Around mid-September, gingerbread and sugar cookies get mixed between barbecue charcoal and sunscreen. They clearly doesn't go together, but this article will tell you why this is the ideal time to plan your Christmas video.
Dear Santa.
What should be under your company's Christmas tree this year?
In your mind, you begin to go through the gifts of 2017: a bottle of expensive red wine for your business partner, the Christmas gift baskets for the sales team, and the new twist ballpoint pen for your secretary. And don't forget the printed greeting cards with which you wished your loyal customers a Merry Christmas in beautiful, ornate writing.
Damn boring? Damn right! It’s exactly why now is the perfect time for your own Christmas video!
WestJet Christmas Miracle: The low-cost airline fulfills Christmas wishes in real time, landing a viral social media success.
What makes the use of moving images during the Christmas season so appealing?
Why Videos are Perfect for the Christmas Season.
No other festival is as clichéd, polarizing, and emotionally charged as Christmas. Suddenly, nostalgic memories and a visit to the family make one's own emotional barometer skyrocket.
However, when you think about the upcoming Christmas shopping, the planning of the big family meal, or the almost endless to-do list on your desk (which wants to be ticked off before the beginning of the new year), the Christmas magic tends to fizzles out. The fact is nobody can completely escape the pre-Christmas madness.
This is especially true for retailers. The importance of video as an effective differentiation tool during the Christmas business continues to increase in order to go against competing providers.
The universal character of the Christmas season promises large thematic overlaps across different target groups (e.g. pre-Christmas stress or return to the family), coupled with a high degree of individual identification.
To Whom Should You Send Your Christmas Video?
Each of your stakeholders – employees, business partners, existing or new customers- can potentially be presented with a Christmas video. It just depends on the goals you want to achieve with your video.
Clever Objectives.
Both the target audience and the structure of your video are based on the fundamental question of what you want to achieve with your Christmas video. Your video can be used to sincerely thank your employees or business partners for their dedication.
Are you introducing a new service for the Christmas season (e.g. Christmas apps or digital Advent calendars) for your customers? Then a video can be used to illustrate and explain new tools.
Judging by the annual flood of heartwarming commercials, the most common goal of Christmas videos is to positively influence the corporate image and increase brand awareness.
AAA Target of Your Christmas Video:
Appreciation: express appreciation and gratitude.
Assistance: provide advice, demonstration, and explanation.
Awareness: generate attention and strengthen positive image.
#1 Appreciation Videos for Employees and Business Partners.
The list of the most unpopular Christmas gifts among German employees includes kitchen and household items, alcohol, and stationery- gifts that seem extraordinarily useful, but fail to serve the intended purpose of expressing personal appreciation.
The power of appreciation: Author Mike Robbins on the crucial difference between recognition and appreciation.
Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche shows what a successful Christmas greeting to employees can look like. At the end of the year, in his usual relaxed manner, he thanks all of his employees for their great commitment.
Daimler Weihnachtsbotschaft: Chairman of the Board of Management Dieter Zetsche scores with humor and appreciation.
Acknowledgments to one's own employees or business partners can be humorous without losing their message of appreciation. Instead of looking into the camera with a serious expression, reciting memorable texts, while underlining them with the “Merkel diamond,” you should take this opportunity to be more creative.
#2 Assistance videos for Christmas Shopping.
Videos can have a meaningful impact during Christmas shopping, substantially influencing the consumer’s purchases.
The increasing shift from desktop to mobile shopping is particularly noticeable during the Christmas season, as is reflected in the increase in mobile conversions after work and on weekends.
Commuting time now becomes shopping time, and the attractiveness of videos is increasing inexorably, as moving image formats guarantee an optimal shopping experience on the move.
Mobile Shopping Studie from Facebook: During the Christmas season, mobile conversions increase during leisure time.
Unboxing videos on YouTube are an effective method of customer engagement as it reduces the consumer’s uncertainties during the competitive holiday season. Online services can arouse curiosity and set incentives to buy through the visual demonstration.
#3 Awareness Videos for Existing and New Customers.
They can evoke a tear or two from us or even a dramatic emotional breakdown. They give us goose bumps or make us laugh. They make us drop what we’re doing to finally make that long overdue phone call to Grandma.
We are talking about Christmas commercials. They are the really good ones that bring the beloved Christmas magic into your own home through emotional storytelling and subtle branding.
