The sun is out. Everyone’s dressed in t-shirt and shorts with cocktails and ice cream in hand. That can mean only one thing…it’s time to get in the festive spirit.
Yep, in the world of PR, summer means Christmas. With only a few months to go until Santa loads up his sleigh, brands and retailers need to start thinking about how they’re going to do Christmas. Whether you’re planning a traditional PR stunt, some broadcast PR or simply planning your key messages and offers, PR and Marketing teams can’t afford to wait until the skies get dark.
A lot of brands will host press events in July. They’ll deck the halls with all the festive trimmings and invite journalists, broadcasters and bloggers to review their winter and Christmas collections. But we’re not here to talk about that (partly because we don’t have a random spruce knocking around).
We want to help you prepare for the winter’s broadcast PR campaigns. So why not get your deck chairs out and read our top tips for nailing broadcast coverage this winter.
It may come as a shock to you, but Christmas is the same date every year, so why be surprised when it comes around and you’ve got no PR/ Marketing planned. Start planning now (that’s kind of why we’re writing this blog).
You’ve got 5 (and a bit) months ahead of you. That’s 5 months to run some research, hire a great spokesperson, and absolutely nail your hook. It also gives you time to capture some b-roll footage to help boost your chances of TV pick up.
So many times, we get briefs that come to us during the festive period that look like someone has woken up that morning and thought, I’ll do a broadcast day today. Newsflash: no. The more time you allocate to your campaigns and the more thought that goes into them the better they’ll do. It gives the creative process more time and it gives our media relations team more time to get you the best coverage. So don’t rest on your laurels. Start feeling festive.
To be honest, this applies all year round, but generic stories are significantly more noticeable during the holiday period. As we said, Christmas happens at the same time every year. And the same campaigns happen every year too. X number of Brits spend time with their family at Christmas……shocker. X number of Brits like turkey and all the trimmings for a Christmas meal…….oh really?! X number of Brits would rather give their money to charity at Christmas than their family…….now that’s news.
Tell us something different. Take a different view of the festivities. Or avoid them altogether. It may come as a surprise, but Christmas is one of the hardest times of the year to secure coverage within any realm of the industry, not just Broadcast PR. The market is saturated so not only will getting in early make a difference but giving broadcasters and journalists something new or interesting to talk about to cut through the tinsel adorned white noise will make all the difference. If you can’t think of anything, we can help. Our teams of industry experts and broadcast specialists know exactly what broadcasters want for Christmas and can help you deliver it.
Have you ever been to supermarkets in October and not seen aisles of Christmas chocolate lining the store? Yeah, maybe in 1975. Christmas coverage starts earlier and earlier each year, and while this may be annoying as a consumer, it’s important for brands and PR. It means you don’t have to wait until December to pick up Christmas coverage.
With that in mind, why not aim for November? Avoid the advent rush altogether. Obviously, it comes with the risk that people may not remember you come December but make your story strong enough and it shouldn’t matter.
And that’s the point. Across all mediums, but especially broadcast PR, it’s about the quality, newsworthy element of your story. So take your time, start thinking now and do something different and Santa might bring you a bucket load of coverage to make your Christmas joyous. And if you’re stuck, 4media group can help you.