Every year... there is that one day in September when you go to the supermarket unsuspecting and are suddenly confronted with the first gingerbread and speculoos on the shelves. From there it starts, the constant reminders of the upcoming festival. The festival, which stands for prudence, peace and comfort, but probably causes more stress in most people's lives than any other holiday.
Both for consumers who are frantically running through the overcrowded city streets and trying to find the perfect gift for that one team member pulled by the secret Santa, and as a brand that is desperately trying to stand out in the sea of red and green Christmas ads and gift sets... the pre-Christmas period is probably not easy for anyone.
At the same time, it offers a sea of opportunities, especially for brands. Because at what other time are consumers so desperately looking for something they can buy and are willing to spend so much money on it?
The key to effectively using this prime time for brands is obvious: a campaign that stands out! Because one thing is clear, there will be no shortage of competition at Christmas time. We have learned from 10 years of experience and today we are sharing our 3 dos and don'ts with you to develop a campaign that is guaranteed to stand out.
Although it sometimes seems like it, far from all people celebrate Christmas and even those who celebrate it don't celebrate it on the same day, for the same reasons, or with the same traditions. It is therefore important to make sure that your campaign excludes no one and that everyone can identify with it.
You can make sure of this with a few tips:
What values are associated with Christmas? Community, love, prudence, gratitude and helpfulness are some examples of values associated with the festival and with which everyone can identify.
The Christmas traditions that you associate with the festival are not universal. Everyone has their own traditions, partly culturally shaped, partly individual. It is therefore useful to focus your campaign on elements that are universal. For example, peace, helpfulness, making someone happy or comfort instead of snow or Santa Claus and his reindeer.
Red, green and white are associated with Christmas, but the colors around Christmas time are anything but eye-catching. You'd better consider whether you have a new design idea for your campaign, of course we also have a tip for you (see the next Don't)...
Inboxes, Instagram feeds, Google Ads and Pinterest boards will be full of red and green Christmas designs from October. There are so many ways to make your content Christmassy and not lose your own style. This allows you to stand out in a sea of constant campaigns. Our tip to you: Keep your style but make it Christmas! For example, if you stick with your own brand colors, you also retain the recognition effect with your customers.
Although Christmas is a more idealistic celebration for many, gifts naturally play an important role. On the one hand, your customers are looking for gifts for their loved ones, and you can support them with, for example: gift guides, personalized gift sets, etc. On the other hand, you shouldn't forget to use the opportunity to give something away yourself and give it back to your customers. For example, discount codes, Christmas promotions, competitions or the like are suitable for this. In our Advent special last year, for example, we had a little surprise for our users every week, which made them happy in collaboration with other brands.
Christmas is the festival of love, it is about family, friends and community. Accordingly, the holidays are associated with a lot of expectations and feelings for many people. These emotions are used by countless brands, which take the time to tell particularly emotional stories during the Christmas season and to develop the kind of campaigns that really touch people. For my part, I would be lying if I said that I hadn't shed a tear or two during Edeka's “Coming Home” campaign.
Especially at a time when there is another Christmas campaign waiting for you, your campaign must be well thought out, because the goal is to always stand out in the sea of the same holiday content. However, many ideas take a few months to be implemented.
For example, do you want to offer a special Christmas edition of one of your products, or even launch a completely new product, such as an advent calendar? Special Christmas packaging, creating a suitable holiday design for your brand, cool activities on social media, such as a competition... All good ideas that can take your Christmas campaign to the next level, but whose basic requirement is enough time that you need to prepare, plan and implement everything. So our motto: the earlier, the better!
If the day described above has not yet arrived and there isn't even speculation in the supermarket, it is too early to launch a Christmas campaign. In this case, the saying “first come, first serve” might not apply. If you overwhelm your target group with Christmas gifts and advent calendars too early, they are more likely to be annoyed and stressed than inspired. A study by Statista shows that the majority of people don't start buying their Christmas presents until November at the earliest and then really get off to a good start in December. A good time could therefore be after Halloween, which is still early enough, but most consumers are still ready for the Christmas spirit.
All marketers have one thing in common: They have to get into the Christmas spirit as early as spring and summer in order to deliver the perfect Christmas campaign at the perfect time. That's why (almost) everything in August and September revolves around the best time of the year. We at Kitchen Stories are already deep into Christmas thoughts and processes, and are already planning Christmas content for our community as well as for various brands.
You can take a look at a few examples from recent years here:
Siemens - Potato dumplings that are safe for every occasion
Ramazzotti - Celebrate Christmas (a bit more) in Italian this year!
Miree - recipes and tricks for stress-free eating in December
Günthart - The only thing that can help against the dreary winter is sprinkles!
As every year, we'll find the perfect Christmas campaign for your brand, with which you can reach our target group of millions right in their homes. Be it through digital brand campaigns, content sponsorship, product placement or as an exclusive partner for specific categories.
Got hungry? We are pleased to be able to provide you with free advice on your Christmas campaign in a non-binding meeting: Make an appointment 📅
Or contact us directly Melina Bastakar, Strategic Partnerships Manager, via melina.bastakar@kitchenstories.de or +49 160 3328 140
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