PROFILE
win . There ’ s definitely a different pattern to shopping during the festive period . Over the year , shoppers are generally mission-led , but in the lead up to Christmas they can quickly becoming indecisive wanderers , endlessly roaming and looking for the right present at the right time – with some , like me , panic buying at the last minute on Christmas Eve !
“ Consumers ’ behaviour also changes the closer you get to Christmas , as the early birds have completed the challenge well ahead of Black Friday . So campaigns during this period have to make a big impact at the right time , as well as stand above the competition , otherwise they get brushed aside .”
If you could state three do ’ s and three don ’ ts of marketing at Christmas , would they be ?
SA : “ In terms of what to do …
• “ Do be original and have a great idea ;
• “ Do plan well in advance and even create reveal stages to the campaign ;
• “ And do engage with your customers .
“ When it comes to don ’ t …
• “ Don ’ t do what everyone else is doing ;
• “ Don ’ t overkill the concept ;
• “ And don ’ t launch your campaign too early , otherwise the audience will become fatigued before the event .”
What is the most memorable Christmas advert you have watched ? Why was it so striking ? SA : “ There ’ s been a lot of great adverts over the years , most of them in recent times with big budget commercials from M & S , John Lewis and Sainsbury ’ s , but for me one particular advert from the 1990s stands out . It was from the Yellow Pages and it featured a young boy trying to kiss a girl who was a lot taller than he was . She was holding the mistletoe and he couldn ’ t reach up to kiss , but he grabs a Yellow Pages book to stand on and gets a result . What ’ s brilliant about this advert is that agency who got this tough brief managed to take an un-festive product and produce something memorable – ‘ Good old Yellow Pages ’.”
CH : “ It ’ s got to be one of the John Lewis ones for a lot of people
16 December 2016