Christmas Day is one of the most exciting days of the year, but the build-up is equally as fun. The switch from Halloween to Christmas is instant, but we all that know that the festive season doesn’t truly start until the Christmas advertisements start. From the Coca-Cola lorry to the John Lewis campaigns, the marketing of Christmas heralds the season just as much as the date does.
But one aspect of Christmas marketing that does not get enough cheer is the social media campaigns. With social media use continually on the rise, your Christmas marketing should definitely include some social posts. We’ve put together the top posts and campaigns of Christmas past and present to give you an idea of where to start.
TedBakers #TedsElfie Scavenger Hunt
One of the most notable and unique social media campaigns was the 2014 interactive scavenger hunt created by Ted Baker (@tedselfie). Ted Baker created a game, in the style of ‘choose your own adventure’, where followers checked different accounts and posts in order to find Santa’s missing elves. With physical prizes up for grabs, the game was complicated and clearly took a lot of thought and effort. The campaign was the first of its kind on such a large scale and saw huge amounts of engagement – a prime example of social media being used to its full advantage.
Aldi Amazing Christmas UK
Aldi has a long-running and winning Christmas campaign with Kevin the Carrot, but this year they have stepped it up a notch. With a take on the old Dickensian tale, Ebanana Scrooge takes centre stage, learning to love Christmas from a nightgown and beard clad Kevin. ‘A Christmas Carrot’ is a funny, and punny, take on a classic tale, made even better through characters we know and love (can you spot Cuthbert the Caterpillar taken away by police lemons?). Set in an aesthetically pleasing grid of six, the adverts flag up as a break in the mouth-watering endless table of food on their Instagram page.
M&S #LoveMrsClaus
In 2016 M&S launched a Christmas campaign that was wholesome, fun, and unique. M&S shifted the focus from Mr to Mrs Claus, and created a story surrounding 6-year-old Jake who writes to Mrs Claus to bring his sister a last-minute present. Comparative to the traditions of Christmas, Mrs Claus is a modern woman, flying helicopters and delivering the singular parcel herself. Complete with the unique hashtag #LoveMrsClaus, this campaign saw the store highlight and thank the women behind the presents. The campaign reportedly saw M&S’s first increase for women’s clothing in the festive period in 6 years.
Matalan’s Naughty Gnome
This year the Matalan marketing team are running a social media campaign separate from their T.V. advert. Their Instagram page has been blighted by their Naughty Gnome, who takes over posts and ruins Christmas adverts. The #NaughtyGnome is only here a few days a year, but the team of gnomes cause mayhem in stores and online, whilst taking over the @ShopMatalan page. A short campaign, it does a great job of showcasing their Christmas decorations, and is a fun, friendly way to interact with their online users, in a way that doesn’t take up too much of their time.
The best social media Christmas campaigns create a story, and have a running theme throughout. They spend less time selling the companies’ products and services, but rather they focus on the key messages of Christmas – family, food, kindness, and Christmas cheer.
