How can brands stand out and capture holiday spending, and encourage consumers to shop with them this year? We asked three marketers in our network where they think strategic advantage could lie.
Phoebe Bright — Director of Client Partnerships at Jungle Creations
The festive season is a bun fight as brands scream for attention in their bid to entice shoppers to pick their brand over the competition leading up to Christmas. One way to help tap into the most relevant audiences is by collaborating with influencers who resonate with your brand and can help you stand out from the crowd. Influencers have that unique ability to bring your brand one step closer to your potential buyers — for them to see your products endorsed by people who look like them, appeal to them, or they aspire to and so act as trusted voices. Influencers connect with their followers on a personal level, and so can incorporate sponsored products into their everyday content in a way that no other channel can.
This lifestyle content influencers share is highly desirable, motivating consumers to make a purchase, driven by the desire to mirror an influencer’s lifestyle. A great example of this is John Lewis’ collaboration with influencers, following the launch of their TV ad where they shared their own family traditions and childhood Christmas memories, tying into the themes of togetherness and festive joy. The rise of TikTok Shop and influencer storefronts on their social media profiles is transforming the Christmas shopping experience. By bringing the point of purchase closer to the consumer, the steps between interest and purchase are reduced. Gone are the days of frantically searching online for unique Christmas gifts, now, consumers can purchase through social media platforms within a few clicks.
Tom Ghiden — Managing Director at JOAN London
Standing out during the festive period has become the equivalent of shopping for last-minute gifts on Christmas Eve. It’s noisy and crowded and you’re trying to find something that everyone will like, but really you just want to go home and put your feet up. Brands found their funny bone last year, using comedy as a way to stand out and provide some escapism from the doom and gloom. And one year on, escapism is still very much welcome. The brands that make us laugh the most will be the ones we remember, but it must be in an effortless, natural way — no one wants forced fun, especially not at Christmas. No one knows this as well as Aldi, which has gone early this year with their ‘Heidspace’ campaign launching 12 weeks before the big day, encouraging Scots to ‘Clear yer heid’ in the run-up to the festive season.
The battleground has been set early on. Aldi is already capturing our attention with humour, and brands will need to respond with their own take to have the funniest, most stand-out Christmas campaign.
Charlotte Black — Executive Director of Strategy at Saffron Brand Consultants
With 70% of UK shoppers planning to spend the same or more this Christmas, it’s set to be another busy festive period. But as brands focus on encouraging customers to spend either in-store or online with larger-than-life Christmas campaigns, they must also consider the long-term opportunity they have. When the tree comes down and the decorations go back into storage, will customers remember the brands they purchased from? To create a lasting impression going into the new year and beyond, brands need to consider their memorability — not just through a recognisable name or logo, but how they make customers feel. And this lies in the experience. An experiential brand is a memorable brand — one that strengthens a business by speeding up decision-making, increasing price premiums, and ultimately driving loyalty. Emotion is one of the most powerful drivers of memorability, and brands must make consumers feel something so they can build a connection. Such meaningful experiences are more likely to be recalled when shoppers are making decisions.
In the past, emotional Christmas ads have struck a chord with viewers. And, this year festive campaigns will continue to invoke an emotional response, but brands also need to consider how this creates a lasting impression in the long term, ensuring these emotions resonate with shoppers across their entire brand experience. Thinking about how they take the big bang ad moment into a consistent customer journey, to deliver moments that remain with a customer long after the Christmas tree has come down.
This might be how they repeatedly surprise and delight a customer from attraction to purchase, or how they use storytelling to bring the customer closer to the brand DNA. Every moment in the run-up and well after the 25 December is a moment to build a valuable, memorable relationship with customers.
Featured image: Pierre Bamin / Unsplash