It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…

It is that time of year again… It is the premiere of the big retailers and their eagerly anticipated festive adverts. This year Mrs Claus represents M&S, while its Kevin the Carrot for Lidl and Buster the Boxer for John Lewis.

It is the event of the year and this year, due to the build-up and excitement, the audience were fooled into watching a teenager’s A-level coursework believing it was 2016’s offering from John Lewis nearly a week before the real launch of their ad. The so-called spoof is worth a watch.

How can marketers ensure their storytelling is translated into real results?

The key is consistency. Today’s consumers view a brand’s website, app, retail store and TV ad as part of a whole experience. Consistency creates an on-going relevance when the consumer moves from device to device and even from device to store.

The brands that will win this Christmas will be those that successfully translate the emotion and impact of their big budget ad across all channels, platforms and devices used by the consumers to lead them on the path to shop.

An effective mobile and cross-channel strategy, spanning social platforms and email, can make a big difference to ongoing consumer behaviour, creating loyalty not only during the festive period, but during the months afterwards.

Take some of our recent cross channel campaigns for Animalcare Limited and VP plc (www.vpgroundforce.com/gb/training/) where fantastic results were achieved for both B2B and B2C audiences. Facebook, Twitter, LinkdIn and YouTube all played their part in those campaigns, in addition to Google Display, direct marketing, exhibitions and various other collaborative opportunities.

Most importantly, enjoy the festive period!