Not Ready For The C Word? You Should Be

The John Lewis advert hasn’t even been released yet, but we need to talk about Christmas. By thinking about your festive campaign now, you’ll reap the most rewards when those sleigh bells ring.

Not ready for the C word? Hear us out as we delve into why you should set your Christmas marketing plan into action ASAP, and how to do it…

The three-month countdown

Heading back to school and work in September, Christmas is probably the last thing on your mind. But successful businesses have the C word on the brain all year round. They’re constantly on the lookout for campaign ideas, and noting them down as they arise.

December might seem a long way away, but that only leaves you with three months to come up with a concept and set aside the time and resources to action it. So, if you haven’t got any ideas yet, put your thinking cap on.

Thankfully, there’s an easy process to get into the habit of recognising and capturing these lightbulb moments. Once you’ve had that brainwave, you have a clear sprint at getting it to the masses if you follow these steps…

September: start planning

September is the perfect time to start fleshing out your idea. A few things to consider include:

• Who are you targeting?
• What resources will you need?
• Which suppliers will you work with?
• What budget will it require?
• How will you execute it?

Taking action at this point may feel like you’re jumping the gun at first, especially when many prospects and customers are still on holiday. However, by getting the planning stages out of the way now, you’ll be months ahead of the competition.

October: put the wheels in motion

By October, you should have a clear action plan that you can put in motion to pull your Christmas campaign together. Whether you’re planning a digital campaign or sending direct mail to existing and/or potential clients, spend this month commissioning all the elements needed to make it a success.

Copywriting, graphic design, web development, printing… make sure you allow enough time for everyone involved in the process to deliver. That way, you’ll have plenty of breathing room to complete the campaign ready for distribution.

November: hit the go button

It might seem logical to launch your campaign in December, but you risk getting lost in the noise if you wait for the 12 days of Christmas to arrive. The John Lewis campaign launches in early September, and a tide of festive advertising follows in its wake.

Not only do people tend to become numb to Christmas marketing by December – if you’re launching a B2B campaign, your target audience may either have already broken up for the holidays, or be too busy preparing for them to notice and follow up on your efforts.

For this reason, it pays to be prepared to hit the go button in November, rather than leaving it to December.

December: optimise and refine

Once the campaign’s been launched, you should start taking a look at the numbers. Data from the initial phases will prove valuable in adjusting activities during the later stages. Don’t rest on your laurels – you can dramatically increase the chances of the campaign’s success this way.

On top of this, the statistics might strike a match in your brain with ideas to implement during Christmas the following year, saving you time when it eventually rolls round. It really is never too early to get ahead of the crowd!

Thinking about actioning your Christmas campaign and actually doing it are two very different things. Perhaps you simply lack the time, or you don’t feel you have the creative flair. This doesn’t have to be a roadblock to your festive success, you can always get jobs like creating and distributing content taken off your hands.

That’s exactly what our copywriting agency is here for. To discover how we can hit play on your Christmas campaign before it’s time to get those decorations up, give us a jingle on 0161 660 9206 or [email protected].