Christmas Marketing: How to Sleigh Your Festive Campaigns

The festive season is one of the most profitable, busy and competitive times of the year for most businesses, regardless of the industry or sector you work in. While consumers will be constantly looking for the right gifts, deals and festive experiences on the run-up to the big day, brands have a golden opportunity to boost visibility, deepen customer loyalty and drive significant end-of-year revenue. 

But with so much noise during the Christmas rush, only the most strategic and creative campaigns will end up truly standing out. Whether you’re a small, independent business wanting to build stronger customer relationships or a large brand preparing for multi-channel Christmas campaigns, here’s a guide on how to sleigh your Christmas marketing this festive season.

Start as early as possible & plan ahead

Possibly one of the biggest mistakes a brand can make when it comes to Christmas marketing is starting it too late. Consumers will begin to look for their Christmas shopping inspiration months in advance, even if it’s just to get an idea of what’s out there and how much it will cost. This is often why businesses, bloggers and marketers will look to start their Christmas marketing campaign as early as October. So what’s our advice to you?

• Craft your marketing calendar early, preferably in September or October. If it’s too late for you now, then learn for next year
• Warm up your audience with teasers, early-bird offers or “coming soon” Christmas hints
• Prepare festive assets ahead of time, such as graphics, photography, landing pages and even adverts

Embrace general festive branding

More often than not, Christmas is described as a feeling. With that in mind, it’s no wonder that customers want brands that will reflect that sort of Christmas spirit. Updating your branding for the season helps to spark emotion and encourage engagement in the process. But where should you start? Here’s where to refresh:

• Website banners 
• Festive landing pages
• Email templates
• Email signatures
• Social media cover photos
• Social media Story highlights
• Product packaging 
• Limited-edition packaging designs
• In-store window displays 
• Print-out materials

Craft cosy, heartwarming & shareable content

Christmas isn’t just about food, drink, shopping and having fun. It’s also about nostalgia, connection and happiness. If you’re a brand that can tap into emotion, then you’ll be able to pull on your customer’s heartstrings, leaving them with no choice but to want to relive a Christmas that they miss but that seemed unachievable. 

With this in mind, you should make plans to create story-driven, heartwarming content that will perform well and that can be easily shared on social media platforms. Some effective content ideas can include the following, but you’ll be more than capable of coming up with your own festive content ideas, if you wish:

• Stry-led short-form videos that evoke warmth and family togetherness
• Festive-themed blogs, gift guides and “best of” lists
• Behind-the-scenes looks at your team celebrating or giving back
• Customer stories or community-focused campaigns

Promote irresistible Christmas offers, promotions & deals

Christmas consumers are actively looking for value. Therefore, offering a meaningful deal can set your brand apart from your competitors. If you can offer your customers something that your competitors cannot, then you’re already ahead of the game. Some popular festive promotions that should be kept clear, compelling and easy-to-redeem, include:

• Bundle deals and ift sets
• “12 Days of Christmas” daily offers
• Limited-edition festive products
• Buy-one-give-one charity partnerships
• Early access VIP discounts
• Free gift wrapping 
• Free delivery 

Boost your social media presence

Social media becomes especially lively during December, therefore making it the perfect place to spread festive cheer and boost engagement in the process. But how can you boost your social strategy to elevate your social media presence? There are plenty of ways of getting it done, such as:

• Daily countdown posts or “Advent calendar” reveals
• Christmas giveaways or contests 
• Festive reels, TikToks and behind-the-scenes videos
• User-generated content – ask customers to share how they celebrate
• Collaborations with micro-influencers
• Use hashtags on social media posts like #Christmas2025, #FestiveSeason and #ChristmasMagic to expand your reach

Don’t underestimate the power of email marketing

Email marketing is an effective form of marketing, and it has been since the launch of the email. It’s a high-performing channel both at Christmas and throughout the rest of the year. So, why not use email marketing to your advantage during the busiest time of the year? It’s especially effective for targeting warm leads and past customers to entice them back during the festive season. Therefore, you should be looking at creating a Christmas email flow:

• Festive welcome series
• Gift guide newsletters
• Exclusive subscriber-only discounts
• Basket abandonment reminders with Christmas incentives
• Last-chance delivery reminders
• Reminders that sales, deals and promotions are limited-time only

Optimise your website in readiness for Christmas traffic 

Your website needs to be fast, reactive, engaging and conversion-focused during the Christmas season. It would be all too easy to lose potential customers to a competitor just because your website isn’t loading fast enough, or is difficult to use or navigate. With this in mind, make sure that your website has the following things on the run-up to the Christmas season:

• A dedicated Christmas landing page
• Easy-to-find present and gift categories (i.e. for him, for her, under £20, under £50, stocking fillers, etc.)
• Clear delivery deadlines and offers (i.e. free delivery and ‘get it before Christmas’ promises, etc.)
• Mobile-first design 
• Quick checkout options
• Clear, transparent and simple returns policies 

Keep the momentum going after Christmas

Many businesses will see the end of Christmas as their signal to stop marketing their business for the festive season. While Christmas may have ended, customers are still looking for stellar Boxing Day and New Year deals and promotions.

So don’t slow down. In fact, you shouldn’t let momentum drop at all if you want to get the most out of your marketing campaigns. This is because, after Christmas, you’ll have, as well as the New Year, Valentine’s Day and Easter not too far around the corner. 

If you keep your momentum going after the festive period, then you’ll be able to put your all into the upcoming seasons, as well as where your competitors may have already stopped. This gives you the upper hand. 

Kumo is a full-service digital marketing agency backed by a dedicated, highly skilled team. Operating from Nottingham, we collaborate with clients nationwide, helping organisations across various sectors achieve measurable results. Our services include SEO, PPC, content marketing, web design and more. Reach out to our approachable, experienced team to learn how we can drive your business forward – we’re always ready to help.