It may only be June, but you need to start planning your Christmas ad campaign now.
Christmas still falls on December 25th this year. Pandemic or no pandemic, protests or no protests, it’s coming. There’s no question 2020 has been a year like no other. And, hopefully, change finally comes to this divided country.
But one thing is certain to come to every red and blue state alike; Christmas—or, the retail fourth quarter savior previously known as Jesus’ birthday. Or, to keep this post politically correct, we can also call it the non-denominational holiday season.
And, if you think 2020 hasn’t quite sucked enough already, just wait until you fail to plan for the most important holiday shopping season in decades. We all need this one. Change is on the horizon and online marketing is gonna spur online buying like there’s no tomorrow.
So if you haven’t started planning for the holiday shopping season yet, there are five things you have to do right now:
1. Start right now
The earlier the holiday season comes this year, the sooner people can start pushing 2020 out of their minds. People are pent-up and ready. Online sales have been increasing as brick and mortar sales have been plummeting. Common sense tells us this. But if you need data to back it up numerous industry reports, including this one from Fast Company detailing the latest retail mall apocalypse victims.
The trend will no doubt continue into the shopping season so the earlier you get your campaigns out, the sooner you can start optimizing and measuring consumer reactions. This will put you in the best position even as discretionary spending is expected to be down.
In short; people have less money to spend, so get in front of them early, while they still have some.
You can be sure every brand with a pulse of life and a dollar in the bank will be out marketing early. To that end, you can roll your eyes and say, “It’s Halloween, for Pete’s sake! Not Christmas!” Or you can plan for it now. (This is not the year to be cynical.)
John Lewis Christmas Commercial.
2. Start at the Top of the Funnel.
Don’t think about selling your product. Think about getting attention. We’ve all heard a lot of the same sweet, piano music on commercials and videos lately, and you can expect a lot more playing it safe and not rocking the boat this season. But if you want to stand out and get some attention, forget the same cliche’, saccharine, tinsel, lights and Santa jokes. Boldness wins.
In London, John Lewis holiday ads are a national event. People wait for them like movie premieres. Last year’s is the story of a sad, fire breathing dragon, while 2018’s epic is the story of Elton John’s Piano. Do something that stands out from the crowd, not something that fits the holidays. If it feels perfectly holiday, then everyone else is probably doing it too.
Even if you don’t have a lot of money, you can create things that get people curious. Use design, graphics, any combination of words and pictures that make a point and get people to your website.
Emotional messages, like this one, increased Roku’s holiday sales by 30%.
3. Emotion Beats Logic Every Time.
Rational arguments don’t make people love stuff. Think of the must-have gifts of years past. There’s nothing logical about a Furby, Razor Scooter, Guitar Hero or L.O.L. Surprise! 2-in-1 Glamper. These things struck a chord, made people feel something, created buzz and took off.
So find the truth about your product. What does it do for people? Find the emotional trigger that makes your product stick in people’s minds. Before you tell people that a Roku is the best way to watch streaming content on your TV, tell them it’ll help you “Spend less time talking to your in-laws this Christmas.” Messages like this were followed up with more rational features and benefits, after we got people curious about Roku. The approach increased holiday sales by 30% in every market that used it. You can do that without selling so hard. If you get people to your site or a review or a video landing page, you can get them to consideration and engagement. Then you can use logic and the data-driven tools of digital marketing channels to follow up until the sale happens.
Being on social media is not a strategy.
4. Everyone’s using social media marketing.
Social media is not the answer. Great advertising on social media is the answer. A beautiful design on social media is the answer. Unforgettable videos on social media are the answers. Every brand and product in the world is on Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and TikTok. Being on social media is now as innovative as choosing to make a commercial or to create a website. Being on the same platforms as everyone else doesn’t do anything if no one notices your message. Make sure you create something beautiful, funny, insightful, charming, magical, or any combination of the above.
Social media platforms are inexpensive and allow precise targeting. They are where small and midsize companies get that top of funnel awareness because of those things. Your media dollars will go a lot further and you can test messages easily. But when you test messages, don’t just change a word or a picture. Test ideas to better understand which messages really resonate with people.
If you just look at social platforms as places to sell your product, you’ll only go so far. If you look at social media as a place to make people fall in love with you, you’ll behave differently. You’ll create things that intrigue people, amuse people, entertain people, and attract people. Until, ultimately, they fall in love with you.
Fear not, the days of ad agencies behaving like Sterling Cooper are long gone. Just Google “Top Ad Agencies” and email a few you like.
5. Get Help
You don’t have to know what you’re doing. Reach out to a few agencies you like. Don’t know agencies? Google “Top Ad agencies” or find lists of agencies and just look at their work and see what you like. Then email them. Have a chat. Set up a Zoom call. Tell them what you want to accomplish and what your budget is. Pick one and go. Make it a three-month project that gets you a target market analysis, strategic media plan, consumer insight, and creative assets to cover awareness to consideration through retargeting. (Remember the funnel: You have to get Awareness before you get Consideration before you get Engagement and then finally Conversion. )
You can be done by October 1 and have two months to tweak it, test things and ask your spouse what they think. (No, don’t do that. Really.)
There you go. You just crushed the most important holiday shopping season of your entire life.
Any questions? Click here. Happy Holidays!
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The Small Agency Blog is produced by Division of Labor; a top San Francisco ad agency and digital marketing firm that’s been named Small Agency of the Year twice by Ad Age. The award-winning creative shop services clients on a retainer or project basis. They also offer brand consulting services and hourly engagements for startups and smaller brands. Click here for a free consultation.