Heaps of jolly inspiration this month! Packed full of fun in-store activation, including some gift-themed range displays, smart digital initiatives, a pop-up one-stop party shop and loads more. And make sure to scroll all the way to the end to see our pick of the Christmas ad charts!
Jump into Christmas
“Guinness's Christmas promotion, featuring a chance towin a stylish branded Christmas jumper, should prove a resounding success. Their iconic black and white palette display stands out amid the sea of traditional red and green and the chance to win instantly is exciting. I would like one myself!” – GC View
Guinness has been celebrating the season with a simple limited edition Christmas jumper giveaway offer, with its 0.0% Alcohol Free Stout
- The no purchase necessary Text to Win promotion was exclusive to Tesco
- In-store display feature included supporting pallet, FSDU and POS treatments
- Entrants were notified instantly if they had won or not and a January wrap up draw will be run, giving non-winners the chance to win any unclaimed prizes
- Captured in Tesco, Haslemere
Oh Deer!
“Maltesers has projected its classic reindeer, relevant imagery and clever play-on-words in this execution, whilst successfully giving the promotion prominence in the displays of this activation. The brand colour (conveniently Christmassy) helps to catch the shopper’s attention and I like how the execution 'lifts the Christmas spirit' to further boost the incentive!” – GC View
The Maltesers brand is offering consumers the chance to win 100s of cash prizes, over the high-spend festive period, with a no-purchase necessary promotion.
- They simply scan the QR code on POS [or visit the promotional site] to enter as often as once a day
- There is playful engagement value with visitor requirement to press on a sleigh bell to see if they have won
- The focus SKU of the promotional POS is the festive deer
- Captured at Poundland, Surbiton
You should be so lucky
“A great example of prize pairing in this promotion with a reward that guarantees appeal to the target audience. A low-resistance entry process, from neck flag QR code to a simple online form, will result in optimum entries and provide a useful snapshot of consumer data for the brand.“ – GC View
Wines by Kylie Minogue offered consumers the chance to see Kylie live in Las Vegas via an on-pack promotion.
- Consumers were required to scan the QR code or visit a URL to enter the prize draw
- Just two lucky winners were drawn to fly out to Vegas, with concert tickets and £250 spending money
- We were surprised to find that the QR code on the neck flag did not work, allso the design included empty space, so bottles facing the wrong way on shelf would lose engagement value!
- Captured in Tesco, Teddington
On-trade festive moments
“A good example of a simple ‘push n’ pull’ approach to the season’s sales opportunity. Venue staff will love the fun pack contents, promising good ambassadorial support and with the on-bottle promo, Coca-Cola is assured of front of mind choice for the non-alcohol purchase this Christmas.” – GC View
Coca-Cola is supporting venues this festive period with a combination of POS kits and an on-bottle consumer promotion to win a trip to Lapland.
- On-trade pubs, bars and restaurants can order the POS kits free online. They include tent cards, coasters and Santa hats for staff, also a product glorifier unit, based on the brand’s iconic Christmas truck
- The consumer prize draw, accessed by scanning QR codes on promotional glass bottles, gives them the chance to win Christmas cooking masterclasses, table decorations and food delivery vouchers, as well as Coca-Cola Christmas merchandise
Kettle full of joy
“This festive promotion boasts an exciting prize pool, encouraging consistent engagement with the brand on Instagram. The chance to craft your own flavour of crisps is a nice twist for day 24. It already seems to be going down a treat – I've got my eye on the iPad!” – GC View
As part of Kettle’s new campaign celebrating the ‘joyful role’ of foods at Christmas, the brand is running an advent-style promotion on Instagram.
- The 24 prizes range from Christmas food shops to money-can’t-buy offerings such as make-your-own crisp seasoning days with Kettle’s Innovation Chef and a tour of the brand’s factory.
- Paid ads across Insta and Facebook will amplify the promotion until the end of December, reaching a target of 9.8m crisp-loving foodies
Cultivating convenience
“Using social content is a lovely way to support a time-poor, diverse range of customers throughout the convenience sector. The campaign also cleverly allows for the promotion of the full portfolio, whilst helping to drive additional spend into shoppers’ baskets.” – GC View
Pernod Ricard has been supporting convenience-stores by creating digital content that can be embedded in the stores’ social media platforms.
- The strategy was to encourage retailers to plan early for the Christmas 2023 opportunity, by creating content – for the brand to run and stores to use - to encourage shoppers to choose premium spirits for gifting
- The campaign included a YouTube channel promoting cocktails that can be created at home, using basic ingredients and equipment
- Neck flags are in circulation throughout the range to drive shoppers to the ‘How To’ guides with recipes
Personalised perks!
“Personalisation is a great way to enhance your season’s gifting, particularly with a product range to choose from and especially from Toblerone, the festive classic.” – GC View
Toblerone is elevating personalisation to a new level this year, making the gifting opportunity available across its Christmas product range.
- The range includes an advent calendar, truffles and a Christmas tree pack
- Consumers can add a personalised message as well as a name to the each pack
- There is also a choice of packaging design to chose from
- Captured on Instagram
A purrr-fect giveaway
“Free samples are obviously a purr-fect way to introduce new products to targeted consumers. Offering the choice of redemption either directly via a Whiskas® landing page or as part of a retailer checkout flow is smart.” – GC View
Whiskas are offering a free Whiskas pouch through online ads on Youtube and Facebook.
