Christmas with the McAllisters (We won’t leave your PR Home Alone)

The John Lewis advert has finally hit our screens, Michael Bublé has crawled out of his cave, and the office Secret Santa ritual is upon us.

And while any PR agency worth their salt knows planning a successful Christmas campaign is a job for June, SEO gurus know that a prosperous marketing strategy is supported by evergreen content. With this in mind, we thought it only right to create a useful guide to stop you from falling into the trap of seasonal content, which can get lost in the dark depths of our feeds for ever.

Run Rudolph Run … Back to the drawing board  

Not teaching you to suck eggs here, but the most productive ideation always starts with the client. Will Christmas messaging fit in with the brand?  Consider cultural beliefs, geographical location, or simply personal preference. Competitors will be your best friend (the irony). What festive content has been successful for them? Which campaigns have flopped in the past? What can you do better? Or on the flip side, clients may want you to sleigh that Christmas content, putting it at the forefront of all their campaigns. Either way, don’t let festivities cloud your client’s campaign objectives.

Mistletoe & Wine & Content Calendars

From national days to bank holidays, the Queen’s birthday, and every awareness date in between, a good PR agency’s calendar should be filled with poignant dates that can influence seasonal content. So, consider how your Chrimbo messaging could be packaged to fit in with Advent, Christmas, Boxing Day, those days in between eating leftovers and then New Year.

The Little Drummer Boy (who keeps in time)

Get your timing right. New product launch? Company rebranding? You don’t exactly want to be shipping off those newsworthy headlines into journalists’ inboxes any time before the big day. Plan accordingly, schedule press releases to hit the tabloids at a time when you’ll get optimum coverage – even if this means delaying news until after Christmas.

It’s The Most Wonderful Time of The Year … to reuse old content

You’ve heard the phrase, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. An experienced PR agency knows that, rather than crafting brand new seasonal content, don’t be afraid to revisit and reshape old content. But if it is broken – if, say, a campaign didn’t get the attraction you hope for – how can you fix it in time for the festive season? Fresh formats help clients access new audiences, and reinforcing messages adds to authority and awareness.

Jingle Bell React

Whilst it’s good to do a self-shut-down over the Christmas break, in PR it’s essential to keep your wits about you. Stay on the ball on behalf of your client, keeping an eye on campaigns you’ve got running and another on the news cycle. It’s all too easy to neglect checking clients’ social feeds in favour of mulled wine and Jude Law in The Holiday – but, by drip feeding that content you’ll be sure to stay relevant and in the forefront of consumers’ minds, as one year closes and another begins.

We can help you enhance and promote your business’s reputation and news. Why not contact us today?

PS – we handle a crisis a lot better than the other famous McAllister family … KEVIN!