I recently enjoyed a brilliant seasonal webinar from the CIM with two industry experts analysing what works (and what doesn’t!) about some of this years’ Christmas TV ads. It got me feeling all festive and was a lovely excuse to reflect on some of my own favourite Christmas ads over the years.
But it made me wonder: how relevant is a big budget Christmas advert for my typical customer? At face value, perhaps not at all. I don’t think any of my clients have the budget to make a TV ad or, being honest, have the capacity to cope with the increase in sales that it would probably bring!
So if the adverts themselves aren’t realistic, can we at least learn something from the multi-million-pound budgets the big players spend? Yes, I think we can. The secret is that it’s not about the money, it’s about telling the story.
Are you sitting comfortably? Then let me explain…
Connection Over Commerce
Arguably since 2011 when John Lewis gave us ‘The Long Wait’ (remember the little lad who couldn’t wait to give his parents their present?), Christmas adverts have tugged at our heartstrings. The best have focussed on how we feel – love, nostalgia, community or even humour – rather than products or services.
And that’s something that all businesses can do, whatever their size. Suppose you’re an individual Sports Massage Therapist; your ‘product’ is relieving pain but the ‘story’ is giving your client back the freedom to move. (Their Christmas advert might be an older gent hobbling in for treatment, then coming out afterwards to experience the joy of being able to push his little grandson on the swings again.) Focus on the human and sell the feeling of what your product or service can do; find an authentic story as the hook to do that.
(Talking about emotion, have you seen the Save the Children advert this year? I thought I was watching the traditional Coca-Cola Christmas one but I was welling up by the end! They certainly found the emotion in that.)
Build Consistency
Much of what marketing is about is being consistent. That’s not simply about doing the same thing again and again, necessarily (although TK Maxx’s Festive Farm made me chuckle as much this year as it did last year, so sometimes repetition does work!). Consistency in marketing is more about giving people what they expect – and often what they want. (Can you believe Kevin the carrot has been around for 10 years now? This year’s isn’t my personal favourite but it is good to see him again.)
Storytelling: a Universal Marketing Philosophy
Storytelling has been a bit of a marketing ‘buzz word’ for a while now and it’s not just a seasonal tactic. It’s one of the foundations that makes all other marketing activities effective. As I said above, it acts as an emotional framework that gives your marketing plans meaning. (Did you know, for example, that psychological studies show that facts presented in a narrative are 22 times more memorable than facts presented alone?) Whether you are running a content marketing campaign, designing a brand identity or planning social media posts, stories provide the structure and human voice needed to establish trust and capture attention. Stories turn facts (features) into relatable experiences (benefits).
But does storytelling matter if you sell to other businesses?
While the typical Christmas ads generally target consumers (B2C), storytelling is just as vital in the Business-to-Business (B2B) world because it addresses some high-stakes challenges: Complexity, Risk and Trust.
Your B2B customers (executives, managers, directors) are making potentially expensive decisions that affect their entire organisation. They need confidence, not just emotion. Explaining what you do in terms of a story works for them, like this:
- The Challenge: Start with the customer’s painful, relatable problem (e.g. “I was struggling with my mental health,” or “My business’ data security was compromised”).
- Your Solution: Position yourself / your company as the trusted expert with a clear plan.
- The Success: Show the results, ideally quantified if you can (e.g. “30% reduction in operating costs”) combined with the human impact (“I am finally stress-free”).
In this simple format, your customer achieves success by choosing your reliable solution (whatever it is). This approach isn’t as fluffy and emotion laden as a typical Christmas advert but it is still a story, and a really effective way to simplify potentially complex information and build a lasting partnership. And, as we always say, people still buy from people, even business to business.
Ultimately, whether you’re selling holiday spirit to consumers or efficiency software to corporations, the same principle applies: Stop selling products and start selling the transformation. Find the emotional connection – be it joy, relief or success – and you will build a loyal audience year-round. I would say – once again – this is actually something that small businesses can often do more authentically than larger ones.
So what’s your favourite advert?
I have to say I really can’t decide! I’m loving the Waitrose ads with Keira Knightley, but mostly because I think it’s a bit of a coup and something original (rare in marketing!) rather than for the ads themselves. I’m bored with the Asda Grinch adverts already (and hit the mute button whenever they come on!). I like that the BFG has joined forces with Sainsbury’s again – but the first adverts (last year or the year before?) hit the spot for me better than this year’s. And I quite like the pun that Puss really has gone to Boots for his shopping (although I think they could have made more of that than they did).
So, this year, I’m not sure if one stands out for me. Looking back, there have been so many memorable ads over the years, but the one that still has me laughing and crying in equal measure has to be John Lewis’ Buster the Boxer (from 2016 would you believe!). I probably love it even more now that I have Jack the dog myself but refresh your memory and see what you think here.
If you’re in the mood for more festive musings, try ‘What we can learn from Santa’ or ‘Why marketing is to be trifled with’.