What makes the best Christmas marketing campaigns so memorable and so effective? With the concentration of seasonal advertising campaigns so great in the run-up to Christmas, and the season offering a big opportunity for brands to boost sales, competition is fierce as businesses battle to stand out.
Creating the most effective Christmas promotion ideas means knowing your audience thoroughly and capturing the essence of local traditions and celebrations. This article explores several examples of successful Christmas campaigns that were localised for specific audiences, including key factors that businesses should consider when planning their Christmas advertising campaigns.
Understanding the tradition, understanding the market
In order to reach different regions effectively at Christmastime, brands must understand the faith and folklore often tied to cultural Christmas traditions. For example, in Denmark, Norway and Sweden, it’s traditional to leave a bowl of porridge out on the evenings of December 23rd or 24th for the nisse or tomte – a small, gnome-like fellow who protects homes but can be mischievous if he doesn’t get his porridge. In Finland, the nisse is known as a tonttu, but is not as integral to contemporary Christmas traditions as in Denmark and Norway. And in Iceland, locals can expect a visit from the jólasveinar (or the ‘Yule lads’ in English), a troublesome group of trolls that deliver presents to children the 13 nights before Christmas.
However, further south in Germany and Austria, another creature roams the cold and long evenings: a sinister aide to St Nicholas – a half-goat, half-demon who punishes badly behaved children – the Krampus. These tales are grist for the mill for brands looking to engage with their target audiences and as Tirol’s seasonal tourism advert shows, even the terrifying Krampus is no exception.
The geography of Christmas marketing campaigns
From Tampa to Tokyo, Christmas has become an international shopping affair, with brands big and small spending months preparing for the launch of their Christmas marketing campaigns. Every year, supermarkets such as Walmart, Waitrose and ICA release their Christmas advertising campaigns, refining each one to resonate with their local audience by depicting local traditions.
One example of a successful seasonal campaign in the UK is the John Lewis Christmas advertisement. Anticipated annually, this slow-building and emotional campaign is a cinematic experience which never fails to tug on our heartstrings and remind the viewer about the coming together of friends, families and even strangers at Christmastime (often via the perfect gift!). In the UK, Christmas marketing campaigns are served to us in the warm colours of a fireplace, where through the frosted window we see the twinkle of tinsel or a crowded dining table, creaking under the weight of the roasted veg, fowl and game.
Yet, if we trade the pheasant for fish, this seasonal scene may represent an Eastern European Christmas, as countries such as Slovakia, Czechia and Poland serve carp as the centrepiece of their Christmas feast. Navigating the nuances of Christmas traditions across Europe can be challenging but brands willing to adapt their imagery, language and tone can resonate better with the preferences of their target audience.
Aldi’s adaptability in Christmas advertising
While fish and side salads are also customary in Australia, so is a box of beer on the beach. In Aldi’s Aussie Christmas marketing campaign, they even swapped the dining table for a surfboard to serve the roast ham. As December is the heart of the Australian summer, Aldi’s seasonal promotion shows surfing Santas that are fully acclimatised to the sun Down Under, rather than the snow often depicted in advertisements for the UK or the Nordic region.
From their UK Christmas mascot Kevin the Carrot to Santa shredding the surf in Australia, brands like Aldi have proven they know how to speak personally to their customers, wherever they are in the world. Although discounts and promotions are attractive, adaptability is key to businesses that want to grow and show they understand their audience.
A Kentucky Christmas
In the 1970s, a new Christmas tradition was brought to Japan by a bearded gentleman in a suit – the famous bowtie-wearing colonel of the Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise (KFC). Launching its “Kentucky for Christmas” advertisement before the festivities in 1974, KFC’s campaign was so successful that their seasonal Party Barrel is now a yuletide feast for millions in Japan every year. Focused on sales over the spiritual, Christmas is a commercial event rather than a religious one in Japan and big brands are keen to capitalise on this.
But Japan isn’t the only country in Asia to celebrate Christmas; countries like India, China, South Korea and the Philippines also take part in the festivities. With such populous countries like India and China in this region, even a small percentage of the population can equate to tens of millions of people that businesses want to reach.
3 secrets to the best Christmas marketing campaigns
For those who pitch their product right, Christmas can offer a great opportunity to reach consumers, who tend to be more receptive to advertisements while actively looking for gifts for their friends and family. So, what’s the secret to the best Christmas marketing campaigns?
- Effective research – Language barriers and cultural mistrust can pose challenges for brands when reaching their new and existing target markets. Failing to resonate with your target audience is an easy way to show you haven’t done enough research.
- Connecting with your audience – In a digital era dominated by social media, consumers expect brands to speak directly to them. Combining an authentic voice and reflecting local values when engaging with them on familiar social platforms can be the perfect Christmas recipe for success.
- Employing experts – Utilising the skills of marketing and linguistic experts will help refine your brand’s voice by localising your product in a familiar context to your target audience.
Authenticity in the age of AI
As these localised campaigns show, authenticity is integral if you want to connect with audiences, especially around this very personal time of year. Nothing proves this more than the typical success of Spotify’s annual “Spotify Wrapped”, a personalised presentation of the user’s most listened-to content from the past year.
However, when brands fail to connect authentically, marketing campaigns can flop, like Coca-Cola’s AI-generated 2024 Christmas advert. As the crimson Coca-Cola trucks roll onto our screens this festive season, the magic feels far from the real thing. The advertisement depicts a familiar landscape of snow and sparkling Christmas lights; however, on closer inspection, some characters appear to have six fingers on one hand and the wheels turning in the snow are out of sync. These obvious imperfections have left Coca-Cola sliding into public backlash. Released at the beginning of December, Spotify’s 2024 Wrapped campaign has also faced plenty of backlash due to its integration of AI, leaving users less than impressed.
Although businesses are eager to implement new tech into their workflows, it’s clear a balance is still required. The kickback against Coca-Cola’s advertisement and Spotify’s 2024 use of AI indicates that consumers still value authenticity, making localisation a top priority for any brand wanting good publicity at Christmastime.
Content creation, Marketing translation, Newsletter December 2024
