Christmas in July: Sleighbells ring, are you pitching?
If you don’t work in PR, you’ve probably heard the phrase ‘Christmas in July’ and thought one of two things:
1. WTF is that?
2. Christmas is ages away, chill out guys.
Or both. That’s why we want to explain why understanding Christmas in July can help your indie biz drive sales and generate brand awareness.
Christmas in July originally described the timing of the physical showcases and previews brands would invite journalists to in order to secure coverage in their Christmas gift guides. It’s now also widely used to describe the concept of starting to pitch Christmas gift ideas to journalists in July.
So why do us PRs start so very bloody early?
Timing is everything
Long lead publications, such as glossy magazines, work around three or four months in advance throughout the year but tend to start their Christmas issues even earlier.
When you’re sipping hot chocolate while you read a glossy gift guide in November, there are PRs galore celebrating as they’re finally getting to see the results of pitches they made for clients back in a July heatwave.
If you’re reading this and thinking you’ve missed out on Christmas coverage because it’s already July then don’t go full on JoJo because it’s not Too Little Too Late if you have the right strategy. Gift guides in magazines are of course brilliant, but they aren’t your only chance to drive sales and brand awareness during Christmas shopping months.
Journalists will still be looking for gift ideas for weekly magazines, broadcast, newspapers, some supplements and online titles from late August right through to Christmas.
Do. Not. Scattergun. We repeat. Put down the scattergun.
Very often people fall at the first hurdle by pitching to lots of titles that simply aren’t suitable for their brand. As well as being a waste of your time, there’s a risk of annoying a journalist who has taken the time to read a pitch that’s not relevant to them. It’s far better to research properly and pitch to fewer journalists who are all relevant.
You can use Readly (which offers a free trial) to research print press and use Google to do the same for online titles, checking out last year’s Christmas gift guides to see if they are a good fit for you when it comes to price ranges and aesthetics.
Give the gift of press friendly assets
Once you know which guides your brand is a good fit for, it’s time to focus on your assets… so to speak. At the absolute minimum, journalists need a link to the product online, a short description, a price and one or two hi-res images - ideally one cut out and one lifestyle.
It’s best practice to also have a succinct and clear press release with key items from your range, plus a link to hi-res imagery that they can look through quickly and easily rather than having their inbox overloaded with too many images.
Not sure where to start?
Don't panic, you don't need to go it alone! Untld Project are launching something new and exciting on 14th July which could be just the ticket to help get your brand the recognition and coverage it deserves! Watch this space...