In recent years, the campaigns of the British department store chain John Lewis have softened the hearts of viewers.
Monty the Penguin: In 2014, John Lewis' Christmas campaign achieved the highest ad awareness and record sales.
Ad Performance Monty the Penguin: Christmas Ad generated the highest ad awareness compared to the competition.
John Lewis' Christmas Sales Perfomance: The 2014 Christmas campaign contributed to a sales increase of 7.5% compared to the previous year.
But the Advent season doesn't just offer space for stories that lead to sentimentalism and you reaching for a handkerchief. You can also laugh. Thank God!
In 2017, carmaker Audi broke through the Christmas pathos of large retail companies with its humorous Parking Lot spot, illuminating the dark sides of the stressful Advent season.
Audi's Parking Lot spot: Dream combination of perfect product placement and crazy story.
5 Tips for Creating Your Christmas Video.
Welcome to the Christmas video bakery! As the examples above show, the holiday season offers an incredible variety for your own video. Find creative ways to stand out from the crowd of generic Christmas greetings and create a lasting memory. Our 4 tips will help you bake your own personal Christmas video.
#1 Tell a Really Good Story.
As with any good cookie recipe, the dough is the most important basis for all further baking steps. The success of your Christmas video will depend on the quality of your dough (story).
In our XXL Storytelling Guide, we show you the immense power of good stories and present 4 useful tips for developing your own story.
As a team, think about which topics, clichés, or emotions are associated with Christmas and how the right approach to the target audience can be designed. You can also use tried and true creativity techniques alone or in a team.
#2 Create Atmosphere.
As a team, think about which topics, clichés, or emotions are associated with Christmas and how the right approach to the target audience can be designed. You can also use tried and true creativity techniques alone or in a team.
Color Schemes.
What would butter cookies be without colored sugar pearls? Vanilla cupcakes without frosting? Shortbread without chocolate? Pretty bland! It's the same with your Christmas video. Make your story more appealing with audio-visual elements.
Setting / Backdrop.
There are no creative limitations- snow covered winter wonderlands, a crackling fireplace, crazy Christmas preparations. Everything is possible. The only important thing is that the core message of your story is supported by the visual images.
Audio.
Whether you use a new edition of Christmas classics, a pop artist’s acoustic hits, or a voice-over in the style of a jolly Santa Claus, depends on your chosen target group and the story’s potential. You could also adapt the audio branding of your company (if available) for Christmas.
#3 Interact with Your Target Group.
Baking cookies alone would be half as fun and could possibly lead to you to sticking with old recipes, being less eager and experimental.
You can generate a lively dialogue through your Christmas video in order to gain better insights into the world of experience of your target group. Videos for the B2C sector can serve as a survey medium and provide exciting insights into consumers' product preferences.
Instagram Survey feature: Since 2017, the social media platform has enabled simple surveys to be integrated into stories.
#4 Get Personal.
Instead of mass-produced goods from the assembly line, we prefer homemade products from Grandma. The cookie bag (decorated with handwritten Christmas greetings and reindeer stickers) is much more important to us than the overpriced biscuit mix from the supermarket.
This effect can also be applied to your Christmas video (especially for employees and business partners) to strengthen the relationship with your stakeholders.
Personalised Christmas videos have an identity-forming effect, promote trust in you and your company, and demonstrate appreciation.
But how can you give your video a personal touch?
Individual Video Style.
Depending on which target groups you want to reach with your Christmas video, different video styles are recommended. For example, an animation can be created by you and/or your business partners. Embedding your own image files in animated Christmas settings promises a particularly high entertainment value.
ElfYourself: Humorous dancing and personalization is the recipe for success of the web app.
Personal Addressing.
Add the name of the recipient (e.g. gift tags or digital envelopes) to suitable picture elements that appear in your video. Speakers can also address the addressee directly or mention him or her by name.
All I want for Christmas is a video.
By choosing a Christmas video, you climb the creative ladder up a few rungs and increase the chances that employees, business partners, and customers will remember you. To ensure that your video is finished on time, it is advisable, depending on the scope and degree of individualisation, to start planning from September or October. You don’t want your creativity to be restricted by time constraints.
Do not underestimate the time required:
Include 2 to 3 months for the planning and production time of your Christmas video in order to have sufficient creative freedom without unnecessary time pressure.
