Holiday gatherings will be different this year. As with all things being cancelled by 2020, it looks like the traditional American holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas could be next to feel 2020’s cold death grip. The surge of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. has prompted some states and local governments to begin reenforcing lock down measures. States such as New York and California have issued travel advisories for Thanksgiving, advising residents that if they travel out of state, they should quarantine for two weeks when they return.
This puts brands in a tough position. While normally, Holiday messaging would be in full force including images of family gathers, catching up with friends, vacations and shopping sprees, all of those seem rather difficult with the current pandemic. As such, brands will need to find that happy medium: sending it’s Holiday message, while also reenforcing social distancing guidelines.
For many brands, the holidays always meant different messaging but was always related to the season, this helped ensure the brand stayed relevant during this time when consumers have minds elsewhere. For 2020, that messaging will need to be tweaked as a quarantine-fatigued nation braces for a tough winter. Additionally, brands will also need to apply some PR to their holiday messages (Watson, 2020). If you just laid off or furloughed large amounts of people, you may want to keep your advertising more subdued instead of large and glitzy this season. Some could argue that the millions spent on the advertising could have saved some jobs.
However, if your brand is in the position to advertise this holiday season, many experts state that brands should acknowledge the pandemic, but not make this “Covid-19 Christmas” (Watson, 2020). Instead, it should focus on the feelings the holidays can bring: joy, hope, and excitement. Though brands may want to consider images of smaller family gatherings, the images of children opening presents on Christmas morning will bring many smiling faces.
According to Watson (2020), brands should also consider tapping into their humor side for this year’s advertising. Surveys indicate that consumers are facing COVID-19 fatigue and humor has shown as a great way to temporarily forget the stresses of the world. Watson (2020) points out this advertisement from UK retailer TK Maxx as a great way to weave in humor, while acknowledging the pandemic, that drives consumers to purchase from their store.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgIigoL1Lro
Finally, brands should feel comfortable beginning their holiday messaging now, if they haven’t already done so. A recent report revealed that this year, Americans are expected to decorate their homes for Christmas a lot earlier than usual (Quillen, 2020). The study reveals that Americans report a higher sense of happiness when their homes are decorated for Christmas and when they see Christmas decorations (Quillen, 2020). As such, many have indicated that they will decorate early this year, to bring some happiness in a troubled year. The challenges of 2021 are already starting to shape up. However, before they arrive, the country – and the world – should have a moment to pause, enjoy some holiday cheer, before jumping back into meeting these challenges.
References:
Quillen, A. (2020). North Texans decorating earlier for Christmas because, 2020. NBC DFW. Retrieved from: https://www.nbcdfw.com/entertainment/holidays/north-texans-decorating-earlier-for-christmas-this-year-because-2020/2479510/
Watson, I. (2020). Christmas ads 2020: will brand stick with the sparkle or will covid-19 dampen spirits. The Drum. Retrieved from: https://www.thedrum.com/news/2020/11/05/christmas-ads-2020-will-brands-stick-with-the-sparkle-or-will-covid-19-dampen
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