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The painful memories of last year’s Christmas are being remodelled into fresh optimism, with Brits poised to kickstart preparations for 2021’s big day before the first snowflakes fall in Lapland. Yes, It’s time to mobilise those Christmas marketing strategies.
Don’t worry, this doesn’t mean we’re about to hear the same twenty festive ditties on loop while it’s still – nominally, at least – summer. Unless that’s your thing, in which case, stop it.
Seasonally inappropriate song choices aside, a recent survey of consumers conducted by Ebay Ads has revealed that 27% of Brits who celebrate Christmas intend to start thinking about purchases before the end of August.
That’s a significant increase in the number of people potentially looking for products you sell.
What’s more, 41% expect to have their Christmas shopping wrapped up by the beginning of December. In comparison, just 25% of respondents in 2020 said they would complete their festive purchases by the same deadline.
According to Ebay’s research, 60% of shoppers are optimistic that they’ll be able to celebrate Christmas as normal this year, with 30% planning to spend more than they did in 2020, when the average person parted with £527.88. This points to an improvement in the financial outlook for millions of households, but as with everything these past eighteen months, there’s a caveat.
With 30% of those surveyed claiming to be worried about further disruptions – and 45% saying they are likely to put off making plans to until the last minute – brands must strike the right tone in their Christmas marketing communications.
Positivity, reassurance, inclusivity and nostalgia will, in our view, be the bedrock for any business looking to successfully engage Christmas shoppers this year; and while the population looks likely to raise its spending this year, acts of kindness in the form of charity partnerships and time-limited offers certainly would not go amiss.
As always, the narrative clout of TV (both live and on-demand) will be a crucial part of the media mix for many festive advertisers; but with costs typically rising in the winter months, utilising a mix of smaller stations and off-peak spots on the larger channels could be a savvy move for those with tighter budgets this year.
Paid social, YouTube and radio will also prove to be vital generators of both sales and demand, while PPC should be used as a signpost by brands operating in markets with a lot of voices.
Yet, most importantly, the media mix you ultimately choose must be determined by the motivations, attitudes and actions of your target audience. There is no one-size-fits-all strategy.
To find out more about the Christmas marketing opportunities available to your business this (prolonged) festive season, contact our team of experts for a chat.