Its the season of goodwill and agency minds have visions of long lunches, festive gifts and shutting down for 10 days. Canny agency heads will also be aware that Christmas is an opportunity to cement relationships, remind people of your existence and reward staff. In fact in B2B its one of the biggest opportunities in the year to make friends and influence people. Conversely, its an opportunity missed if you get it wrong. So put down that mince pie and take note of these top tips for managing your Christmas campaign successfully.
Think of cards as an opportunity to communicate with your audience. This is one of the few times of year that your letter, card or email will definitely be opened. Having gone to all that effort, do you really want them to receive something that youve bought off the shelf, that anyone could have sent or which has been signed by people theyve never heard of? Like all communications, the best Christmas cards (hard copy or email) are the ones which have a strong message – and Happy Christmas isnt it. So use it to reinforce your brand properly and say something positive about the company. And, like all good communications, the ones which manage to say something personal (but not too personal) are the ones that work best.
Like all things digital, the use of e-cards is increasing year on year. Often they are accompanied by a (slightly apologetic) rationale which has to do with saving trees or giving money to charity but this is no excuse for poor creativity. Its an opportunity to show your stuff – particularly if you are a creative agency. So dont buy the card from an online site which is the same as everyone elses or get someone else to do it for you.
Of course its nice to get gifts at Christmas, but dont go overboard. Many clients now operate in open plan offices, so sending massive hampers to one member of the team will probably only embarrass them. Not to mention cause their colleagues to question why they got it rather than someone else. The ideal gift is small(ish), shows you have thought about them, but isnt too personal – this is a business relationship. Being bought jewellery by your agency might cause some raised eyebrows. Finally, dont forget that in the public sector, people have to declare any gifts in case they are accused of being bribed.
Should you keep your giving to yourself? In recent years there has been a big move towards giving to charity instead of spending the money on cards and postage. But be careful. Its no longer a big deal. Most companies have some charity scheme in place for ongoing giving to chosen charities or giving through pay packets (GAYE). Like CSR in its early days, it can smack of look at us being good. There are one or two exceptions to this however – where for instance agencies have charity clients and they are encouraging donations to the cause.
Remember last year when the Bishop of Southwark ended up losing his possessions and falling over drunk? Dont suppose his boss was over pleased with the media coverage, but luckily hes the forgiving type. Dont let your staff get too drunk when they are seeing clients. A few drinks too many and people start to say things you might regret. And legally, you are now responsible for your employees behaviour even when they are off site. So if they punch your best client (Ive seen it happen) – you are liable.
Save some festive cheer for your staff. Christmas can be a funny time for people. Senior managers may get loads of cards and gifts. More junior staff may not. Make an effort to ensure that everyone (and their family if appropriate) gets a card from the company too. After all, if they dont think you give a stuff, they just might think about polishing up their CV in the New Year.
Its allowed after two bottles of bubbly and some flaming sambucas but in terms of cards, gifts or messages dont do the same thing twice. Just because you have a great idea one Christmas it doesnt mean you should repeat it the following year. It just smacks of not being bothered to think about it (unless of course you were assuming no one had noticed your last effort). But of course, like all good creative agencies, by this time next year youll be full of fresh ideas.
