So you’ve still got 262 days until Xmas! Are you ready? Have you thought about the stuffing for the Turkey? What if nan drinks too much sherry again and Uncle Alfred sets his paper hat on fire getting too close to the Christmas pudding? Try not to punch a hole through your computer screen. Those kind of Xmas anxieties should be put to the back of your mind.
However, for all you brand, marketing and trade managers reading this, Xmas really does come early. With just 281 days (and you’re welcome for that reminder again) until the big day – Xmas editions of your products will be hitting the selves sooner than you think.
So the time is now to think about Xmas! As a marketing whizz, you know the added sales value you can gain from creating gift packs, secondary seasonal packaging and travel retail editions of your best sellers. It’s an understatement to say this is the biggest time of year for FMCG products and it pays to plan in this instance. A lot of brands have dedicated roles for seasonal packaging and have teams allocating resources to these projects all year round. And it’s time your brand did the same!
How you can use the festive season to elevate your brand
One of the key ways that special editions drive sales, is by coercing new consumers to trial your product. We all know the feeling of heading out Xmas shopping and not quite knowing what to get that niece/nephew or the office cleaner as a gift in the festive season. One of the most popular gifts during the festive season often ends up being gift packs from FMCG brands. Whether it’s beauty, personal care, grooming or confectionary – this repackaging opportunity is a chance to reach a whole new customer base and capture consumers who are otherwise unaware of your brand.
So where can it go wrong?
The problem with festive promotions is that you will be competing in an incredibly saturated market. Shelf space will be scarce so, naturally, you will want to make your brand stand out as much as possible to catch the eye of festive or travelling shoppers.
Use eye-catching details with caution. Laminates and extra ‘look at me!’ materials along with conflicting colouring can dilute your brand equity. You still need to retain your brand identity, even with so much up for grabs in the festive season.
How you can do it right
It’s key that, as a brand, you employ consistent brand messaging across all touch points and use special editions, travel retail and seasonal packaging to your advantage. Like we did here, with our Christmas Cadbury work.
Feel free to drop us a line or pop in and meet us in person. We are located in the centre of Hammersmith, London. You can see some of our recent packaging design work here