COMPLACENT MARKETING
Dear Santa , What ’ s For Christmas ?
By Diana Obath
This year , Christmas will be a new experience for all of us . The fun of the season is shopping in overcrowded malls , buying gifts for people we love and sharing in food , drinks and festivities ; or taking long drives to parks out of the city and rounding off the day with a pit stop at a famous nyama choma joint along the highway . Some of us rather be on the beach or beside it , or in a faraway country taking in new experiences .
However , the buzzing malls , parking spots filled with cars , streets full of people and restaurants with no sitting space will most likely not be the trend this year . The midnight fireworks and hugs to celebrate the start of a new season will be restricted to the house and close family members . The curfew will still be in place limiting time for overnight parties and dinners .
This only serves to create a new challenge for marketers . Many of us would be in supermarkets with trolleys full of groceries for our own homes and our parent ’ s houses or we would throw parties from 24th December to 2nd January and buy toys for the kids to keep them busy for the holidays .
What then happens to brands that have long depended on the Christmas cheer to rake in profits and close the year ’ s targets in the green ? Will they be giving season offers now that the year has generally seen a dip in earnings for most companies or should they rump up advertising to ensure their brands are still top of mind despite the challenging times customers are facing ? Will advertising help to create demand and is there a guarantee that there will be some ROI on that expenditure ?
Families are observing frugal spending given the uncertain business environments . It is a tough call for any marketing professional trying to move their products during this season .
That should however not dampen the cheer . We can still ask Santa what plans he has in store for Christmas . This is a season that carries deep meaning for many people . A time we share with family and close friends and a time we tend to reward
Cause marketing may be the new way to approach the festivities this year , connecting with customers and the society and bridging the gap to a worldwide social problem . This can generate both brand love and loyalty as well as effortlessly creating affinity by positioning the brand as a caring considerate brand that is not just interested in profit generation . ourselves and gift other people . The opportunity to make the season special is still alive . It is only the approach that would change .
United States Postal Services ( USPS ) for example has recently launched a Christmas campaign that will see families receive gifts from other families by simply writing letters to each other and posting them on an online ‘ post office ’. As part of the campaign , USPS has asked families whose incomes have been affected by Covid-19 to write letters that will be posted anonymously on their website . All well-wishers can go to the website and pick a letter , post the items requested to the return address with a tracking number that will help USPS deliver the package to the family in need . Both parties remain anonymous . Once a letter has been picked and the package tracked to that specific family , it is blurred off the website . Wellwishers are requested to package the items as gifts , wrapped and with ribbons just to make it a little more special .
Within days of the launch of the campaign gift givers had sent out packages to hundreds of families across America via the postal service . Some of the requests included household items and groceries , toys and games while some of them were letters from kids asking for jobs for their parents or beds for their sick siblings and warm winter coats and gloves for their families .
With everything that is happening around the world , there has been a great socioeconomic impact that brands can tap into this season . Brands can rally behind and encourage gift givers to support
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