Give someone a Christmas they'll never forget.

My goodness did this December fly! I guess that’s what a late Thanksgiving we’ll do to ya (and everyone likes to complain about Christmas creeping on Thanksgiving!). :P

For me, between work and play and some gift-giving along the way, there was never quite enough time to sit down and assemble my thoughts on this, the latest installment of marketing/retail holiday tactics. (In a nutshell: everyone is WAY too desperate).

And so, I leave you with an ad that caught my attention at the season’s onset.

The Bear & The Hare | John Lewis

I must have watched this 4-5x that first day. I have since played it a dozen or so more and downloaded the song (#1 in the UK! – how’s that for marketing?!).

While I’ve no doubt John Lewis had a slew of product- and price-specific spots too numerous to mention, I’m always impressed when a retailer opts to invent a feel-good, superfluous story rather than pitch a common bauble (especially at Christmas).

If this doesn’t tug at your heart strings, nothing will!

Merry Christmas and thanks for reading.

See you all in 2014. :)

Cheers,
-Daniel

Kmart Breaks the Seal on Christmas 2013 Advertising

…and just like that, the love affair with Kmart advertising ended.

The retail bottom-feeder has recently enjoyed a run of accolades over its refreshing commercial spots. <<Quick Rewind: First it was ‘Ship my Pants’ and ‘Big-Gas Discounts’ – then a string of Back-to-School spots featuring playground rhymes and crimes of retro 90s fame (The “Yo-Mama” dis spots being my personal favorite).

First to climb up the 2013 tree!

But with over 100 days till Christmas (that’s right, the countdown still beats in the TRIPLE digits) the same army of “Don’t rush the season!” scrooges that usually have to wait until early-October to rise up are absolutely LOSING IT!

Here’s the spot:

Cool it, perma-bah humbugs.

I can’t imagine the piles of coal Santa must have left in your childhood stockings; y’all are NEVER happy to see the holidays! The spot doesn’t reek of holiday cheer – just a few faint bells and a scantily clad cookie. It’s not an overrun exposé of buy, BUY, BUY! but a subtler, non-specific “calm before the storm” reminder to start planning now so that you (and your wallet) aren’t over extended closer to year-end.

And, you gotta understand Kmart’s position.

The retailer has been playing second fiddle to Target and Walmart for far too long (wait – that analogy doesn’t even begin to describe the magnitude of the situation… more like trying to play a microscopic fiddle without a bow and the fiddle has been stepped on a few times). Now, for the first time in years ever people are actually taking notice of their ads, they’ve got to make the first appeal to holiday shoppers; opportunity knocks!

According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), 12% of consumers begin their holiday shopping before September, 6% during and another 20% kick it off in October.

And while the stock market continues to surge, consumers are still wary from a frugal 2009/2010.

Getting out in front of the others with a campaign that reminds shoppers of expanded layaway promotions isn’t just smart; it’s k(s)mart!

…No? I’ve used that corny play on words too many times before? OK, it’s brilliant!

While Kmart’s ad sets a new high-watermark for “Christmas Creep” – they’re expanding the retailer role in providing joy under the tree. Kmart doesn’t just want to be the place you run for door-busting specials, they want to work with you and help budget throughout the entire holiday shopping process.

Great move, guys. (The spot could have been just a bit funnier, though. The cookie’s creep factor is at 3 – it needs to be at like a 7-8 (aka Burger King ‘King’-creepy)). :P

A week till black Friday and the (Target) dog is out of the bag…

The ad actually debuted Monday; in a nutshell:

• Cheap TVs (but good luck getting your hands on the 2 or 3 that are in stock)  
• Apple products come with gift cards (because heaven forbid they go on sale) 
• $5 DVDs are now $4 
•  Scrabble is on sale for $7; Words with Friends is full-price (why we have both to begin with) 
• And (still) nobody cares about sales on clothing

Are Black Friday ad previews the new normal?

Last year we had to wait until Thanksgiving morning to know who had what on sale when. This time around Target blew the lid off a full 10 days early. Why?

Because it gives shoppers enough time to prioritize without giving competitors enough time to one-up on price.