- Viewers who click on the ad are taken to the Whiskas site to claim a pack [one per household], until stocks last
- Cleverly, the offer extends to retailer sites such as Sainsburys.co.uk where shoppers can claim a free sample by simply adding the unique code ‘FREEWHISKAS’ to their online shop
Sweet Secret Santa
“Cadburys has a first-class activation here, especially with consumers needing to actively seek out its campaign to participate. After another long and tough year, the opportunity to surprise and delight a loved one with a chocolatey treat is a brilliant offering. It is also a great chance for Cadburys to highlight their wide range of products, including the seasonal specials.” – GC View
Cadburys has brought back its chocolate give-away again this Christmas, offering people the chance to send a loved one or friend the anonymous gift of a chocolate bar.
- The offer is supported by a campaign incorporating TV, VOD, Cinema, OOH, social, print and radio
- The QR code will be featured on 786 posters randomly, to take viewers to an online platform to apply for limited stock before Christmas Eve. Limited to 1 bar per mobile number and 5 per household
- 12,000 Cadburys bars are to be released containing a large range of their popular and seasonal products
- Additionally, Cadburys is donating 100,000 bars to food UK food banks in partnership with The Trussell Trust
Eau de Cucumber
“This is a wonderful example of how Hendrick’s can disrupt the gin category in its delightfully idiosyncratic way. An extension of the brand’s existing campaign, this activation launched in travel retail back in August, is now appealing to UK shopper across selected John Lewis stores. It is an educational and fun way of driving awareness of infusions, that will serve to differentiate the brand in the crowded gin category.” – GC View
Hendricks has launched Eau de Cucumber entitled pop-ups to raise the aromatic profile of its drinks, in the form of a signature collection of flavour fragrances.
- The larger-than-life, high-end displays feature tasting notes for the brand’s gin range, encouraging consumer engagement and trial of the perfumes
- The provoking activation is designed to leverage the seasonal gift shopping occasion
- Featured in selected John Lewis stores and GTR outlets
Clever Claw-ner
“This is a great portrayal of occasion ownership by the brand, having established that ¼ of the nation has been to more house parties this year than last. And whilst it doesn’t shout ‘party’, the convenience concept is clever.” – GC View
Hard seltzer brand White Claw, opened a weekend Claw-ner pop-up, providing a one-stop-shop for house parties.
- Known for its alcoholic seltzer water beverage, the brand dubs its variety pack as the (un)official sponsor of the house party
- The activation in Shoreditch, which featured monographic branding with neon signage arranged for famous face shopkeepers
- Customers enjoyed special offers as well as limited free stock
Spicing it up!
“A beautifully simple Christmas pop-up that uses just enough gingerbread motifs to craft an instantly recognisable, open and inviting experience.” – GC View
Jo Malone is leveraging the festive gifting occasion with a premium gingerbread themed activation.
- The pop-up is being run in GTR at Singapore Airport and at Battersea Power Station as well as across selected high street locations.
- The ‘houses’ have icing-frosted effect walls and use interactive displays to engage shoppers who are invited to take part in fragrance masterclasses as well as shopping the brand’s festive collection including fragrances, scented candles and gift sets.
A race to buy
“In the past 3-5 years, F1's popularity has surged, and Jack Daniels' bold choice to partner with McLaren is an unusual kind in alcohol.. Despite concern about the drink-driving association, this collaboration has resulted in powerful and intriguing displays and the unique prize will have F1 fans buying every available bottle to join the McLaren crew.” – GC View
Jack Daniels is offering consumers the chance to win a Formula 1 race weekend experience.
- Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey is an Official Partner of the McLaren Formula 1 Team, with the two pioneering founders of iconic brands entering a multi-year partnership.
- The on-pack promotion runs across all 1L bottles, which features a QR code to enter a draw.
- The first prize includes a 7-day trip to Austin, Texas for a race experience package plus a tour of the brand’s distillery in Nashville. Runners-up prizes include exclusive merchandise
- UAE GTR displays featured.
Christmas ad fabs!
Here are our chart toppers of the Christmas TV ads.
1st – Boots
Love the story and music. Showcasing varieties of products with different price marks - a present for everyone at Boots. Celebrating everyone, not just family and friends, but anyone in the community. – Peter Kristoff, Account Director
Watch it here
2nd – Aldi
Tied into a story everyone knows and feels is 'nice'. Finishing with a message of neighbourly support will also sit particularly well this year. The humour works into it quite well too. – Richard Mikheev-Ashe, Account Director
Watch it here
3rd – Lidl
In the past the most successful Christmas ads have had a really emotive storyline. Lidl was the only advert that did that for me this year and I like the link at the end to Lidl’s Toy Bank. – Rhianna Granger, Junior Designer
Watch it here
4th – Amazon
Amazon captures the sentiment of Christmas, bringing out the child in you, even when you are old! Music also plays a big part in these ads and Amazon’s choice was well suited. – Colin McDonald, Head of Technology
Watch it here
5th – John Lewis
John Lewis yet again serves up the Christmas spirit that they are famous for but, this year, with an opera-singing Venus fly trap, which adds a side of bonkers that I really enjoyed. – Natasha Kennard, Senior Designer
Watch it here
