2020 Holiday PR Season Recap
Well here we are again. Hello January. I usually try to take the week between Christmas and New Year’s to get all of the extras and little things done in the way of admin, catch up, planning etc. For PR, the week is pretty much dead with journalists being out of the office or just checked out in general. I did get a little bit of time to plan ahead for my own personal 2021 goals and think ahead strategically a bit. But that’s a totally different blog post! Today, I wanted to share a quick recap from the 2020 holiday PR season.
Heading into the 2020 holiday season there was so many unknowns. Will consumers be shopping and spending as much as they have in the past? Is the way they are shopping new and different? How are journalists, media outlets, influencers and bloggers handling this and how will it affect brands? In order to best support our clients who were part of this realm, we attacked the season as best we could. With lots of lead time, research and planning. And a few lessons learned for PR heading into 2021.
eCommerce Shopping is Where It’s At
This is more of a general pandemic learning since last year, which I’d like to think is pretty obvious. But, for any brands that haven’t yet made it quick and easy for customers to buy their product online, now is the time. Lucky for you, there is still plenty of time to get ready for next year’s holiday season (or the next holiday like Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day, etc.)
Affiliate Programs are Key
Affiliate programs have been growing in popularity with Influencers, Bloggers and yes even media outlets, but 2020 made it clearly evident affiliate programs are vital. Today, may large media outlets require brands to be involved with an Affiliate program, which is unique from previous years. Amazon aside, which is must for any eCommerce product, the most popular programs we saw were Share-A-Sale and Skimlinks. Viglinks and Refersion have also popped up. If you have not yet linked your brand to an affiliate program, this is a big consideration is you want to get national PR coverage for your product. (Thinking a full blog post on Affiliate programs might be in order, Yes/NO?)
Plan Early
When new clients reach out to me to start holiday PR campaign in October, we do what we can to make the most out of it. But, real holiday PR starts much earlier in the year. To really maximize your holiday PR program, start planning ahead in the summer. This gives you (or your PR agency/partner) time to look at editorial calendars, identify targets for sampling, consider paid media, develop relationships with Influencers who may be key leading up to the holiday season and overall, gives brand the runway it needs to optimize their media opportunities. Smaller and local PR campaigns can be done closer to the holiday, but the earlier you can plan in advance, the better.
Samples are Everything
We work with a lot of physical products, such as lifestyle, food, health/wellness and if a journalist is going to pick your product to feature, they want to see and feel it. They want to know that it is a quality product that they stand behind. For brands, this means having an idea of what samples are available, how many you want to send out and getting them in the mail in a timely manner when requested by a journalist. This also gives you or your PR agency the information to follow up accordingly with them for future media opportunities. Yes, some samples are sent and then we get the black hole of no responses, but for the most part, journalists respect and appreciate that you sent them a sample and will lead to future media coverage.
Journalists are Busy
I mean, we’re all busy right. But, for any brands considering their holiday PR strategy, they need to realize that journalists are busy. They might miss your email, so consider following up via Twitter or Instagram and connecting with them that way to get your brand in front of them. And, be patient about follow up - don’t expect their story to publish the next day. They may also be working with their editor or finalizing details on their end.
Don’t Despair if You Weren’t Featured
It’s frustrating when you plan, send out samples and connect with journalists only to get less then ideal coverage for the holiday season. It stinks and yes, it happens, as earned media is not guaranteed. However, there are more holidays coming up that the journalist could be keeping you in mind for. I’ve had pitches from the Christmas season be used for Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day Gift ideas, for example. Many times, journalists will wait for the perfect time to feature your brand or product. PR is a process that continues to grow and build momentum. It is not one and done. Keep up with the follow up and engaging with journalists that fit for you.
And, to wrap it up, here’s a sampling of some holiday PR hits from our clients this past season!
