Try as you might, there’s no avoiding it, Christmas is just around the corner and early preparation is essential in order to get the most out of your marketing material. So, if you haven’t already, now is the time to start thinking about the best way to promote your business over the festive period. We’ve listed a few pointers to help you along your merry way…

Give yourself plenty of time

Design agencies can get very busy around this time of year, so make sure you are booked in well in advance. You have to allow for the fact that lots of printing companies take a rest over the holidays. For example, we ask our customers to get their last orders in to us before the 18th December, and don’t forget to factor in approx 10 days lead-time for all printing jobs. Bear in mind how hectic the Royal Mail becomes during this period so make sure you have everything printed and ready to post ahead of schedule. This includes not only everything you need for Christmas but anything you need ready for the New Year such as new stationery or 2019 calendars.

Marketing Material

Pick a theme and try to weave this throughout all your advertising. You could choose to go for a more nostalgic Christmas era or opt for a modern, abstract design. There’s always a big temptation at this time of year to rely heavily on reds and greens as your main colour scheme but this doesn’t have to be the case. Try and use your brand colours as much as possible. A chic Christmas, for example, can feature black and gold. Consider different printing techniques such as foiling and Spot UV as these can really add an extra dimension to the final product.

Send greeting cards

This is the ideal time to thank your existing customer base for their loyalty by sending them a Christmas card, it is the season of goodwill after all! Don’t be duped into thinking that your card has to be A5 size or square (although these do look very smart) we love to encourage you to think outside the box. We offer all sorts of different types of sizes and folding options, whether it is tri-fold, accordion, gatefold or more. Maybe you would like your card to fold out into a poster, advertising your business, or alternatively for it to be DL size in order to hold a gift voucher neatly inside. The envelope can be printed on as well to create a bigger impact when it lands on your customer’s doorstep.

Photography

Using the same photos that you use in your advertising all year round can be a tad boring and unoriginal. Customer’s love to be inspired with a feast of festive images to get them into the spirit. We’ve worked at enough Christmas photoshoots over the years to know exactly how lighting, styling, props and backgrounds can all be combined to give a flavour of the season. It’s always great fun to be creative with the composition and styling. We love these final image (see below) masterfully created for Donald Russell’s christmas campaign.

Video

Lastly, having an effective video at your disposal is an excellent form of advertising and communication that you can use both on your website and across your social media platforms. Do you have a Christmas recipe that you would like to share? Sleek video’s like these can really capture people’s attention and are a great way of getting your name out there.

As you can see, there are many ways you can use the season to your advantage and all that is required is a little pre-planning. So don’t delay, get in touch with us today and you can rest assured that your Christmas campaign will be taken care of in plenty of time. Then when December does roll in, all that will be left to do is put your feet up and enjoy a mulled wine, or two, or three…