The Christmas Marketing Effect
Its Christmas advert time; ‘the holidays are coming’ is ringing in our ears and we have prepared ourselves for a pull on the heartstrings.
Like a child on Christmas Eve, each year the big consumer brands have us excitedly awaiting their Christmas adverts to mark the beginning of the festive season and bring us together in the Christmas spirit. We can all admit it, when the Coca Cola van glides on to our screens, or when John Lewis announce their new star character and we all jump on YouTube to see what is in store for us this year, the festive feeling really starts to kick in.
What is it about these Christmas adverts that create such a bond with the audience?
It is the excitement that comes as part and parcel of the Christmas season and the brands’ abilities to engage their audience by playing to these emotions. When we think of Christmas we think togetherness, a time with family and friends, time off work, that little bit of indulgence and thoughtfulness. Our favourite adverts convey these. We have seen an old man on the moon, a family singing carols and this year’s popular buster the boxer, which has already racked up a mighty 15 million views online. Even Heathrow has got involved this Christmas with a loveable teddy bear tale, celebrating the best gift of all ‘coming home for Christmas’.
The reason these adverts are so effective is due to the rise of social realism, understanding people’s situations at this time of year and conveying those in the adverts to relate to the audience. Whether child, working mum or businessman, there is an advert for everyone.
These Christmas campaigns run alongside in store marketing to make full effect of the Christmas season. The adverts create the bond that encourages you to choose their brand over a competitor. In store, spaces are adorned in Christmas lights, Christmas gift sections magically appear and mince pies are displayed in bulk.
We can’t deny it, this is our favourite time of year, and our festive feelings start to fly every time one of these lovable Christmas adverts appears on our screens.
