Christmas is always a good time for marketers to launch campaigns, create online buzz and drive traffic. There are so many insightful ideas for Christmas 2018. Take a look at Comms8’s favorite ad of this festive season!

Erste Group: What would Christmas be without love?     

The Christmas ad of Erste Group could be a textbook example for content marketing. The video is about a Christmas surprise prepared by the classmates of an “isolated” hedgehog. It is warm and touching, and nothing about Erste Group’s business, except the flipping logos at the end. This is how good content marketing should look like. This heart-warming content generated over 1 million views on YouTube and successfully impressed the audience. Erste Group built a caring corporate image and broke the stereotype of being cold and dull as a financial institution. Watch the Christmas surprise here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Icx7hBWeULM

IKEA Italy: Change the usual Christmas with IKEA

IKEA is always good at telling stories with its products. This year, they demonstrated a creative way of celebrating Christmas – to spend a warm one with a complete stranger in the broke down lift in IKEA. Turning the out-of-order lift into a cozy space with everything you just bought from IKEA, the unusual way of spending Christmas (and your time waiting for rescue!) reinforced the humourous image of IKEA. It also reminded the audience how IKEA always thinks outside the box – so do the customers. Unlike Erste Group, this Christmas ad is a live IKEA catalog where brand logo and products were showcased from the first second until the last of the clip. When it comes to good product placement, it is not going to annoy you but amuse you. Get some inspiration from IKEA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2XtlMYl7gY

Apple: Share your gifts

Which word best describes Apple? Outstanding? Creative? Pioneer? Yes, I would say all of them. Their Christmas ad this year continues to emphasize these characteristics of Apple by telling a story of how a girl changed from shy to confident and embraced her painting talent. It sounds like another example of content marketing (even Apple did subtly place their product in the ad), but it’s not. One of the core values of Apple is to “think different”, but you won’t succeed by just thinking – you have to act. In this ad, instead of just repeating the same key value (“think different”), Apple cleverly strengthens their brand image by adding a new element (“take action”) to their brand message and make it more comprehensive. Shaping a brand’s image in different dimensions will create a bolder and livelier impression to the audience. Click to see the gift from Apple: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dJCroCMBPM

Integrate Christmas into brand value

Christmas is the time when family comes together so it is not hard to understand why “reunion” is an evergreen topic of Christmas ads and emotional hook plays an important role. Marketers are now trying to play with different messages other than “reunion”. The 3 picks above are some good examples of how brands step forward to relate the emotional needs of the audience during this festive season with their brand values to build a more solid brand image. A good ad should bring value to the audience rather than just delivering commercial messages.

Do you want some insight from us? Email info@comms8.com and let us help with your next ad to stun the audience.