It’s summer! Why Your Christmas PR Plan Should Already be Underway

It’s time to talk about Christmas. Yes, summer has finally just arrived, we hear you say; yet in a couple of months time before we’ve even had a chance to wave goodbye to the last of the summer sun, the sights and mentions of Christmas will suddenly be ubiquitous.

For the majority of businesses, the run up to Christmas provides ample opportunity to seize on booster sales, and to connect more creatively with their customer base and target audience.

Here we’ll cover four practical ways you can prime your business to capitalise on the busiest shopping season of the year; however, be prepared to be prepared! It’s never too early to start planning for the festive season when it comes to PR for your brand; in fact, it’s all in the planning!

The underlying take-away from each of these tips is to use down times to put your plan into action as much in advance as you can!

Creating New and Limited Edition Products

Are you planning to launch special, limited edition products for stocking fillers, for example? If a festive treat is on the agenda, the most important factor to determine early on is the lead time of your suppliers.

Creating mini versions of an existing product is more straightforward than bringing to market a new product altogether; whichever path you choose, be sure to have a realistic timeline of what needs to happen, with a built-in buffer to mitigate any delays.

If you want to take advantage of Black Friday or the sustainable alternative Green Friday, cyber Monday, or an advent calendar inspired countdown, organise the parameters of your promotions, sales or competitions, and get planning.

Refresh Photography

New products equals new photography, and it’s time to get creative!

If your budget allows, hire a stylist to consult on how you can achieve a fresh look, and together plan with your photographer a mix of product shots and lifestyle images. Having a library of images gives press a choice when you’re pitching to them, and gives you an abundance of new content to use in your marketing.

Create a timeline of when you can expect to be in receipt of your new photos, ideally 3-5 months in advance, so that you can start pitching your Christmas ideas to journalists for long-lead publications such as gift guides.

Even if you are not bringing any new products and services to the table, updating your website’s imagery several times a year is a good rule of thumb. Your website is your very own platform to maximise engagement and sales; keep it shiny and new!

Feature in Gift Guides

Come up with your own gift guide of your top sellers and products you want to put a spotlight on; publish it on your website, create an interactive campaign on social media, and plan mail outs to your contacts.

When it comes to gift guides in key publications, compile a list of the guides you want to be featured in. This helps to get familiar with their formats, which you can follow, and when pitching to the relevant journalists, it’ll make it easier for them to make a decision.

Focus on customer favourites, bestsellers, and press worthy products. It’s a good time to be specific about the key press you want to target and budget product samples, and postage and packaging accordingly. Your aspirations about featuring in specific publications will also help to shape your overall PR strategy.

Reward Loyalty 

It’s the time of year for gifting after all, so consider a gifting plan or gesture to give thanks for everyone in your orbit that you value; your stockists, suppliers, customers, and journalists that have backed you along the way.

If your budget is small or tight, a simple ‘thank you’ goes a long way; make time to pen a card or note, write an email, or pick up the phone. From corporate gifting for your most valued stockists, to new product samples for journalists, keep it simmering; it will pay dividends in the end.