Christmas Marketing from a Young Age

I have worked in retail since the young age of ten, I was inspired by the need for getting a bicycle because everyone my age had a cool one at that age and that’s all I wanted. I was a Gumtree fanatic, I received all my money from posting ads, since then I have viewed multiple pieces of marketing which have helped me enhance my skills and promote products among the family business.

One key marketing ad which I would say has positively influenced me since a young age in my journey of work, is the Coca Cola Christmas Ad. Did you know that they call the lorries the “Christmas Caravans?” There are many of these trucks all over the world round Christmas time, this is called the Christmas Truck Tour. It is very believable that Coca Cola are the biggest spenders on advertising in soft drinks per year. 

                                              

I deal with a lot of the Christmas ads and promotional content in and outside of store over a three-year period at this point and recently I have used the season to my advantage. Also realising that we have to create a reasonable and achievable marketing budget and so far it has been working relatively well as we have noticed a spike in sales. Especially after the event in which we had to promote it.

Rewinding back to my marketing skills several years ago shows that I lacked the understanding of budgets and brand awareness. I wouldn’t have promoted my posts or our brand to the extent we would do now. As my mother has always told me if you want to achieve something you must put a little more time and effort into it and it’s a little more achievable. Attached below is how my marketing techniques have advanced over 2 years.

We like to analyse where most customers find us from (because our store is a little bit out of the way). We advertise on several platforms as well as some self-promotion. Facebook and Instagram are always our main priority as there are a vast number of people on social media sites with a wide age range and a growing population. We also find the Irish News and Local Women to have been two other important pieces of media which provide us with our local custom. We find that majority of our customers come from Word of Mouth – this is a positive form of advertising because it means our customers are loyal.

Another marketing campaign I have grown up watching is the John Lewis Christmas Ad. It started in 2007 so at this point I had a grasp in what the concept of Christmas was and why it attracted many. They spend huge amounts of money on marketing and tend to get a lot of blogs and influential people talking about it – this is great regardless of whether it is negative or positive because it gets people to go and view the video on sites such as YouTube, meaning that it promotes interest and gets the ad to the “Most Popular” section which is the first piece of content a person views when they go onto this app. But as I’ve been reminded throughout my university journey so far any PR is good PR as it gets people talking and as I’ve said when people talk, people want to see who you are, review your content and potentially purchase off you (if they like your online persona, or if they come into your store your professional persona).

Both these campaigns have given me a deepening awareness at developing my skills and hopefully this will pay off in the long hall, and the campaigns I will do in the future will be strengthened by this progressing knowledge. This shows the influence that advertisements can subconsciously have on a person, including me. I hope to continue to watch the rise on marketing campaigns and learn new ideas and techniques from them, to continue to grow the family business in which I have been brought up in.

 

Caithlen Loughran is a final year BSc in Communication Management & Public Relations student at Ulster University. She can be found at: Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/caithlenloughran.x , LinkedIn – Caithlen Loughran and Instagram – caithlenloughran