Everywhere I look now, Christmas is popping up. It is nearing the end of November and for some it means that it is becoming a respectable time to shift from fall, Halloween, and Thanksgiving to the next holiday. I love the holidays and everything about it, people may say its too commercialized and product driven, but I think companies bringing a touch of Christmas to their stores, promotions, ads, and products just further creates Christmas spirit. I always find it interesting how different companies can leverage different holidays for their marketing initiatives. Christmas is the biggest holiday of the year, besides new years and the super bowl in the ad world, where companies need to step up their game to be heard through all the Christmas noise.

Starbucks is a clear winner with this holiday because of their signature red cups that come out every year on November 1st. People wait all year for the red cups and it seems that as soon as they are out, people by more coffee just because of the festive cup their coffee is in. Starbucks got it right and now has people counting down to the red cup reveal and has created a tradition for its consumers. This simple form of consistency every year gets people excited for the holidays, and for some, the red cups signify the beginning of the Christmas holidays.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JEkuQ2vykk

The other company that does it well and has established tradition is Coca-cola. As the years have gone by they have gotten more modern with their ads shifting from the old school Santa Clause to polar bears and other themes. But they still have some how managed to embrace the season and be a brand winner during this overly competitive time.

This year, an unlikely organization has found a way to creatively use the Christmas holiday to promote themselves.

The NBA recently released their NBA Jingle Bells video which shows some of the leagues stars shooting hoops and playing the classic Christmas tune. I saw this and laughed at first because it just seemed so odd seeing jingles bells being played with basketballs. But then I was impressed. It is a pretty cool way for the organization to promote themselves, while embracing the holiday season, and doing something that impresses people all at the same time.

All in all, some people can be cynical and talk about how commercialized the holidays are. But it is pretty smart of certain brands to embrace the season and promote their products. It is a yearly holiday and unless you are Starbucks, you need to think of a new way to break through the holiday noise with your brand. The creativity that comes every year is so cool and I think the NBA nailed it with their Jingle Bells video. For this year…

Click this link to see some Christmas Print Ads