{"id":70121,"date":"2017-10-19T11:25:28","date_gmt":"2017-10-19T10:25:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/insight\/3-rules-holiday-marketing\/"},"modified":"2025-03-07T17:18:27","modified_gmt":"2025-03-07T17:18:27","slug":"3-rules-holiday-marketing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/insight\/3-rules-holiday-marketing\/","title":{"rendered":"3 rules for ingenious holiday (content) marketing"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/h4>\n

The holidays are coming (try not to sing that in the coco-cola theme tune) and we\u2019re already braced ready to beam and cringe in equal measure. Nothing makes us queasier than an obvious sales pitch for Christmas, or Halloween, Easter and Valentine\u2019s Day for that matter. But nothing makes us warm and fuzzy inside than a well-timed pun too.
\nContent marketing should always be cleverer than selling stuff and holiday marketing even more so. When carried out well, it builds a relationship with the customer, because it\u2019s meaningful, helpful and based around what the customer wants and needs. We\u2019re not saying that you should turn your back on all the Christmas marketing you have planned, but instead, take heed and take our advice first.
\nFollow these three rules and you should be on Santa\u2019s nice list (sorry).<\/p>\n

Make life easier<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Yes, yes, we all have to go out Christmas shopping. But shoving some products under our noses isn\u2019t necessarily going to make us run out and grab them. Unless you sell consumer products, marketing a range for Christmas isn\u2019t going to earn you any points.
\nYou can, however, help your customers out. What might be useful to know? Your opening hours, for example. That\u2019s pretty basic, but at least it tells them something they might not already know. Really, you want to dig a little deeper and do something genuinely helpful. Maybe you offer another service around Christmas to help them get organised, share recipes, do a countdown of what needs to be done every day on the lead up. These are just off the top of our heads, and it\u2019s down to you to find the one that works for your brand.
\nThis rule starts with your customer. Think about them, not about your company. This way, you can create real value. If you simply must do something about your products, look at Boots\u2019 gift guide \u2013 it has genuinely helpful ideas for the people most of us need to buy for.<\/p>\n

Keep it short and simple<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Some brands hugely benefit from massive Christmas campaigns, and it\u2019s probably because Christmas is their thing. I didn\u2019t want to mention the big \u2018JL\u2019, but there\u2019s a reason why John Lewis milks the season. Look at Starbucks, on the other hand, and the holiday campaign is much simpler. A few extra flavours and a red-coloured cup is all they need to spread the cheer \u2013 and that\u2019s really all holiday marketing needs to be. Be festive and draw on what your customers enjoy and your marketing will resonate. It could be as simple as adding a few visuals into your website or communications. Just keep your brand image in mind and make sure you don\u2019t upset it by going too out there.<\/p>\n

Be a lone wolf<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The ingenuity of others should be inspiration, not gospel. Do something different to have the \u2018that\u2019s a good idea\u2019 effect. It\u2019s what will get you heard among all the noise of other seasonal marketing. Spotify had a brilliant idea of creating new playlists as part of an RSVP process. If you can attend the party, you add a few songs to the list \u2013 helpful, clever and unique. Pret also stood out by using Christmas to market its charitable endeavours of giving unsold food to hostels and shelters for the homeless, rather than its brie and cranberry baguette. Okay, it\u2019s easier said than done to think of something original, but get the team together for a big brainstorm session early and you may be surprised at what comes up.
\nAnd before we forget, it\u2019s worth mentioning that you don\u2019t have to do anything at all for holidays. If you can\u2019t do it well, don\u2019t do it at all. Think long term and perhaps choose just one or two holidays to get involved in based on the ones that suit your brand the most.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The holidays are coming (try not to sing that in the coco-cola theme tune) and we\u2019re already braced ready to beam and cringe in equal measure. Nothing makes us queasier than an obvious sales pitch for Christmas, or Halloween, Easter and Valentine\u2019s Day for that matter. But nothing makes us warm and fuzzy inside than […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[305],"tags":[458,546],"class_list":["post-70121","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-content-strategy-us","tag-content-marketing-us","tag-holiday-marketing-us"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n3 Rules for Holiday Marketing - Stratton Craig Written Communications<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The holidays are coming (try not to sing that in the coco-cola theme tune) and we\u2019re already braced ready to beam and cringe in equal measure.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/insight\/3-rules-holiday-marketing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"3 Rules for Holiday Marketing - 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