Optimizing TV Creative For The Holiday Season
By: Lou Rebecchi
Jingling bells. Falling snow. Arms full of gifts. Slow-motion smiles. Bold holiday scarves. Heartwarming sentiment. These are but a few hallmarks of the holiday commercial… some may call them tropes.. the more cynical would call them cliches. But whatever you call them, they exist for a reason! The holidays are a great time to optimize tv creative for branding!
Aligning your brand, product or service with the giving season is a long-standing tradition in broadcast advertising. And it can be tremendously effective- just ask Hershey’s with their long-running Kisses commercial, JC Penny with their not-so-subtle “Joy Peace and Comfort” campaign, and endless car companies trying to convince the public that putting a giant bow on a new vehicle is a reasonable Christmas gift.
But where does that leave Direct Response? With everyone vying to harness that Holiday goodwill for their brand, is there room for direct sales on TV? Of course, there is! It’s the shopping season after all! And with gift-hunters abound, it’s the perfect time for DR campaigns to lean in with amazing holiday offers! Let’s have a look at a few Holiday suggestions for direct response campaigns:
• Jingle up that creative! Holiday spots are attention-grabbing (especially to those looking for gift ideas!), and It doesn’t take much to make your existing creative more fittingly festive! Just look back at those cliches, er.. hallmarks. Some falling snow overlays, a few Santa graphics and some festive music are a simple way to convert a standard commercial into one that’s filled with Holiday vibes.
• Switch up the angle! Direct Response is built on a problem/ solution dynamic. But during the holiday season problem/ solution may not be the primary motivator for response. With some fresh graphics and voiceover copy, you can supplement those tried and true DR tactics with another, more seasonal message- Like “Makes a Great Gift!”, “Perfect for the Holidays!”, or “Mom will Love it!”.
• A special, limited, Holiday offer! In the end, a DR campaign’s greatest motivator is a fantastic offer. So try presenting a new Holiday offer that is extra enticing for viewers! Or, if your current offer is optimized, try putting a “limited-time” Holiday spin on it that speaks to seasonal shoppers, like offering fast turn-around or an extended return policy.
So while the big brands are off caroling in top hats and stringing lights on palm trees in the name of branding, don’t sleep on the season’s unique opportunity to optimize tv creative and selling! Make the best of your Holiday DR efforts by putting your best jingly elf shoe forward!
