Time for Christmas video marketing: how to avoid turkeys

20th October 2016

With only 66 shopping days to go until Christmas, and Black Friday and Cyber Monday coming soon, we imagine your marketing teams have your festive campaigns planned in. (We did give you a warning in the summer…) From Waitrose’s Man in the Moon to Sainsbury’s Mog, brands are investing big money in their Christmas comms, which are much anticipated by the public and media alike.

For those of you with less to spend, there are still ways to produce great seasonal content and get into the buzz with tentpole marketing. Here are our top tips:

Lead with the emotional this Christmas

It’s vital to get emotional in your Christmas video. Waitrose really pulled at the heartstrings last year with its Man in the Moon campaign, and Sainsbury’s keyed into an emotional story from WW1 to celebrate the centenary year, which we can all relate to.

Use animation to show the magic of Christmas

Animation can be a great way to bring a story to life that you couldn’t tell with live action. Here’s an ad we made for Telford Shopping Centre which brings the magic of the shopping centre to the screen.

We’re proud that this was our third year of working with this client to deliver a strong Christmas message at the most competitive time of year in retail.

Take the viewer back to childhood

We remember Christmas past from childhood and have long-lasting associations. That’s why the Mog ad from Sainsbury’s works, as we return to our childhood to hear a story. It’s almost like a short feature, and is moving towards a content marketing approach by telling a story which stands on its own.

Get your team involved

We bet your audience loves seeing behind the scenes of your business. With this in mind, can you create a Christmas film featuring your team? Book a time for staff to get-together and film a festive message thanking your customers for their loyalty; it can double up as a festive team bonding session.

Humour

Brands can also indulge in playful fun at Christmas, and we’ve noted a trend for TV ads which take a more cynical approach. Curry PC World’s ad with Jeff Goldblum keyed into the ‘fear’ of bad gifts, while Mulberry went one better with an online ad where a bag becomes the object of worship for the shepherds and the wise men…

Product videos – you don’t need a flashy festive ad

Do you have more in-depth films related to your Christmas stock? These can be used further down the buying cycle to help your customers compare your offering with competitors.

Can you offer any video customer service films which can be used to take the pressure off your team during those busy periods? Why not create 12 days of Christmas tips using Instagram video?

Share the joy with video marketing

As the Christmas period is so noisy with content, it’s important that you plan in a seeding and video marketing campaign with a mix of owned, earned and paid media and call on influencers to help you spread the word.

We’re looking forward to spotting our favourite festive ads and video marketing campaigns this season (and may have one or two of our own coming up…)

If you’re looking for ideas to cut through the (Christmas) content soup, sign up for our free video marketing ebook.

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