When it comes to Black Friday, Target knows it’s not all about the price, heck – they make their living everyday under that guise!  No, it’s about the total mix; mass efficiencies gained with one stop.

Promoting the spread a week before game-time gives customers ample opportunity to weigh all variables before deciding whose doorbusters they’re going to bust doors for.

But where do retailers go from here?

Is it only a matter of time before Wal-Mart’s ad is just a single page?

Bring us anyone’s Black Friday ad and we’ll match their price.

It certainly would be easier than trying to build plans around multivariate intra-store pricing plus the likelihood of available stock. Come armed with every competing ad, cart up your hit list, wait two hours in line and you know you’re getting the very best deal available.

So where are you going Black Friday?

Screw hitting the stores early! Armed with the ad in advance, I’m off to stash a few wants in Target’s furniture displays tonight. Expect me to mosey in and collect around noon Friday. ;)

PS: Before we sign off, what’s this, a new start time?!
GAME CHANGER: Open primetime, Thanksgiving night

We're guessing that "IT'S ON!" will light up come 9 pm next Thursday - cute.

We talked last year about the on-going battle of rolling start times – this year Target is kicking Black Friday off 3 hours earlier, starting at 9 pm Thanksgiving. (Will the mounds of turkey dinner even be settled by then?) 

It’s been met with much debate  – accused of encroaching on employees’ time with family. Work/life balance aside, it threatens the very existence of Black Friday. If all the hot-ticket items stocked are likely to be depleted 3-4 hours before midnight Friday, more and more people will cave to peer pressure and get their start before even clearing the Thanksgiving table. 

Will Thanksgiving soon dethrone the BIGGEST shopping day of the year? 

Only time will tell…

 

When it comes to Christmas Trees, more of less is more…

At least according to The Wall Street Journal.

In an article posted last week in Life & Culture, WSJ chronicles the dawn of a new era in tree trimming.

When I was growing up, we had just one. It was the perfect artificial cone – a bit over 6 feet tall and every bit as wide. Like clockwork each year, the weekend after Thanksgiving it came down from the attic. With just four fair strings of colored lights, (the pinks having long faded to pale orange and yellow); there it stood fireplace-adjacent.

Every December my brother and I would join Mom at Hallmark and carefully select a shiny new ornament to add to the collection.

If you’re in your late-20s/early-30s and got your rearing in the Midwest, I’m guessing your story is much the same.

Not the case today.

More and more households are leaving Santa in a Christmas morning quandary.

Where does one leave the gifts when there are trees in both the family and living rooms!? And what’s Kris Kringle supposed to do with the two flanking the dining room hutch or the one standing at the end of the kitchen counter?

As with jeans, ties, and lattes – ‘skinny’ is in.

And like our low-cal peppermint mochas, the skinnier the tree, the more we think we can afford to have.

While the WSJ article cites several probable reasons for the skinny tree endemic (cheaper, easier to decorate, less evasive in tight, urban dwellings, etc.), this blogger sees something less conservative at play. And, in name of full-disclosure, I couldn’t be happier!

Christmas trimming companies are taking full-advantage of our inherent need to overdo it.

With lights being replaced every 5+ years and only two or three new heirloom ornaments added each year, there was more than cookies and milk being left on the table.

And so, product lines got extended (a few times over).

Today lights come in practically thousands of combinations, once single ornaments have become themed collections of 20+.

"World's Largest Christmas Store" - Bronner's Christmas Wonderland - Frankenmuth, MI

Retailers know that for many of us, Christmas triggers instant salivation and delight; it stimulates dormant, fond memories of food, family and fun.

We see Christmas and we want it now. And in today’s superfluous world of over-doing, the more really is the merrier!

So we keep our original “family tree” (it’s the one with junky, school-made ornaments hanging from it, Santa – go put the gifts there). But just to show off to the neighbors, we also have ones to match the décor of both the living and dining rooms. We have one in the kitchen, dressed by mom with gingerbread men, spoons, spatulas and peppermint print ribbon. We even have one in the finished basement for Dad, complete with sports and poker-themed ornaments.

Today, we have it all, we change it often and the industry continues to grow.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to put the finishing touches on my designer pencil tree of deep mahogany and garish gold, already some 1800 lights strong. :P