The ‘Golden Quarter’ is upon us. Christmas is just 14 weeks away, and we all know that getting your fair share of standout is a huge challenge. Consumers are no longer satisfied with just hearing or seeing a brand’s message. It’s the actual experiences they have with a brand that defines whether they connect with it or not. Strike the right connection, and you could become synonymous with Christmas.
If you’re thinking about how to connect with consumers in the run up to Christmas 2019, here’s a few thoughts on how you can make a big difference.
Taste before you buy
You’ve made sure that key press titles attend your Christmas in July show and have tried and tasted your Christmas food for 2019 but what are you doing to reassure customers you have the best food in the land this Christmas? Stop shoppers from switching to trade up and splitting their baskets by getting them to experience your food when they’re in decision making mode in the run up to the big event. ‘Costco style’ sampling in stores to lock in existing shoppers, brand to hand sampling in high footfall areas to immersive experiences and pop up restaurants are all great ways of consumers trying, tasting and experiencing the quality of what you’ve got to offer removing any element of risk for them around serving up the perfect Christmas spread.
Unboxing
Unpacking products, filming it and explaining the item in detail has made YouTube sensations millions. Sounds, bizarre but I’m not going to pretend it’s not massively addictive to watch, my 8 year old niece is obsessed with watching toys being unwrapped, and she loses her mind over the opening of Kinder Surprise Eggs. Why? It’s the excitement of finding out what’s inside. And parents love it too, because it shows the product exactly for what it is without any editing or ad effects. Obviously, this isn’t just relevant for kids and toys. Find the right influencers for your brand and send them your key products so they can share their experience with your core target audience. Even have a think about how you can consider unboxing when developing your product packaging. Lead times might be against you on this one, but can you make some quick small tweaks that consider the product ‘boxing’ as part of the overall product experience?
Pop Up Shops
Our Savvy Shopper Panel (1,000 UK Shoppers, Jan 2019) found that 62% of shoppers think it’s more positive when online retailers open stores to showcase products and pop-up shops improve their perceptions. It’s interesting though that if you look at the digital native iGeneration (Gen Z) this increases in importance to 75%, they want to be given the chance to touch and feel the products they would ordinarily buy through an app on their phone. The key is not to overload them with choice and keep the buying process frictionless and digital. So with plenty of space available on high streets and malls, there a massive opportunity to make the most out of Christmas footfall. Think about the chance to introduce your brand in a one on one experience that really makes a difference. After all if it’s good enough for Amazon…
Personalisation
Nothing gives you the feels more than a personalised gift with your face or name on it, and we all seem to go mad for it even more over the Christmas period. Imagine, Selfridges sell more than a quarter of a million personalised Nutella jars in November and December alone and they cost double the amount of normal jars. Personalising a gift makes that special present even more spesh. Thanks to tech and easy to use bespoke labels, personalisation is a biggie and a really major way to stand out from the crowd.
Events and Experiences
I know I’m a Millennial (only just), but for me the best bit about Christmas is the lead up, getting to events and experiences across the festive period. Whether it’s a Whiskey tasting at the Pernod Ricard Loft in Manchester, or a Charlotte Tilbury beauty masterclass at John Lewis, increasingly brands are creating experiences consumers want to pay to be a part of. The golden quarter gives brands a great opportunity to create relevant events that consumers want to attend, you’ll be surprised by how popular they are.
At Savvy we have over 10 years’ experience in helping brands create memorable live experiences that drive emotional connections, shape behaviour and influence purchase. Our brand experiences are a source of shareable content for consumers seeking deeper engagement with brands and opportunities to generate social media currency.
Our Savvy Live team includes strategic insight-led creative concept, tech and innovation integration and execution experts who work together with brands to deliver varying scales of activation from instore events and sampling through to retail pop-ups, brand installation, roadshows and large-scale public events.
Contact Taj at Taj.Sur@getsavvy.com or on 0113 237 6500.
