As the year comes to a close, brands and retailers roll up their sleeves and eagerly gear up for the final stretch, known as the holiday season. This period for businesses is focused on making their final push to meet the heightened demands.
Apart from meeting sales targets, it’s also the perfect opportunity to make a lasting impression, foster customer loyalty, and solidify their position in the market.
Almost all retailers enjoy strong sales during the fourth quarter (source), and much of this increased revenue can be attributed to holiday shopping. However, this increased consumer demand has translated to higher ad costs (source) for brands and marketers. So how can you stand out from the noise, and boost visibility and sales, without getting into lose-lose bidding wars for ads?
One answer is high-quality commercial content. Shoppers’ perceptions of your brand are directly influenced by the quality of the content that your brand shares: “…the quality of content provided by brands on social media and company-users’ interactivity are of major importance to Millennials.” (source)
What is your marketing content goal and strategy?
Marketing content for the Christmas season can take many forms and have many different objectives. The most direct approach is to promote a special sale or promotion through a product commercial.
If you are more focused on brand awareness, leverage the positive association that many shoppers have with this time of the year with a lifestyle or narrative commercial. A great example of this style of approach is the annual Christmas advert created by British department store chain John Lewis & Partners in the build-up to Christmas. This campaign has been running successfully since 2007.
For the more adventurous marketer, consider how your brand can become synonymous with this time of year in the mind of consumers, then create a branded content campaign to build a “feel good” association between consumers and your brand. A perfect example of this is Westjet’s Christmas Miracle campaign, which has garnered millions in earned media.
What’s a lifestyle video commercial?
A lifestyle video commercial is a type of video content that, rather than focusing on the features and benefits of a certain product or service, shows an aspirational lifestyle associated with the brand. These commercials often aim to evoke emotions, tell a story, connect with viewers on a personal level, and ultimately build brand affinity. The human connection is key here.
Lifestyle video commercials leverage emotional storytelling to connect with viewers. They tap into human emotions, such as happiness, nostalgia, excitement, or empathy, to create a deeper connection between the brand and the audience. When viewers emotionally resonate with a commercial, they are more likely to remember the brand and its message.
These commercials often feature high-quality visuals and aesthetics that are visually pleasing. This can capture the viewer’s attention and provide a positive association with your brand.
Mini Case Study: Angelo’s Bakery and Italian Market
In our work for Angelo’s Bakery and Italian Market our brief was to create a lifestyle commercial that would drive awareness of a range of lesser-known products carried in the store. Customers flock to Angelo’s for their fresh baked goods, but the store wanted to create demand for their prepared foods, which are perfect for party hosts.
We created a commercial centered around a casual evening party of young professionals set in an upscale home. We featured the products, but in a subtle way that didn’t feel like a sales pitch.
Maximizing Content Impact: Repurposing and Effective Distribution
When planning any type of shoot, it’s important to consider how your content can be repurposed across platforms. For example, a full-length video might live on your website, with a cutdown version being created for Instagram. Shorter cuts can be created for YouTube pre-rolls, with vertical versions being developed for TikTok and Instagram Reels. And don’t forget to consider allocating an amount for ad spend (if the content is not already part of a larger campaign).
It’s no longer enough to simply upload a video to your Instagram page, or embed it on your website, if you are not actively driving traffic to it. Social media networks are aware of how valuable their users’ eyes are, so they are charging brands for impressions and engagement accordingly. If you have high quality content which converts, then it’s a no-brainer to put a marketing budget behind it.
Post-Campaign Analysis: Key for Future Marketing Success
Another often forgotten aspect of marketing and content creation is reflection and analysis. After running your campaign, take stock of how various assets performed across your different marketing channels. Note audience reactions, engagements, and conversions. A critical analysis of any marketing effort will provide invaluable insights for future campaigns.
Key Takeaways
While the Christmas time is almost upon us, there is still time to consider creating some commercial content to support your marketing efforts over the holiday season. And if you’re not ready to do something in time for 2023, what better time to prepare seasonal content for next year than when the snow is flying?
- The holiday season is a crucial time for businesses to meet sales targets, foster customer loyalty, and solidify their market position.
- Increased consumer demand during the holiday season leads to higher ad costs, making it essential to stand out, without engaging in bidding wars for ads.
- High-quality commercial content can help boost visibility and sales, as the quality of content significantly influences shoppers’ perceptions of your brand.
- Lifestyle commercials focus on creating an aspirational lifestyle associated with your brand. Emotional storytelling and visually pleasing aesthetics are essential elements of lifestyle video commercials to capture viewers’ attention and create a positive brand association.
- Developing content for various platforms during a single shoot, and allocating a marketing budget for effective distribution is crucial to maximize impact.
Capture your audience this holiday season with branded content or a lifestyle commercial. Our team at Take5 can help you in crafting a compelling narrative and producing high-quality commercial content that keeps your customers engaged. Check out our portfolio
Are you ready to create a memorable and impactful end (or beginning) to the year?
