So here it is Merry Christmas (in July)

You may have noticed in the past few weeks (to your disgust or great joy) that some of your favourite influencers have been posting pictures of Christmas decorations, room sets and gifts. Welcome to Christmas in July – a key date in the consumer PR calendar.

As 3x1’s most Christmas obsessed team member I was more than happy to write this blog post because it also highlights the importance of one of my other favourite subjects – forward planning.

The power of the glossies

For consumer brands, and therefore their consumer PR teams, the top targets for media coverage have long been the “glossies”. Magazines like Vogue, BBC Good Food, Condé Nast Traveller and House & Garden.

While the media landscape has changed dramatically over the last decade and magazine titles and sales have declined, there is still a certain kudos to getting your product or service in those hallowed pages.

The challenge is long-lead magazines work on a different timescale to the rest of us. That issue you’re reading now was started sometimes six months ago or even longer. So, to ensure those seasonal hits get to readers at the right time, like the fashion collections, brands needed to be thinking seasons ahead, and Christmas in July was born.

Christmas all year round

Consumer PR planning for Christmas in July starts even earlier in the year. We need to know product ranges, new launches and trends so that we can develop the assets we give to media and influencers. There are special Christmas in July events and exhibitions that brands can attend to show off their festive wares, so samples need to be ready for these as well as for photography.

And it’s not just about print – broadcasters start planning early too so if you have a festive expert you’d like to get some airtime or a must have toy to be reviewed, now is the time to be getting in touch.

Forward planning and flexibility

With social media driving so much of consumer behaviour, trends coming and going quicker than ever, and a need to be aligned to younger consumers and their channels of choice, it can be tempting to think that Christmas in July doesn’t have to be as big a part of your brand activity.

But a great consumer PR strategy should give you the best of both worlds. A well thought out approach to maximising long-lead opportunities with flexibility and horizon scanning built in so you can react and adapt to trends. Equally if you are engaging with media and influencer tastemakers early, you can also help guide some of those trends.

Fail to prepare…

With Christmas products hitting the shelves earlier and earlier (hands up if you’ve seen those tubs of Quality Street and Roses in Tesco already), brands need to be ahead of the game to make sure they are capturing attention and driving sales at the most wonderful and commercially important time of the year.

It’s never too early to start planning your Christmas campaign (or your Christmas shopping) so if you need some consumer PR advice to make your product or service stand out in the festive marketplace, get in touch!

Katrine Pearson.

Managing director.

Send us an email or give us a call on 01412210707

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