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Selling Santa: the challenge of festive marketing

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There’s a disturbance in the (social media) force; are brands ready for action?

Heading into a new year always prompts questions: What’s new? What’s trending? What digital platform has risen to the top?

And there's a lot; from vertical format to generative AI. And shorter... everything keeps getting shorter. Six seconds! How can you capture someone’s attention in six seconds in a compelling way, and without sound? 

From the rise of TikTok and the creation of the metaverse, to whatever is going on at Twitter, it’s all up for grabs.

Plus, it's hard to predict anything anymore. From the rise of TikTok and the creation of the metaverse, to whatever is going on at Twitter, it’s all up for grabs. But, if there’s anything all of this change has shown, it's that storytelling will be front and centre because it's the one thing that ties it all together

Above: Whether it's on TikTok, Twitter or television, storytelling is key to building an audience.


We still have a long way to go 

What we are are seeing a rise in inclusivity and equity. Voices that have been marginalised in filmmaking, and in all creative fields, are finally being heard. These inequities are finally shifting and trending in the right direction. Toy companies are removing gender labels, fashion brands are embracing a non-binary world, welcoming anyone to wear their clothes. My hope that this uptick in acceptance and inclusivity of truly all voices continues.

It is our job to meaningfully connect people, brands, products and culture.

The metaverse is trying to TikTok its way into the hearts and minds of Gen Z and the generation that comes after that or, basically, pretty much anyone who will pay attention to it. There will always be a new digital stage to perform on but one thing will remain the same, the extraordinary power of telling a great story. Be cutting edge, create something we haven’t seen before, put it on a platform we are just starting to understand but, without a story, it all falls apart. 

We are in the business of capturing hearts and minds. It is our job to meaningfully connect people, brands, products and culture. Storytelling will always be front and centre, it's the one thing that ties it and us all together. Without a story, we come up short.

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Above: Storytelling will always be front and centre in the advertising industry.


Narrative and storytelling

If a story is compelling, delivers on a universal truth or just makes us laugh or smile for six seconds, then it is a great story and will result in quality creative work, regardless of whether it has been shot on a phone, in someone’s dining room, or by a film crew of 30 people with a six-figure budget.

Never has it been more important to stick to the core of storytelling to help work stand out amid the proliferation of video. The world is full of video; we are living in self-created and curated bubbles and consuming more video content than ever before. But there is a reason for this; it drives engagement like nothing else. 

Never has it been more important to stick to the core of storytelling to help work stand out amid the proliferation of video.

However, attention is a limited resource, and we need to get the right message in front of the right consumer at the right time. Media is fragmented and attention is at a deficit. Narrative pulls it all together and lets us focus on what story needs to be told, when and where. Plus, AI is helping us understand what’s out there, what is working, and why.

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Above: The pandemic showed us that as long as a story is engaging, authentic and human, it can be shot on anything and still be impactful.

New ways to tell essential stories

The pandemic taught us that stories can be shot on smartphones, or even filmed over Zoom. Who would have thought that a Zoom-created commercial would ever be a thing? But, however they were captured, riveting stories emerged, tapping into universal experiences shared by all of us. This approach to filmmaking, doing whatever it took to tell a story, helped to revolutionise and reimagine the standards for quality content the industry had created. And the consumers came along with open minds, willing to engage, watch, digest.

Messages can be entertaining and humorous, but most of all they should simply be human.

Probably key to this work created in serious times was the notion of authenticity, and it has increasingly become an important component of marketing. Content that is too slick or too branded will be dismissed. The savvy consumer knows when they are being played and information needs to be imparted in a clear, concise manner. Messages can be entertaining and humorous, but most of all they should simply be human. We humans fall for humanity every time and we use story to understand our world and all that happens in it. Authentic storytelling, inclusive of all voices, is what we need in the politically charged, troubled and climate-challenged world we live in. 

The opportunity for creativity and storytelling has never been greater. Our digital, always-on culture means we are consuming content at breakneck speed, which means there are countless opportunities to make powerful work that connects between brands and their audiences. Contrast this with the way work was created 25 years ago, when brands had such limited channels and opportunities, and 2023 is looking pretty good.

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