“Tearful”, “sickly sweet”, “potent”: all words used to describe this year’s John Lewis Christmas advert. Yet, love them or loathe them, the John Lewis Christmas adverts have become something of a British institution. The latest offering, about a little boy and his penguin friend, has been watched by 21 million people on YouTube. The advert cost £1m to make and was part of a marketing campaign worth £7m.
However, if you are an SME aspiring to promote your business with as much panache as the biggest brands, you can do it without spending millions. There are plenty of tips and tricks that small businesses can learn from the big players, according to brand and advertising experts.
Narrative
The most watched Christmas adverts this year appear to have one thing in common: a well told, simple story. Complicated narratives are unpopular, says Jim Prior, CEO of Lambie-Nairn and Partners. “Marketing a business at Christmas time isn’t about developing complicated strategies and trying to reimagine the concept into innovative new forms. It’s about tapping into the obvious, well-established psychology of a time of year that everybody loves and nobody wants to see changed.”
“Having a consistent core message each year is something smaller brands can learn from larger ones at Christmas,” says Sean Kinmount, the founding partner at Creative at 23red. “Marks & Spencer’s ‘Magic and Sparkle’ is a great example. Annual repetition of a core message lands this thought with the consumer, and the brand still has the opportunity to keep the creative fresh each year with a reinterpretation of the central theme.”
Animals
Animals sell because they are cute and love you, no matter what. Therefore including one in your Christmas advertising campaign could be a winner. “It’s the season of woodland scenes and cutesy creatures,” says Kinmount. “You know Christmas has arrived when you see these appear, and brands of all shapes and sizes can use these images and themes to their advantage to build an association with Christmas.” Waitrose has cashed in on this, with an adorable Border Collie which ate all the Christmas gingerbread.
Going on a journey
Several of the most successful Christmas adverts over the last decade have included the story of a journey. Whether it is the Coca-Cola lorries, or the John Lewis snowman, the theme of taking a journey seems to strike a chord with Christmas shoppers.
“The journey element is so important because it’s such a simple yet magical journey towards the ultimate end – Christmas,” says Kinmount. “The emotion conveyed here is not reserved for big brands with huge budgets; businesses of any size can use this to add some sparkle to their Christmas campaign.”
A throaty soundtrack
Name a Christmas advert that you loved where there wasn’t somebody crooning in the background. From Lily Allen’s cover of Keane’s Somewhere only we know, to Tom Odell’s cover of John Lennon’s Real Love, swelling acoustics have the power to tug on people’s heartstrings, something big brands know only too well.
Snow
Despite the tiny chance of a white Christmas, a Christmas advert without snow is like a turkey without stuffing. Snow is scene-setting, and conjures up images of loved-up, hand-holding couples and rosy-cheeked children sledging through wintry forests. Prior explains why snow works: “It promises us a Christmas of happy kids and well-fed guests. And because we desperately want those wishes to come true, we go along with it with our hearts and souls and our wallets, too. Small businesses should keep it simple: Santa hats, snow and smiling faces, and feel free to throw in the odd stuffed toy.”
As Tim Jones, head of communications at RPM, says: “The best ads plunge us into the world of their narrative, an imaginary world in which we absorb emotion and stories that we would normally filter as untrue.”
Sign up to become a member of the Guardian Small Business Network here for more advice, insight and best practice direct to your inbox.
