sales.

After all, it is the most wonderful time of the year.

When it comes to holiday marketing, companies are no strangers to using international celebrations or global holidays to promote their businesses.

Whether it’s Christmas, International Women’s Day, World Mental Health Day, or anything else… if a company can make a quick buck off of it, they will.

But what’s wrong with this?

Well, nothing, really. It can be really successful – both in boosting your brand and spreading the word about a holiday or event. As such, International Celebrations are a great way to market your business – if done correctly.

When they’re done poorly, your business can end up looking superficial, inauthentic, and cheap.

That’s not what you want.

So, what should you look out for when it comes to holiday marketing?

We’ve compiled a list of the good, the bad, and the downright awful when it comes to holiday marketing. See if you can see what these companies did right and wrong. And, hopefully, don’t make the same mistakes they did!

Image Copyright Property of Hershey

For International Women’s Day 2020, Hershey launched a marketing campaign in Brazil that saw the changing of their bars’ names to “Her” and “She.”

Clever, right? Who doesn’t love a good pun?

What’s more, their packaging didn’t just feature the name change, but also images of influential and inspirational women. Musicians, artists, politicians – the bars paid homage to some of the greatest women ever born.

The campaign was all about promoting women and uplifting female voices. They even encouraged women to share their artwork, music, and more by using Hershey’s hashtag on social media.

So, why was this holiday marketing campaign a success?

Not only did the bars uplift women – even some including QR codes which would send people to the featured musician’s and artist’s pages – but the company also had the right intentions in mind.

In an interview with Muse Magazine, Ana Costa, HR Director at Hershey Brazil, said that they wanted to reassure their female employees that “they’re working for a company that acknowledges their value and believes in their potential”.

Meaning, that there was actual substance behind their marketing.

What’s more, with Hershey’s holiday marketing campaign, it wasn’t just a simple marketing ploy either.

It seems that Hershey puts its money where its mouth is! In fact, 52% of Hershey’s leadership is female. Meaning that they believe in their own message they’re promoting.

Now that’s a holiday marketing campaign we can get behind.

Image Copyright Property of Burger King

In 2019, during Mental Health Awareness Month, Burger King decided to partner with Mental Health America. Their holiday marketing campaign saw them changing their takeaway box designs to multicoloured ones which reflected different emotions.

From blue to symbolise feeling ‘blue’ to feeling ‘salty’, ‘pissed’, and lots of other emotions.

The holiday marketing slogan: “No One Is Happy All The Time.”

So, what’s the problem? Isn’t raising mental health awareness a good thing?

Well, firstly, the campaign idea seemed to be more about taking shots at its competitors than actual mental health awareness.

The images of the marketing campaign featured Happy Meal-alike takeaway boxes, and the campaign slogan couldn’t be denied as a jibe at McDonald’s.

Secondly, the ties to mental health seemed vacuous and artificial.

The 5 different moods represented in the meals – Salty, Yaasss, DGAF, Blue, and Pissed – did not seem to be related to mental health issues at all.

Sure, you could argue that they’re trying to raise awareness that not everyone is happy all the time. But, are ‘Yaasss’ and ‘DGAF’ really moods? And if so, what do they have to do with mental health?

Overall, Burger King’s mental health holiday marketing was a flop.

People took to Twitter confused. They questioned whether Burger King was trying to promote its products as a cure for mental illnesses?

What’s more, the company didn’t even go as far as to explain their thought process behind this. They made no announcements about the correlation between their burgers and mental health. They didn’t even attempt to rectify the blunder by offering a portion of their proceeds to mental health charities.

Ultimately, it was a holiday marketing failure.

Image Copyright Property of Poundland

In 2017, Poundland launched their Christmas holiday marketing campaign with their naughty elf.

If you haven’t heard of it, essentially, their holiday marketing campaign was comprised of different pictures every day of an elf in rather inappropriate positions and actions – each advertising a product Poundland sells.

From an elf dunking a teabag on someone’s face, to an elf holding a hairdryer accompanied with a particularly obvious innuendo, and even an elf imitating Miley Cyrus’ infamous wrecking ball scene – the ads were as hilarious as they were controversial.

So, what made this holiday marketing campaign such a success?

Primarily, it was because of how creative the campaign was. Having a different image every day of an elf in a naughty position was something that didn’t require a lot of help, set design, graphic design, or anything else. In fact, the budget for the 2017 campaign was less than £30.

What’s more, the campaign was very carefully designed. Whereas other companies had woefully fallen into controversy – Poundland embraced it. They planned their whole campaign on being controversial and getting lots of social media responses. And, as a result, thus became viral.

The reactions on each tweet would often succeed 10k, and views on the gifs and videos could range anywhere from 400k upwards.

As well as this, the holiday marketing campaign also engaged in a call to action. Followers were encouraged to submit their own captions for the photos. The winners would then go on to win Poundland vouchers to spend in-store.

Ultimately, it was found that the Christmas holiday marketing idea increased the number of people talking about the brand.

Perhaps controversy pays off, after all.

Image Copyright Property of Renault

Whilst humour can be a great way to promote a product or business, like Poundland’s naughty elf, sometimes it can go a step too far.

Take Valentines Day, for example.

The global holiday entices all sorts of companies to launch a holiday marketing campaign which is usually cringeworthy, extremely awkward, or centered around sex.

Take Heineken, for instance. In 2014, Heineken launched a holiday marketing campaign that promised a mystery box with a date inside. All you had to do to win said box was apply for it if you were a female. Oh, and have your partner publicly declare his love for you on Instagram. His act of getting mushy would reward a code being sent to you, unlocking the box, and freeing your date.

Well, what’s wrong with this?

Whilst the sentiment behind the idea – getting men to be more open about their emotions, have women feel more appreciated – but it was way too complicated in practice.

Whilst calls to action are a pretty good way to encourage people to speak about your brand, the whole process of applying for a box, tweeting, posting on social media, and waiting for it to be unlocked didn’t seem worth it.

Especially when the dates were couples’ tattoos or judo lessons…

Renault also decided it would dip its toe – or wheel – in the Valentines’ pool.

A few years ago they decided to launch a holiday marketing campaign which featured an image of one of their cars with the seats reclined all the way back.

The caption? “Renault wishes all young lovers an amorous Valentine’s Day.”

And whilst some could claim that this is funny, or mildly clever, others were a bit confused.

As a family brand, Renault using sex to promote their cars seemed to be a bit of a misstep.

Whilst it was definitely more subtle and implied compared to other Valentine’s Day ads out there – it seemed very off-brand and uncharacteristic of the company.

It certainly didn’t tarnish Renault’s reputation, however, but it definitely changed its holiday marketing ideas moving forward.

When it comes to holiday marketing ideas, there’s a fine line you must walk between humour and cringe, and advocacy and exploitation.

A good holiday marketing strategy will use an International Day or a Global Holiday to promote their brand or product, whilst also being mindful of what the holiday means.

However, not all brands can achieve this on their own.

If you would like to launch a campaign or social media marketing in celebration of an International Holiday, then please get in touch with us at Shape The Market.

We have a wide range of social media and marketing plans which would be perfect for your business. Contact us here.